Jess and Will’s Suffolk marquee wedding wins the prize for being held at the most stunning wedding venue that isn’t actually a wedding venue at all. Will’s family home, named the Moat House, is a 16th Century farm house surrounded by a moat (you probably guessed that). It is simply stunning and it came as no surprise that I wasn’t the first to suggest to them that it would make a knock out wedding venue (as it did for Jess and Will). In fact the family home actually sits alongside the fully working family farm which Will is the current generation of farmer to work. It also helped that the weather was stunning the whole day and from the perfect hill top location of the marquee we were treated to possibly the most beautiful sunset I have seen in Suffolk; I couldn’t believe my luck that it happened on a wedding day that I was lucky enough to be shooting.
Jess spent the night before the wedding and the morning of the wedding in the Crown Hotel in Framlingham, so on a busy market day Saturday morning I headed there to meet her, her father and mother and her bridesmaids. Will was getting ready at home (and why not, it’s indescribably beautiful). Accompanying me as my second shooter on this wedding adventure was Lucy Lloyd. Lucy and I have worked together regularly for a couple of years now and she brings me a lot of comfort knowing I am sending someone with an excellent eye for a photo to cover the groom prep and to be ever present in places I am not. Lucy always does an excellent job but on this occasion she raised the bar and absolutely smashed it! If you’re getting married Ely/Cambridge way be sure to check out Lucy Lloyd Photography (assuming you’ve spoken to me first and I am already booked!)
You’ll notice this wedding contains smoke bombs! Now when I first hear smoke bombs I envisage a level of posing and shot manipulation that doesn’t really go along with my ethos of natural documentary photography. However, when every adult guest has a smoke bomb as a party favour and the groom tells me really he just thinks they’re cool and wants to have fun messing about with smoke bombs, I say sure, sounds like great fun! (after complying with all health and safety regulations of course, if you happen to be from the health and safety executive).
Check it out below and as always be sure to get in touch if you are planning a wedding and in need of a photographer!
All images copyright of Suffolk Wedding Photographer Hillier James.
