When Martha, who hails from America, and her British fiancee Luke told me they were getting married at Weald Country Park in Brentwood Essex, I thought great, sounds like a lovely place for a wedding. And it was that and more. When Martha told me they were having an outdoor wedding, again I thought fantastic, I love an outdoor wedding. When I arrived on the day and realised that not only was it an outdoor ceremony, but also an outdoor reception and outdoor wedding breakfast followed by, you guessed it an outdoor evening reception. With no provision for wet weather, I applauded the couple’s bravery and determination to stick to their vision of their perfect alfresco wedding, and then promptly crossed all fingers and toes for as long as I could to pray the British weather decided to have a Mediterranean day and stay warm and dry. At 1pm when I arrived…it was raining. Angela from Angela Reed events, who’d done an amazing job helping the couple realise their vision, was pretty much alone on site trying her best to cover everything she could cover to keep dry while the wet weather passed over. And, at 4pm when the ceremony commenced, the young happy couple’s faith in our British weather was repaid and from that point on the evening was blessed with warm June sun, a spectacular sunset and an atmosphere you could only get from being completely immersed in the outdoors, without an ‘indoors’ in sight.
Before we headed to the park I went to see Martha at her home in Brentwood, which with many relatives and friends over from the states, was a bustling hive of activity. Luke was joined by my friend and colleague and all round bloody nice guy Winston Sanders. Winston is a fan favourite of pretty much anyone who meets him, me included, so I always know that the guys will kick back and relax in front of him and it was no different on this occasion. Martha and her bridesmaids made the short journey to the park in a classic VW Camper, befitting of the hippy outdoor vibe of the wedding. From then on it was a wonderfully chilled out day and an absolute joy to shoot.
As always here are some highlights from the day…(honestly I’d love to show the whole wedding but that’s a shed load of pics for one post…maybe another time). If you are getting married and would like some more info about the packages I offer be sure to get in touch. It’s never too early to secure your date; I’ve been booked more than 2 years in advance on occasion!
All images copyright of Suffolk Wedding Photographer Hillier James
