Farm Wedding Photography
Some of my favourite emails to receive are from couples looking for a farm wedding photographer. Whether that’s young farmers getting married and throwing a huge party for all their hard-working friends, or couple’s planning their farm wedding whilst also taking care of their families and making sure they can plan around their farming calendar.
Farm wedding photography usually involves lovely scenery, places that are really special to everyone involved and the loveliest people on the planet. Working hard all year round means a party is definitely well deserved, and a big event in everyone’s calendar!
Sarah and Ben’s family farm wedding
Sarah and Ben asked me to join them as their Little Green Farm wedding photographer, just outside Whitchurch in Shropshire. They’d planned a marquee wedding on Sarah’s parents’ farm and the whole family were chipping in to get things ready. The marquee had been provided by Coverall Tarpaulins and decorations were being organised by Ben’s Mum and Auntie. With around 180 guests for the day and an extra 50 more in the evening, this was going to be a BIG celebration.
As soon as I arrived, I took some scene setting photos of the location, with the farmhouse, outbuildings and marquee all set up and ready for the day – there were even some oil drum flower pots which had clearly dressed up for the occasion! The place was looking brilliant already, and such a lot of love had gone into making everything just right.
Sarah was busy getting ready in her parents’ farmhouse, with make-up and hair being perfected as they all chatted and laughed together. There was even time for a few quick cuddles with their cute little dog – who seemed to be enjoying all the fuss.
The bouquets were laid out in vases in the kitchen, the flowers had been chosen to match the theme with a mixture of pink, orange, coral and white, a really cheery colour scheme that was ideal for their fun and relaxed family farm wedding.
There was still lots of activity going on around the farm, with finishing touches being added to the decorations in the marquee, and a big decorated picture frame being hung in the field for selfies later in the day! All of the stationery had been put together by Sarah’s sister, Rachel – she’d done an amazing job!
Church wedding near Iscoyd Park
While the girls finished getting ready, and the dog had a few more sneaky treats, people started to head off to the church. The ceremony was a short drive away, at St Mary’s Church, Whitewell in Whitchurch. Quite a lot of people get married at St Mary’s Church before having their wedding reception at Iscoyd Park, which isn’t too far away either, so I also work as an Iscoyd Park wedding photographer – I love getting to join such a wide variety of wedding celebrations, they are always so different!
The church had been decorated with floral displays from Little Green Flowers, Broningtonin the same cheery bright colours, and there were huge baskets of confetti ready and waiting too. As the guests started arriving, Ben and his groomsmen were enjoying greeting everyone, dressed in their suits from Peter Posh in Shrewsbury. I really enjoy capturing these relaxed moments in my signature style of documentary wedding photography, it’s a chance to get amongst people chatting and hugging, to capture those little moments of emotion and laughter.
Everyone continued smiling, even when the rain started and umbrellas went up, a little bit of rain wasn’t going to bother this lot! Sarah arrived in a traditional vintage car, wearing her incredible dress from Along Came Eve Bridal Boutique. Her bridesmaids were waiting for her under clear umbrellas in elegant dark green dresses from Rewritten and Forever New. Sarah’s Dad had a white umbrella to shield her from the rain, before they walked arm in arm towards Ben waiting at the altar with a big smile on his face!
The vicar at St Mary’s Church is brilliant, and she let me move freely around the church to capture all the important moments of the ceremony. I was also working alongside two videographers from Harry Fisher Films, who were super professional and great fun to work with. There were so many smiles from everyone throughout the whole ceremony, it was lovely to see and capture for Sarah and Ben to look back on.
After their ceremony, the guests lined up outside to shower Sarah and Ben with confetti, in one of the longest confetti lines I have seen for a while, it lasted for ages! I captured a few quick group portraits before the guests started to head back to the farm. I spent some time with Sarah and Ben to get some lovely portraits of them as newlyweds under the trees and next to the crisp white walls of the church.
Farm wedding photography
Back at their family farm wedding reception, Sarah and Ben arrived in style in their vintage wedding car as their guests were enjoying drinks on the lawn in front of the farm house. The sun had come out so the roof was down, which is always handy for arrival photos! The car was positioned on the driveway ready for me to capture a big group photo of everyone – I’d have the best view possible as I was going to be lifted up on a cherry picker!
Including Sarah’s family home in the background of the group shots was really important to her. Farm wedding photography often means capturing places that are very special to the couple, and this was no different. Having their wedding on the farm meant all their favourite people were gathered in a place that had a huge role in Sarah’s upbringing – it was quite emotional actually!
Around the side of the house, the marquee was ready for everyone to come and sit down for Sarah and Ben’s wedding breakfast. They were announced in as husband and wife, and then we enjoyed some heart-warming (and funny) speeches before everyone tucked into some delicious food from Harvey’s Farmhouse Catering in Tarporley. One particular highlight of the speeches was the groom presenting his bride with an England Rugby top… she supports Wales!
Farm wedding photos
After Sarah and Ben cut their cake (of course decorated with more huge coral, pink and orange blooms), we wandered outside to enjoy the light of golden hour. It was an ideal time to sneak away with the couple for some portraits as the sun began to set. Again, capturing the views in their farm wedding photos was really important to the couple, so I made sure we got some nice silhouettes of the trees and hedges in the background.
Then it was time for their first dance, their awesome band The Hot Jazz Biscuits had set up in the marquee and Sarah and Ben wowed everyone with some skilful moves across the dancefloor. Fuelled by drinks from Jay’s Bars, everyone piled in to join them, and that started a pretty epic evening of dancing, partying and having a really brilliant time! There was even an impromptu break-dancing competition, with some moves being slightly more successful than others, but all being equally entertaining!
A huge congratulations to Sarah and Ben, I had a great time photographing your day, and your family and friends made me feel like I was one of them! You certainly know how to put on an excellent party!
Looking for a farm wedding photographer?
If you are looking for a farm wedding photographer, I would love to join you. Please do get in touch to check my availability. You can also check out some more of my work at some of my favourite featured wedding venues, and other farm weddings using the links below.
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