Royal photographer Alexi Lubomirski was the man responsible for capturing the intimate photographs of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, just moments after their beautiful ceremony. Embracing life as newlyweds, one picture showed Prince Harry and his bride Meghan in a romantic pose as they sat together on the steps of East Terrace at Windsor Castle. Opening up about the candid black-and-white image, which has since garnered more than two million likes on Instagram, Alexi revealed: "We went out there and had about three and a half minutes to take some quick shots because everything was running like clockwork."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle look stunning in their official wedding photo
The celebrity photographer - who also took the engagement photos last year - went on to describe how he managed it, telling the BBC: "It was just one of those magical moments when you're a photographer and everything falls into place. I said 'just before you go in, sit on those stairs'." He continued: "[Meghan] just slumped in between his legs, and there was this moment where they were just laughing because they were joking about how they were exhausted and finally it's all over. They just looked at each other and they were just laughing, and it was this just beautiful moment, and, when you are taking the pictures, you know you have something."
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Speaking about the group snaps with their family and their young bridal party, which were taken in the Green Drawing Room, Alexi added: "I didn't want it to feel like a sports team photo or an army photo, regimented and linear. So we talked about how we could break it and get some rhythm and asymmetry into it and it all came down to very little tiny things - nothing crazy." He continued: "In terms of how we were placing people - we wanted some people sitting, some people standing, kids on parents' laps and that was a huge thing to get that realness out of it." Dealing with ten young bridesmaids and pageboys in no easy feat, so it's no wonder Alexi used a little bribery to help perfect the pictures. "After the group shot, then we moved to the couple with the bridesmaids and the pageboys, that was going to be a tricky one because obviously that is when chaos ensued, and I'd already used by smarties trick once so they weren't going to fall for that one again," he said.
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The pictures were taken by Alexi Lubomirski
From the day, Alexi's highlight will always be Meghan's entrance into the chapel. "[My wife and I] were placed right next to the door where The Duchess of Sussex came in, so seeing her come in, with the bridesmaids and the pageboys behind her, that moment just was tingling," he explained. "Everybody was in tears, it was an amazing, very empowering move on her part, really showed who she was, I think it was incredible."
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On Monday, Kensington Palace unveiled the three official wedding photographs from the royal wedding – much to everyone's delight. The pictures were taken immediately after the newlyweds embarked on a procession following their beautiful ceremony on Saturday afternoon. The happy couple thanked the well-wishers who took part in their marriage celebrations, and are said to be feeling "so lucky" to have shared their big day with the thousands gathered in Windsor. Of taking the pictures, Alexi said in a statement: "It has been an incredible honour and privilege to document The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's inspiring journey of love, hope and family; from the engagement photos, all the way through to the official wedding and family portraits on Saturday. This has been a beautiful chapter in my career and life, that I will happily never forget."