A weekend of wild swimming, bbqs, coffee vans, heartfelt speeches and cat masks on the dancefloor for Tristan & Emma.
Emma and Tristan were determined to make their wedding weekend their own. From shipping in their favourite caterers from France to tearing up the dancefloor with full choreography complete with masks the whole weekend was one wild ride.
It had the perfect ratio of tears to belly laughs with a whole team lake swim thrown in to the mix. For the outdoorsy couple it was perfect and it was such a magical occasion to capture.
Owlpen Manor in the Cotswolds was the backdrop, chosen for it's spirituality and inspiration that it provided Emma when she attended a writing retreat a few years ago.
I joined Emma, Tristan and their favourite humans on Friday afternoon when the venue was a hive of communal food prep, lighting bbqs and preparing for the start of the celebrations.
Through all weathers everyone partied around the bbqs, eating, drinking and being merry before everything kicked off on the Saturday for the main event.
Saturday started off with a visit from a pastry laden coffee van and a jump in the lake!
Emma and Tristan knew to fuel up their guests properly and had organised Coffee and Bee to keep everyone filled up with caffeine and pastry before heading down to the open water swimming lake at Owlpen. The bravest got dressed in swimming attire and leapt into the cold water ready for the most bracing of starts to the day. I was there to capture it all in photo and video (but from the safety of a rowing boat. I'm not much of a cold water human...).
We then launched into full glam prep before all the guests made it to the ceremony in the cosy Cyder Barn a 15th century barn with the majestic cider press adding character to the room. Emma and Tristan had their ceremony conducted by a friend who had written a beautifully personal script about the couple.
After vows had been exchanged there wasn't a dry eye in the house and following the ceremonial first kiss everyone headed outside (whilst there was a break in the rain) to shower the couple with hand dried confetti that Emma had painstakingly created herself.
Drinks were then served in the historic formal gardens with family group photos in front of the dramatic landscape with the manor house in the background as the sun shone. We then hid from the rain just before dinner was served. A typical English late-summer evening.
The food was a wonderful theatrical creation from truffle pasta mixed in a giant cheese wheel in front of the guests, to perfectly cooked steak meals.
The speeches (always my favourite part of the day) took place over dinner in the Pole Barn - a beautifully modern space that is perfectly sympathetic to the vintage buildings on the Owlpen site. One of the highlights of Emma and Tristan's wedding was the best men's speech. They had secretly collected videos whilst on a holiday with many of the couple's friends (including videos of the bride!) and created a documentary all about the groom. Charming, funny and wonderfully personal, the reactions of the guests were perfect and a good time was had by all.
After all the food, the heartfelt speeches and a post dinner cocktail it was time for dancing! Out came the choreography (I got a sneak peek during a blue hour couples picture session) the cat masks and the shots as there was dancing late in to the night.
Emma and Tristan booked a bespoke Hybrid package where I shot both a full photo gallery and highlight film for them as a solo shooter across their Friday bbq & their Saturday wedding day. I actually stayed in one of the cottages with some of their friends so I was on site and didn't miss anything all weekend. It was a great set up to really capture the feeling of the whole weekend.
If you don't want to miss a thing have a chat to me about covering your whole wedding weekend/multiple celebrations! I love to capture weddings this way and truly be like an old friend. People open up to the camera much easily this way!
