After all these years of shooting weddings I’m pretty sure up there as my favourite type are those weddings which take place at home. Where couples can really feel comfortable in surroundings that have a special place in their heart. Sure there is probably a lot of extra work and stress with hosting a wedding at home. But the weddings at home I’ve photographed in the past few years have always been extra special. Freya & Rhys’s wedding took place in the Cambridgeshire village of Great Wilbraham. I met up with them both a couple of weeks before the wedding to take a few photos and get my bearings of where everything would be taking place. Following the church ceremony the rest of the day would take place in Freya’s parents garden and a marquee set up in the paddock just beyond the garden. A real advantage of having the wedding at home was that their dogs would also be there. They absolutely lapped up the attention they received from the wedding guests. Had the wedding been anywhere else they simply wouldn’t have been able to be involved.
Anyway, enough from me. I’ve selected a few of my favourite photos from the day below.
How did you meet and when did you get engaged? We met in our last term at university in a nightclub which is now a church! Rhys proposed in December 2020. “He proposed to my sister on that rug in our spare room?!” as my brother puts it. My mum wouldn’t leave the room so it wasn’t by the Christmas tree as apparently was planned.
What made you chose the location / venue? There’s no place like home! We were very lucky that my parents have a field at the end of their garden and my dad’s garden is essentially his third and favourite child. I’ve lived in the village almost all my life; hosting our wedding at home was hard work (my parents deserve sainthoods) but it made the day and the photos all the more special.
What made you chose your outfits? What did you love about them? I fell in love with my dress when I first saw a photo of it. Rhys had some say in the groomsmen attire but I went to the hireshop to make sure that his suit and my dress would ‘work well’ together. The theme of the whole day was traditional country garden party wedding so we went for quite traditional and elegant options that weren’t too stuffy.
What made you chose your flowers / florist? We found Jackie of Mill Blossom Flowers who was local, enthusiatic and cares about growing her own flowers. She did the bouquets, buttonholes and the hanging installation in the marquee. I had originally planned to do these myself but I was (wisely) talked out of it by my mother and bridesmaids! To save money we bought the flowers for the church from a wholesaler and our bridemaids beautifully arranged them into jam jar pew ends and big vases. The centrepieces on tables were a mixture of interesting herbs potted by me, Rhys and my Mum two days before the wedding. We bought the pots second hand and now have the herbs in our garden. It was really imporatnt to be that all our décor was second hand, upcycled and could be re-used by someone else. We avoided buying anything brand new or disposable.
Tell me about the ceremony. The ceremony was magical and our favourite part. I convinced Rhys we should learn the Church of England marriage vows off by heart so we could both say them without prompting, which was a special moment. Our readings were All I Know About Love by Neil Gaiman and COLOSSIANS Chapter 3. Verses 12-16 which I tweaked a bit.
Do you have any comments about the photography? What was it like working with me? We are just so thrilled with our photography. Working with Aaron was a dream for start to finish. Perfect communication and organisation before, during and after. He’s a very calming presence and gave us some great advice. We scoured tonnes of websites before we narrowed it down, did a zoom call meeting and firmly agreed that Aaron was our guy. We wanted a photographer whose work really captured the feelings from the day and Aaron was 100% the right choice.
What was your first dance song and why did you chose it? You are the Sunshine of my Life – Stevie Wonder. It just sort of became our romantic song at some point in the last 7 years.
Did you have any evening entertainment? We had the band Hubert Rocks.
Do you have any words of wisdom and advice to a couple planning their wedding? Everybody tells you to be sure to ‘take in every moment’ because it’ll ‘go so fast’. They’re right…but there’s not a lot you can do about it. So I would advise the couple to take as much time off work or wedding jobs that they can the week before, especially if you’re doing a home/DIY venue like we did. Try to have some chill time time the day or so beforehand with your other half to help slow your brain down pre-wedding.
Finally, stay true to your values, just trust that it’ll be amazing and don’t waste any time sweating anything (big or small)! Only two people signed our guest book (that I’d fretted about getting) because they were all having fun! Enjoy the whole day from the moment you wake up and treasure that feeling of everybody being in one place simply to celebrate and love the two of you together.
SUPPLIER SHOUT OUTS
Bridal Make-up Sarah Drummond
Hair Sophie Bowyer Hair
Florist Mill Blossom Flowers
Cake Maker Rhys’s Mum!
Caterer Little Piggy Catering Co
Band Hubert Rocks
Marquee County Marquees
If you’re planning your own wedding to take place at home (or anywhere to be honest) and like the type of photographs I capture then get in touch and see if I’m available for your wedding.
