Outdoor Ceremony for the win and escaping for golden hour…
Becky & Tom chose a Saturday in September to share their vows with each other and Crockwell Farm was their venue of choice. This beautiful venue had hosted them, along with friends and family the night before the big day so as I rocked up in the morning the lads were finishing up a bumper breakfast to provide the energy for a fabulous day of celebrations.
I had met the couple a few months previous at Crockwell itself for their engagement shoot in amongst the beautiful poppies which appeared this year! The pair were gifted probably the most epic golden hour I have had all year and those images remain some of my fave ever!
Becky and her girls occupied the makeup room where Sophie Duffy and Nicki from Lucy Lockets pampered the girls and made them look a million dollars. Long loose curls girls made the bridesmaids look like real life princesses in their pink Victoria Lew Bridal Dresses and Becky’s half up style completed with a tiara certainly made her queen for the day!
I enjoyed getting stuck into styling all Becky’s details, which included not only one but TWO dresses and pairs of shoes! I was in my element! However the real show stopper for me was a stunning bouquet her Aunt Dawn had crafted, the colours popped perfectly against Crockwell's famous copper bath in the bridal suite (I really want to know if any couples have ever actually used it during
their stay?!)
I was lucky to have my talented partner in crime Katherine Yiannaki join me to second shoot the day and she was busy with the boys capturing them in their finery.
It was debated whether we played it safe with a barn ceremony or went for it and had the outdoor ceremony Becky had her heart set on. I voted outdoor!! With a large wedding party of over a hundred it took a while to usher everyone down to the Pagoda which was adorned with lovely floral displays by Aunt Dawn. Turned out there was no rush after all as the registrars were 30 minutes late!
The vows were said on this mild September day with plenty of smiles and giggles and Becky wearing a Wed to Be gown with the most fabulous skirt to it. As the couple walked back down the aisle as Man and Wife I don’t think I will ever forget Becky’s face as a wayward guest started throwing confetti at her and she bellowed no not yet!! Tip to all those getting married don’t hand your confetti out until you are about to throw it! Every day is a school day!
However the false start for confetti was no problem because what ensued was my best confetti shots to date (if I do say so myself haha!) the confetti tunnel followed by a stop and countdown throw produced the most perfect storm! Cracking work team!
As the guests tucked into fizz, beers and canapés we completed some formal family and bridal party shots by the pagoda followed by some couples portraits nestled amongst the still flowering garden at Crockwell (hats off to Hermione and the team at Crockwell who have planted the garden to perfection!)
The couple opted for a receiving line before sitting down for speeches and it was lovely to see all the congratulations and love for this couple. The wedding party all sat down in the fairy lit reception room with a pale pink theme to the decor. Becky’s dad kicked off speeches first setting the tone for a set of enthusiastic original speeches! Sunglasses donned he retold tales of Becky’s youth and how proud he was of her achievements. The best man concluded the speeches with some serious effort going in with a set of HUGE printed images of Tom the groom…maybe not ones he would fancy on his wall…but worked the trick of raising the roof!
As golden hour set in I tapped the couple on the shoulder in between courses served by Ross & Ross to suggest a few shots in the banging light! Well worth it for the under veil shot of the pair of them with the prettiest light filtering through!
The cake was cut in haste as it had decided it had enough early doors and was starting a precarious lean! With that in the bag we jumped on the dance floor for an obligatory first dance complete with cracking confetti canon! They never fails to add a little summin summin to the dance floor! Hats off to the brides dad and groomsmen who got the dance floor banging and a big high five to Kath my second shooter who had absolute dedication to the dance floor shots by crouching right in the middle of the dancing circle!
The night ended with saying my goodbyes only to find Becky had donned her special sparkly little number and I couldn’t resist my famous words of ‘one more shot’ so off I took them to the front of Crockwells Glass Atrium to get a night time portrait of a dramatic dip and kiss! A perfect parting shot!
Thanks team for bringing all the energy, smiles and love! I wish you all the love for the future and hope you enjoy browsing your images for ever more!
The fab suppliers who made this wedding day dream come true are:
Venue: Crockwell Farm
Hair: Nicki – Lucy Lockets Dunchurch
Make Up: Sophie Duffy
Wedding Dress: Wed2Be
Wedding Shoes: Forever Soles
Suits: Next
Bridesmaid Dresses: Victoria Lou Bridal
Florals: Brides Aunty Dawn
Cake: Cakes Fabulous Cakes
