Their wedding was to be a ‘walking wedding’ where the bride gets ready at her parents’ house, walks to the church, then after the ceremony, she,  her husband and guests walk back to a reception at the family home. The boys also got ready at a holiday cottage in the village and walked to the church.

The guests had been transported from Ipswich to Tattingstone on a vintage bus

We took some time away from the reception and had such good fun doing portraits and group shots around the village.

The reception was held in a marquee within the garden of Claire’s parents’ house, and there were so many lovely details. Claire had provided a basket of flip flops for ladies to change into once the killer heels had turned into murderous heels.

There was a basket of blankets for guests to wrap up in or sit on.

Each blanket had been embroidered with the date of the wedding

The tables were named for some of Claire and Chris’s favourite places

After the meal and the speeches came the first dance, which is where tradition went out the window as they hit the floor to “A message to you, Rudy” by The Specials

Before I close this blog post, I would like to share one final image of the day. If you didn’t immediately notice, take a look in the bus window. Please don’t be alarmed, this is Chris’s niece, who, by all accounts, is a bit of a tinker! This was her little joke. It’s one of their favourite photos of the day

It was quite possibly the hottest, and brightest day of the year and you can see how scorched the ground had become over those few weeks in the early summer.

The girls got ready in the  gorgeous bridal suite in a cottage in the grounds of the Hall

Although some of the local residents are voyeurs!

Virginia looked so beautiful – she reminded me of a European princess you’d see in Hello magazine

Virginia and Oli were married at Wickhambrooke Church, over the border in Cambridgeshire

Viginia’s father gave his speech in English, Spanish, French and Flemish, which was rather impressive!

After the meal as the day cooled a little, people took the opportunity to explore the grounds

Virginia and Oli’s first dance

The couple had asked me to become their wedding photographer as they wanted to feel relaxed on the day. The documentary style is just right for allowing the day to progress without direction from the photographer.

Here is a small selection from the day:

The bridal preparations took place in one of the suites at Maison Talbooth. Here the mother of the bride and mother of the groom share their excitement.

Beautiful hair and make up by Gail Gardner

The girls were actually getting changed in a different room, so with Eric already at the hotel it was a quick dash upstairs with lookouts posted at every turn!

It was a glorious day for the short walk down to the pool house where champagne was served and where the speeches took place.

Although most of the day was covered in reportage style, I always suggest that we spend some time taking informal portraits of the bride and groom. Rather than it feeling like a disruption to the day, most couples enjoy having a little time away from the throng.

After some delicious food served out on the lawn, it was time for the dancing to begin. I love this shot of Cherie and her dad.

And of course the bride and groom’s first dance.

Links:

Maison Talbooth

Gail Gardner

It was a glorious spring day, just right for a wedding.

It was the car’s first wedding of the season and it had been a little reluctant to come out of the garage, but fortunately it decided to play ball and Rachel was able to arrive in her dream car.

The dress

Bridal preparations at home

I think the word is ‘resplendent!’

Bridal portrait before the ceremony

The lighting conditions inside the barn are pretty tricky but using available light rather than flash has kept the images very natural and was much less intrusive

The muted autumnal colours made a lovely backdrop

After the ceremony Lisa and Alasdair went for a short drive

And came back ready for the party!

I love moments like this

This little lad was great. I asked him if he’d like to stand where I was to take a group shot and he said “No thanks, I’m fine here.”

I don’t like the ‘formals’ to be too formal. I think they mean more when there is a bit of life to them, even if they don’t look like the traditional line ups

Lisa’s gorgeous daughters – fabulous bridesmaids!

A bit of bridal tickling

The bouquet posing for its own photo

This one breaks just about every rule, but I like it

Beautiful mother of the groom

The ushers. No not really, just a bunch of characters hanging around outside