Maunsel House autumn wedding: Zoe & James

It was really lovely to photography Zoe and James' autumn wedding at Maunsel House in Somerset last Saturday.  It was a beautiful November day, with soft autumn sunshine and a lovely crispness in the air.  Zoe started by getting ready at the amazing Castle Hotel in Taunton.  It is such a beautiful location and really perfect for capturing the bridal preparations.  I also couldn't resist photographing Zoe's dress on the main staircase, which caused a few strange looks from other guests!  After a really lovely ceremony at All Saints Church, Trull, everyone then moved on to Maunsel House for the wedding reception.  Maunsel House looked beautiful in the dusky light, with the fires burning and candles twinkling everywhere.  We even had the additional treat of a giant bonfire later in the evening, which was great fun!  Huge congratulations to Zoe and James, it was a beautiful day to photograph - here is a little preview:

Wedding suppliers:

Venues: Castle Hotel, Taunton & Maunsel House, Somerset

Zoe's dress and shoes by Caroline Castigliano

James' suit from Astaires, Taunton

Catering by Sticky Date

Florist: Flowers by Wendy

Zoe's hair by Louise Alway

Zoe's make up by friend, Siobhan Parker

Cheese cake by The Cheese and Wine Shop of Wellington

Music from Arioso Quartet

DJ Geoff Ryder

You might also be interested to have a look at other pages on this photography blog:

An autumn wedding at Reed Hall, Exeter

A tipi wedding in Somerset

A wedding at River Cottage HQ, Devon



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Reed Hall wedding, Exeter University

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Professor Sir Steven Smith and the lovely Dr Jeannie Forbes at Reed Hall, Exeter University.  Reed Hall looked absolutely incredible for the occasion, with the tartan running throughout and the most beautiful flowers spilling from all the rooms.  I loved the amazing old Studebaker that Jeannie arrived in - almost as much as I loved the ribboned Exeter University security van that gave Steve a lift up the road!  Congratulations Jeannie and Steve - it was so wonderful to photograph your day and particularly lovely to see how much work everyone at Exeter University put into making everything so special for you and all your guests.  Here is just a glimpse of the day:

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Thank you to Lucy Turnbull for second shooting at this wedding, and to Dominic Trewin who assisted me. Thank you also to Kelly Thacker at Reed Hall for all her hard work and help. Other lovely suppliers involved with this wedding:

The venue is Reed Hall at the University of Exeter
Jeannie's outfits designed by Kavelle, Edinburgh and Diana, Edinburgh
Jeannie's hat designed by Fabhatrix, Edinburgh
Catering by Reed Hall, Exeter
Flowers by Simply Flowers
Cake by The Cake Lady
Music from the Exe Valley String Quartet, Bagpiper Iain Davidson (University student), singer Rhys James Jenkins (University student) and the University of Exeter Jazz Orchestra.
Interior decoration by Cover Cupboard



You might also like to have a look at:

Kate and James' wedding at Charlton House in Somerset

Claire and Andrew's wedding at Polhawn Fort in Cornwall

Leanne and David's destination wedding in Petritoli, Italy

Somerset tipi wedding: cider, apple blossom and celebrations

Earlier this year, Phaedra and George got married in Somerset, with a wonderful tipi reception in the apple orchards at Perry's Cider, near Illminster.  It was the most extraordinarily pretty wedding to photograph, with the tipis filled with beautiful decorations, lanterns and fairy lights, and the orchard location lifting everything to a sublime level of loveliness. 

When I first met with Phaedra and George back in summer 2012, they hadn't yet finalised their wedding date but actually did so to fit with my availability, which was such a huge compliment. Perry's Cider is George's family business and it was great to wander though the orchard with them and have a look around the cider museum there.  I loved the sound of their wedding plans, with the tipis, the lovely church at Hinton St George, the orchard setting.  I especially loved the moment when George pressed three bottles of delicious cider into my hands as I left and said that they would be in touch soon!  

Their actual wedding day was even more beautiful than I was imagining, as the apple blossom was unusually late and the entire orchard was unexpectedly in full bloom.  Phaedra and George had done an incredible job of decorating the tipis, with a bar that George created, carefully covered hay bales for seating, low tables made from barrels and a fantastic fire pit for warmth.  The lanterns and fairy lights throughout made the tipis look absolutely magical, especially as the light dropped outside.  

The weather was gorgeous and I absolutely loved capturing some early evening portraits of Phaedra and George amongst the apple blossom, with the sun setting over the orchard.  The speeches were some of the funniest and most riotous that I have enjoyed listening to this year - this could be directly related to the wonderful cider that flowed freely throughout the day. However, one of my favourite moments from this wedding had to be Phaedra's entrance to the ceremony.  Having got ready at the lovely Lord Poulet Inn at Hinton St George, bridal preparations were running a little late.  I love the photo of the vicar holding her head as the girls finally made it to the church about half an hour after the ceremony was due to start. But what I loved most was the fact that Phaedra's bridal entrance music was an acoustic version of Mumford and Sons 'I Will Wait' (beautifully performed by The Beehives).  The wedding guests all burst out laughing - and to be honest, I don't think they stopped for the rest of the day.  It was the most joyous, relaxed and happy wedding day from start to finish, and an utter pleasure to photograph.  Thank you Phaedra and George for inviting me to join your day!

Yurt wedding in Devon: Sarah and Jack's Totnes celebrations

It was really lovely to see Sarah and Jack's yurt wedding published recently in Devon's wonderful Wed Magazine.  It also reminded me that it is one of the many beautiful weddings that I haven't blogged in full, so I thought it was about time I did!  The effort put into setting up the field and decorating the spaces within the yurts was quite incredible - the images hardly do it all justice.  However, it is lovely to share it here on the blog and I hope you enjoy seeing how they celebrated.

Sarah and Jack's wedding was actually long, long ago - well, in August 2012 - so it was particularly lovely going back through their images and remembering what a wonderful day it was.  Sarah made her own wedding dress and matched the colours to an heirloom veil first worn by her great-great-grandmother, then her grandmother, then mother.  When I arrived to photograph the wedding preparations at Sarah's parents' house in Totnes, it was all about the sewing, with final alterations taking place up until the very last minute, and the hem being finished while Jack was waiting at the church.  

The whole wedding was an enormous homemade effort, with everything from the invites and table names, to the handmade decorations and gradually collected vintage china, and the incredible array of homemade cakes and jams.  It was really wonderful to see how much effort everyone had put into the wedding, with the preparations having stretched out for many months prior to the day itself.  I'd have loved to have photographed events before the wedding, with everyone transforming the field near Totnes into an incredible reception setting.  With three custom yurts, all beautifully decorated, a campsite, fairy lights and garden games ready for the guests to enjoy, it must have been quite a remarkable undertaking.  What was then so lovely about the wedding day, was how relaxed everything was - after all that work, it must have been so incredibly special to sit back, marvel at everything and celebrate the day at last.   

All that effort was to celebrate something really very special.  Sarah and Jack are the loveliest couple and it was amazing to be there to photograph their day for them.  One of my strongest memories is from  after the wedding ceremony, just after walking out of the church.  Before celebrating with their family and friends, Sarah and Jack just stood together for a long time, completely lost in each other and taking in the moment of being married to each other.  It really touched me at the time and made me well up all over again looking back through the images.  It is an amazing privilege to capture moments like this.   

It was a wonderful day and I am really delighted to share some of the images here on the blog - I hope you enjoy them!