Drive 2 hours northwest, leaving London behind you, and you will find the most beautiful pocket of England.
Undulating green and yellow hills, winding tree-lined roads, grazing cattle, and the smoke of distant chimney tops dotting the horizon…
…this part of the Cotswolds is a film set…
Except that it’s not, it’s an actual place. It is the stuff your country dreams are made of and it’s where Sally and Macca hosted their incredible wedding.
Sally is from the surrounding area so it was a place close to her heart, and close to London as well, which made many a quick weekending guest happy.
This was a special day to document for me because they are my friends. I can only thank them for making my job easier by creating an utterly photogenic event!
No detail was overlooked on this day. If you’ve seen it somewhere across the pages of “Dream Rustic Weddings Magazine” (if that’s a thing) then I can assure you it was there that day, and it was better.
A 12th century barn, a vintage bicycle with floral basket, antique watering cans full of flowers, wooden wagons carrying iced beverages, haystacks for seating, woollen blankets, baby’s breath, lanterns, fairy lights, candlestick chandeliers like something out of a medieval wedding, burlap detailing, recycled paper menus, linen table settings, monogrammed soap favours, tea light lined pathways, mason jars and bluegrass tunes in the background (by the amazing Wire & Wool). I swear I’ve been there in a dream before but Mumford and Sons were there too and we were filming their next music video.
To top it off, Europe’s second highest fountain was on the grounds. (!) I mean, they were almost making it too easy on me.
Walking the grounds around the barn was like walking around a bit of English history and the buildings were worn with age but clearly in their glorious heyday.
The heavy rains of the morning had turned to bright sunshine upon arrival at the barn and the late afternoon light was glistening on the arches, the doorways, and the golden Cotswold stone.
If you’d gone back 100 years to this wedding the only way you’d know it was a modern affair would be the clothing, mobile phones, and the projector screen used during the best man’s speech. Oh and perhaps the illuminated decorative letters ‘S & A’ perched just beside the dance floor. Genius. But that’s it, everything else was of a different time. With the men all handsome in their kilts and Sally looking absolutely stop-you-in-your tracks stunning, the stage was set.
For as aesthetically pleasing as it all was though, the details didn’t even come close to overshadowing what was the genuine love, happiness and joy in the atmosphere. Anyone that knows Sally and Macca knows how down to earth they are, and absolutely perfect for one another. Their personalities set the tone for the day and their love for each other and elation at being married was highly contagious. It was joyful. All of these feelings and emotions were even more visible than the trimmings that so gloriously intertwined themselves into the celebrations. The trimmings were the background music, and what sweet background music it was, but Sally and Macca’s happiness was the unmistakeable main event.
Congratulations to you both!!
Lots and lots of love,
xxx
