River Cottage weddings: Lucy and Scott's wonderful day

Last September, I had the pleasure of being the wedding photographer for Lucy and Scott's celebrations at the famous River Cottage HQ in Devon.  I loved photographing Lucy and Scott's wedding.  Loved it!  They were the loveliest couple to get to know, and everything about their day was just gorgeous.  Even the rain didn't dampen spirits, with lots of brightly coloured umbrellas, soggy but smiling morris dancers and a whole load of people bursting with happiness all day long.  Lucy looked absolutely incredible in her exquisite Kate Walker wedding dress - I thought it looked especially good with the wellies later in the day!  Lucy and Scott's wedding has been featured on the wonderful Rock My Wedding, so you can read more about it from Lucy's point of view here.  

I was so excited about photographing at River Cottage, and it completely lived up to my expectations.  With all the special little touches that Lucy and Scott had put together for the wedding day, everything looked incredibly beautiful, and the farm location completely added to the rustic charm of the day.  From the yurt, to the restored barn, to the walled kitchen garden and the views across the rolling hills, it was such a gorgeous venue and I loved the relaxed atmosphere throughout.  It was also, without question, the best wedding meal I have ever eaten...  

I also have to share this incredibly lovely feedback that I received from Lucy and Scott.  I am always so aware that even though I photograph a lot of weddings, each time it is that one special day for the couple, and I never ever take lightly the responsibility to capture that for them.  So it is always just the most wonderful thing to receive feedback like this, and it means a huge amount to me to hear these words:

"We just wanted to say a Massive thank you for being so AMAZING on our special day... I don't know how you did it but you have just so beautifully captured the very essence of the day and we can not thank you enough.  You worked so hard and that did not go unnoticed, we really really appreciate not only your obvious unbelievable talent but your dedication and passion for what you do.  We feel incredibly blessed to have found you and had you there on the day, it would never have been the same without you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lucy and Scott"

Thank you, Lucy and Scott, it was a pleasure from start to finish!  Here is your gorgeous wedding:

Pamflete House: pre-wedding photography

On Valentine's Day, I had the pleasure of meeting Francesca and Andy, who were over from Guernsey for their pre-wedding/engagement photography session.  As their wedding is going to take place on the Flete Estate in South Devon, we thought it would be nice for them to have these photos taken here as well, to make the most of the beautiful setting.  We were rather unlucky with the weather on the day - I drove through torrential downpours and some rather enormous (road sized) puddles on the way there, and the rain was annoyingly persistent.  So we had to get a little bit creative with the inside spaces - luckily Pamflete House is wonderful inside and there were plenty of places for us to create some lovely photos.  I am hoping that the sun will shine for their wedding in May, and that we can then enjoy the beautiful sea and estuary views around the estate.  Who knows, we might even make it down to the beach... fingers crossed!

Maunsel House wedding, Somerset: Sophie & Tom

It is such a pleasure to look back at some of the weddings that I haven't yet blogged from last year.  Sophie and Tom's beautiful day took place last August at Maunsel House in Somerset.  I clearly remember how genuinely lovely Sophie and Tom were and how enjoyable it was to photograph their wedding at North Curry church and Maunsel House.  What I'd forgotten about was how ridiculously beautiful the pergola looked for their reception, and also just how emotional their speeches were.  There are so many really lovely moments in their photos.  I really enjoyed going back through the images again for this blog post, and remembering just how special their wedding day was.

Sophie got ready for the wedding in the Mill Farmhouse, one of the various cottages in Maunsel House's grounds.  Meanwhile, Tom was enjoying a beer in the wonderful bar in the main house, so I was able to stroll between the two of them and capture a little of what they were both doing.  I love seeing all the various birds around site on my wanderings, so I may have also stopped to photograph them a little as well...

North Curry church has a really spectacular location, with views for miles and miles across the Somerset Levels.  I loved Sophie's arrival in the rain under a canopy of umbrellas!  It was particularly nice that the biggest showers happened during the service, leaving us with some brighter weather afterwards, so that everyone could enjoy the location before heading back to Maunsel House for the reception.

Sophie and Tom used their love of cider as a theme for the wedding decorations, with mulled cider served to their guests on arrival at Maunsel House and the reception tables named after their favourites.  The hessian table runners were decorated with the bride and grooms' initials, and the beautiful and delicate flowers from The Rose Shed looked so pretty throughout the pergola. There was, of course, an 'I love cider' speech bubble as part of the props for their photobooth later in the day!  I loved seeing the peacocks strutting around the tables while the guests enjoyed their wedding breakfast in the brilliantly weather proofed pergola.  It was just so pretty and a real pleasure to photograph.  The wonderful cake of different cheeses was crowned by the most fantastic cake topper - a bride and groom knitted by Sophie, complete with bouquet and bunting overhead, matching the lovely bunting used over the tables.

Sophie and Tom, I hope that you are both well and thoroughly enjoying your first year of marriage together.  Here is a look back at your fabulous wedding day:

Farm wedding in Cornwall: Holly & Mark's relaxed celebration

Holly and Mark's wedding took place in Cornwall last September, with an outdoor ceremony in a walled garden, followed by a laid back marquee celebration and garden games.  It all felt really perfect for them as a couple, with their clearly excellent sense of humour (see the table plan) and a relaxed and fun approach to the wedding.

Their beautiful outdoor ceremony took place in the walled garden at Holly's parents' holiday cottage, Trethurffe Manor in Cornwall.  The guests then enjoyed relaxed drinks and a go at the coconut shy before walking up through the meadow to the marquee.  I loved how pretty everything looked inside the marquee, with ivy trailing around the barrels of local cider and the most gorgeous summer flowers  decorating the long tables.  The table plan was the funniest I have seen, celebrating some of the most amusingly named places in Cornwall, with hilarious photos of Holly and Mark at each of the different location signs.  It was wonderful to see the guests laughing at these as they found their places.  Their wedding breakfast included the most delicious baked pies, with one guest at each table assigned the special apron and task of serving everyone else.

The whole day had such a relaxed and fun feel to it.  I think it is the only wedding I have been to where all the guests were served shots at the end of the meal, which led them straight into the evening dancing.  The marquee was high up with views across the hills, so it was really wonderful to watch the sun setting over the celebrations.  I loved the way the marquee then looked after dark, with the fairy lights twinkling throughout.  Have I mentioned before that you can never have too many fairy lights at your wedding venue?!  I loved photographing Holly and Mark's day and I've really enjoyed looking back at it to put this blog post together. I hope you enjoy it!