An Italian themed wedding at Shotesham Park

Charlotte and Tom got married at Shotesham Park, Norwich in July 2025

I met Charlotte and Tom in 2023, when I photographed Tom's sister's wedding.

We hit it off immediately and at that time they were not even engaged. I was so happy when they announced their engagement and even happier when they asked me to be their wedding photographer.

In the beginning they had a very loose vision of an Italian theme which matched the venue perfectly.

Charlotte told me "there will be lemons for decor" but they needed someone to bring it all to life,

so I recommended Penny from Synched Events.

Penny is a recommended supplier on my website and I knew she would be a great fit for them.

The ceremony area was corner facing in the courtyard and dressed with an array of Italian style clay pots and pink and peach florals by Romeo and Succulent.

As it was very hot weather, a parasol covered the registrar signing table and they couple provided a basket of small parasols for their guests.

Morning preperations

Charlotte got ready at Shotesham Park in their prep space.

It was a very chilled morning with grazing boxes from Cate The Accidental Baker.

Charlotte was with her mum, sister and best friend Emily - who was also going to be singing as Charlotte walked down the aisle.

Her glam squad was Sophie Bassi Hair and Make Up by Grace Louise.

Ceremony

Charlotte was given away by her dad.

Her best friend Emily sang a cover of All My Love by Coldplay and Serena Grant Singer played guitar.

Their two nieces were bridesmaids and Tilly did the most perfect job of walking down the aisle before Charlotte and greeting her uncle Tom at the top before taking her seat and later holding Charlotte's bouquet.

Confetti

Charlotte and Tom needed petal confetti to use at this venue, so I recommended the Flutter Fall collection from

Dollz Confetti. It is a great option if your venue does not allow paper confetti [even if it is biodegradable].

The Flutter Fall floats like paper and is lightweight and comes in a range of colours.

Charlotte and Tom opted for cream petals.

Their guests lined the pathway down the steps into the gardens.

This was perfect with the venue in the background.

Drinks and canapes

Their guests enjoyed music from Serena Grant during a drinks reception while we did family group shots in the courtyard.

They booked Owen Mathers - a live wedding portrait painter for a couple of hours and he was set up in a nice shaded area. Guests loved him and he was kept very busy.

As it was very hot [over 30 degrees for most of the day] Charlotte and Tom had shaded seating areas set up with cushions, picnic blankets, wicker chairs and parasols. These little areas are crucial if you want your couples to be comfortable outside on a hot day.

decor

Charlotte and Tom worked closely with Penny from Synched Events to bring their vision of their decor to life.

Tables dressed in oatmeal linen, which is much softer than white, with dusky pink napkins. Stem vases of flowers resting on slate and finished with lemons, oranges and grapefruit. All paired with the lemon shaped name places supplied by

I Like Pen Studio and hand written in pink by Penny.

Couples portraits

We kept portraits very relaxed with light movement and lots of natural laughter. We took off for just 10 minutes before being seated for dinner. We used the gardens and pathway leading to front of the venue which was nicely shaded that time of the afternoon. Finishing with an iconic dipped kiss on the step - a must for the venue in my opinion.

Speeches

Speeches were before dinner. This is always a good option if you have someone who is nervous about doing their speech. They will enjoy their food a lot more once the public speaking part is out of the way.

Charlotte and Tom danced their way into the reception to Jump [for my love] by pointer sisters, with the best energy. They are big Strictly Come Dancing fans, so her dad started his speech off with a Strictly style voting from some of their guests.

10's across the board!

private cake cut and Aperol tower

Although Charlotte and Tom wanted a wedding cake, they did not want the attention and traditional countdown to cut it.

It was sat on white pillars in a secluded corner and they sloped off to cut it privately with just myself and the videographer.

Cake was made by Jessie at The Baking Co.

They then headed outside to their Aperol Spritz tower which was absolutely gorgeous. Once filled they shared their fave cocktail with their guests

evening entertainment

included a casino table, beer pong, connect four and giant Jenga.

Casino was provided by Four Aces Casino.

Sunset

We sneaked off for another 10 minutes for some sunset portraits in the corn field beside the venue.

The golden, evening light was beautiful and we just took some time out to do some fun lifts and laugh a little more.

DANCING

After sunset portraits we headed back in for Charlotte and Tom's first dance.

They twirled and spun under their Strictly style disco ball to the amazing 10 piece band Move Your Brass who kept the dance floor packed all night.

Evening

Everyone tucked into the delicious evening food, pulled pork sliders, mini fish and chips and a S'mores table.

I got as many photos as I could have of everyone in their heart glasses before I packed up for the evening and headed home with a very full and happy heart.