Back at the start of 2020, which feels like an age ago now, I ran a competition for one lucky couple to win their wedding photography.
Ida and Hugo were the winners of that competition and yesterday was the big day!
They were married at St Clare’s Church in Framlingham, Suffolk.
It’s a lovely little church, just a few minutes from Framlingham Castle (which will become relevant later).
Ida arrived to the admiring glances of her flower girls Ilithyia and Gaia (who did an excellent job, by the way) while the rest of the guests and the groom were all waiting inside the church.
Ida made her grand entrance and Hugo got to see his bride in her dress for the first time.
Although he was later allowed to remove his mask, even here - with it on - you can see how incredibly proud he was to see Ida walking toward him - it’s all in the eyes!
The ceremony was really nice and although the number of guests was limited, it was live streamed for all of their friends and family that couldn’t be there in person.
Ceremony complete, register signed - time for a celebratory high five!
After the ceremony we headed the short distance to Framlingham Castle. Hugo was a few minutes behind as he had to pack away the live streaming gear but that didn’t stop Ida excitedly strolling into the castle grounds like a boss!
Hugo caught up in no time though, and the two of them looked great hanging around the castle grounds - and the weather really did it’s bit for them. What. A. Day!
You won’t know it from the pictures, but there was actually quite a few people milling around and enjoying the sunshine. We lost count of the number of times ‘CONGRATUALTIONS’ was yelled to them!
It was almost time to leave the castle grounds but there was still time for a little dance on the bridge.
Hugo grew up around the Framlingham area and knows the place extremely well, so he knows all the best spots and all the right people - so we still had a few more stops to go…
There was the rustic red brick barn, which I loved!
This incredible rope swing which I also loved. We did get lots of romantic pictures of Hugo pushing Ida on this swing, but I thought for the purpose of this little sneak peek, this picture was too good to not be the one! 😂
Oh, and I wasn’t the only one who thought these two playing on the swing was fun - this little guy was intrigued too!
Just a quick note - if a dog makes an appearance at your wedding in any way whatsoever, even if just for a brief moment, I will become best friends with that dog!
Before I knew it, it was time for me to leave these two to it, but not before utilising golden hour for one last shot.
That’s all for this little sneak peek, folks. I’ll add one or two more pictures from this wedding to the Facebook and Instagram pages as I edit them, so feel free to follow along over there.
A huge thanks to Ida and Hugo for being so amazing - you guys are great!
Big congratulations to you both 🥂
If you were one of the many people watching the live stream, my sincere apologies if my big bald head blocked your view at any point! I tried my best to stay out of your way, I promise!
Well what can I say about Debi and Chris, except what an amazing couple!
Like so many other couples this past year, just getting to a point where they could actually get married has been a crazy, crazy journey!
They’ve had to postpone, then they were tricked by an inaccurate government press release only to have their hearts broken the day after when the rules were amended and like everyone else, they had the fun and excitement sucked out of wedding planning.
In the end they decided to postpone their big celebration until 2023 but to go ahead with a small ceremony this year as soon as they were allowed.
Yesterday was the day - these two wonderful humans finally got to marry one another!
They got married at the beautiful Brookfield Barn in Horsham. It was my first time working at Brookfield Barn and I loved every minute of it. It’s a lovely venue to photograph. Because of the current rules the main barn area was closed, so there is still plenty more for me to explore next time I’m there - can’t wait!
Being a small ceremony (a prelude to a big celebration still to come), Debi and Chris decided to do things their own way and so they actually arrived together - and in some style!
They also decided to walk each other down the aisle - which I thought was just wonderful.
Luckily the weather was really good and so a socially distanced ceremony could be done outside without the need for masks. It may have only been in front of a small number of people but it was no less lovely for it.
Over this last year I have had the pleasure of photographing a handful of weddings restricted to a small number of guests and one thing that they all have in common is that when the couple have their first kiss as a married couple, the guests whoop and cheer loud enough for twice their number.
Yesterday was no exception and their guests did Debi and Chris proud!
A fun little fact that some of you may not know is that due to data protection rules, I’m not allowed to photograph the couple signing the wedding register. The way we get around this is that after the official signing is done, the couple have a dummy register placed in front of them and they kind of ‘fake’ sign it.
Of all the many weddings I have photographed, and all the many couples that I’ve seen do this, Chris was by far the most excited person I’ve known to do a pretend signing. I really love this picture - what a grin!
It wasn’t just the signing though, these two were excited and happy all afternoon and honestly, it was a joy to capture the day for such a fun, happy couple.
Soon enough - and to more whooping and cheering from their guests - it was time to walk back up the aisle, this time as husband and wife and to sneak off for a cheeky glass of bubbly!
One of the many things that any photographer at Brookfield Barn will surely always spot is this pretty amazing rope swing!
Debi and Chris were well up for cuddling up and having a little go on the swing, and it was great fun and made for some gorgeous pictures.
Everything was good until….
We realised we got dust all over the bum of Chris’s new trousers! 😬😬😬
Thankfully they weren’t ruined.
We continued our nice little stroll around the grounds of the barn and anyone who knows me won’t be remotely surprised to learn that I was super keen to make use of the lake (loooove those reflection shots!)
It was a beautiful afternoon for a beautiful couple and it was so lovely to finally get to capture these two getting married.
I’m already looking forward to 2023 when Debi and Chris will be back at Brookfield Barn with significantly more guests for a big ol’ party!
Debi and Chris booked a highlight video with their package too
That’s all for this little sneak peek, folks. I’ll add one or two more pictures from this wedding to the Facebook and Instagram pages as I edit them, so feel free to follow along over there.
Massive thanks to Sophie and the team at Brookfield Barn for taking such good care of me - you guys are great!
And a huge thank you to Debi and Chris for choosing me to capture your big day and for being so much fun yesterday!
David
We all know weddings at the moment aren’t quite what we’d like. You need to be willing to change your plans, cut your guest list and make compromise after compromise to get married in 2020.
I can tell you though, each of the weddings I have had the pleasure to capture in this year of uncertainty, have been absolutely magical and full of love.
Yesterday was the turn of Shannon and Sam and it was another incredibly special day. They were married in front of just a handful of their very closest friends and family at the Tudor Barn in Eltham and it was beautiful.
All these two cared about was getting married to each other and nothing was going to stop them.
Below are just a few pictures from their big day.
Shannon and Sam chose to add a highlight video to their package too. Feel free to contact me if you want to know more information about highlight videos.
That’s it for this little sneak peek, folks. However I will post one or two more over on the Instagram and Facebook pages as I edit them, so feel free to follow along over there.
Shannon and Sam will have all of their pictures and their video in a few weeks though, so they’ll have plenty more to share with you soon!
Big thanks to Shannon and Sam for having me at their big day and to all at the Tudor Barn for taking good care of me and for working so hard to make sure this day could ahead.
A special mention for Tammy too, for being a great organiser and the best dress floofer in all the land!
