Steph and Marc got married in August 2022 and pretty much from her first enquiry I knew this was going to be a great wedding. When she said "any ideas you want to try out just let us know - we are up for anything" - I knew I had hit the jackpot. It's just a photographers dream to be given total trust and almost a free reign.
Steph is super organised, so I knew she would be great at wedding planning. We had so much contact in the planning and build up to her wedding, which was great as I felt such a big part of the lead up and we joked that I knew more about the day than Marc did!
So lets dive in!
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"We looked at every venue in the area online but we only visited two, one of which was Barnham Broom. Marc wanted a hotel so that everyone could stay over. We didn't want a venue with lots of private areas. It was important to Marc that everyone was in the same area so we could easily mingle. I wanted an exclusive outdoor area with direct access to the indoor area. Barnham Broom gave us all of this for the best price. We also wanted to stay over the night before without having to hire the whole venue and Barnham were so helpful and accommodating with the kids"
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I stayed over the night before so I was with Steph, her bridesmaids and mum nice and early about 09:30.
The nerves were kicking in as I appeared so Steph's hair and makeup schedule went a little AWOL and she switched places with the maid of honour so we could have a walk around the hotel and take a breather. So I would definitely recommend allowing time for this when planning your morning itinerary as you just don't know how the nerves and emotions will affect you.
Steph bought her dress from Victoria Rose Bridal, which is a designer wedding dress outlet and is based in Norfolk.
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Marc was probably one of the most chilled grooms I had seen all year. He was just cool, calm and collected and got ready with his best man - also called Mark. They had a couple of Whiskeys, which I am sure calmed the nerves. The Whiskey and personalised glasses were a gift from Steph which she had delivered to their room that morning.
Groom prep photos taken by Chloe Gelsthorpe.
Getting kids ready always takes more time than you think so allow plenty of time for this. It was all hands on deck and Steph's hairdresser stayed and helped get them ready which was super helpful to have an extra pair of hands.
Steph's to daughters dresses were customised to get exactly what she wanted.
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"I bought the plain white versions of the girls dresses from Shein and my mother in law bought fabric that matched the adult dresses and replaced the white skirts. We then added ribbon to the waist bands. I couldn't find the exact colour match in the children's dresses and I wasn't going to compromise on the colour so it had to be done this way. They didn't come in the correct sizes either so they had to be altered to fit all three little ones. I ordered them all really early in case my gamble on cheap fashion didn't work out.
The adult dresses were from Ever Pretty and again my mother in law made some adjustments. She added some liner under the top half as they were a bit revealing".
First look
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One of the things I was most excited about on Steph and Marc's day was that they wanted to do a first look. I had seen these done but never shot one myself. The entrance to the hotel was long and tree lined so they decided it was best done there. The wedding coordinator and toastmaster were really helpful as they took Marc out and got him in position. I left Steph with my second shooter Chloe and went to wait with Marc so I could get the arrival.
This was a really emotional part of the day not only for Steph and Marc but also for myself and Chloe who were capturing it. The first look definitely helped dispel the walking down the aisle nerves as they had already seen each other.
Outdoor ceremony
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Steph and Marc opted for an outdoor, ceremony and as it was a glorious August day, this couldn't have been better. This venue had an indoor ceremony option for if the weather turned but luckily it stayed dry and warm so wasn't needed.
It was an unplugged ceremony, so the registrar reminded everyone not to take photos or have their phones out. They also had a lovely sign made and displayed at the top of the aisle to remind guests of this.
The children walked down the aisle first and Steph told them to walk down to Marc to collect their sweets. On their seats were a bag of treats so they sat happily through the whole ceremony.
Steph's mum walked her down the aisle, who also carried Steph and Marc's youngest daughter.
Their loved ones did readings and this added a lovely personal touch to their ceremony.
Confetti
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Steph had dried petal confetti. They filled paper cones and the girls decorated the cones and they filled tin buckets with the cones. Really simple but effective.
Group shots
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Steph and Marc were adamant they wanted to spend time right after the ceremony mingling and chatting to their guests so they kept group shots small with about 8-10 sets. We did a mixture of traditional and fun.
Decor and details
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They had photos of them all over their venue and as table centre pieces.
Wooden plaque on their top table.
Vases of flowers and greenery on table centres along with candles.
Chocolate fountain
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The chocolate fountain table was a work of art. The bridesmaids all lent a hand and set it up. And yes I "carried a watermelon" and did my best Baby from Dirty Dancing impression.
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"We decided to buy a small chocolate fountain as it was loads cheaper than hiring a company to do it for us. We bought the fountain from Amazon for £35 and I bought all the fruit from a local market stall who kindly did me a deal when I said it was for my wedding. All the stands and trays I bought, as I knew we would get use out of them again at home. Some of the boards and jars were from home that we already owned. The wooden box that we sat the fountain on is now our wedding keepsake box so everything is being reused now. We asked a few family and friends to set it all up so it wasn't something for us to worry about. They knew roughly how we wanted it to look and it didn't take long. The venue were happy to melt the chocolate and fill the fountain for us.".
Chocolate fountain table of dreams!!
With every fruit known to man!
Shortbread and cookies too!
Don't forget the meringues!
Kids entertainment
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Steph wanted the kids to be entertained on the day as it was important for them to have the children at their wedding. And when the kids are entertained their parents could relax and better enjoy the day.
The venue garden area where the reception was held was secure with fencing and gates so felt really safe.
Some of the games were bought and others were made.
"Hook a duck we bought the ducks and poles and borrowed the tin bath from my grandparents. Tin can alley I bought the cheapest pre made set I could find and decorated it. I wanted to make sure there were no sharp bits on them. The ring toss we bought and just painted it.
We bought Jenga and Connect Four. The colouring area was just giant card board boxes flattened with crayons laid out".
On the tables at each child's seat was an activity pack. Puzzles, colouring books and pencils. This kept the kids happy during speeches which is normally a time kids get bored.
Speeches
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It was a lovely change to see a bride making a speech and when she started off "of course I am going to have MY say" I knew it was going to be good!
Family photos with the kids
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Obviously on the wedding day, all dressed in your finery is the perfect opportunity for some family photos. Steph in particular was really relaxed about these. We tried to get some earlier in the day but neither little one was in the mood for photos.
Steph Said "I don't care about us all looking at the camera - I am happy for us to just be sat in the grass playing"
so that's exactly what we did. We set off for 20 minutes after the meal found a nice quiet spot in the long grass and they sat and played with their babies. Having a pretend picnic and tickling daddy. I think we got the best wedding family photos I have ever taken.
Wedding photos do not have to be formal.
It's better to have photos of your kids laughing and having fun.
Than formal photos of them looking awkward and unhappy.
Playing peekaboo under mummy's veil was a hit!
And good old fashioned walking for the win.
Couples portraits
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When Steph said we'll do anything for good photos it was music to my ears. We took a golf buggy out across the golfing grounds for photos. This was a perfect opportunity for Steph and Marc to have a quiet chat on their own and take in the fact they were finally married. We had to look out for flying golf balls but luckily no-one got a bump to the head.
I asked Steph and Marc
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Is there anything you would have changed about your day or any regrets or anything your would have done differently?
"There isn't much we would change. When planning I was really organised with times and the itinerary of the day but as the day went on I just let that go and it was the best thing we did. Going off in the afternoon and just playing with the girls and being alone just the 4 of us. This was when I forgot about the time and just chilled out. We were a bit late back to the reception, but we didn't care as we had great couples and family photos, so it was worth it.
I wish I'd had a designated friend or family member to record behind the scenes clips all day. Not a videographer making a professional video but just one guest to record clips all day.
Other than that we wouldn't change anything".
Thanks for reading all about Steph and Marc's day. I hope it helped give you some ideas for your day.
