AUTUMN BURY COURT BARN WEDDING
Weddings are best on hot Summer days, right? Well, I don’t think so. I mean yeah Pimms in the garden is great, but let’s face it, as we all know you can’t rely on the British weather. But I’ll tell you what you can rely on on, bad weather in Novemeber. Problem solved, you know exactly what you are going to get! But that’s not all, November isn’t all about grim weather (it’s my birthday month too!). Another thing you can rely on is the awesome colour display put on by nature at this time of year.
Those few weeks of the year really are the most beautiful time in England I think, and it looks oh so good on wedding photos! I will let you into a little secret too, as a photographer, if you know how to play it, I think the light at this time of year is at it’s best. If it’s a clear day you have sunset conditions nearly all day, if it’s not clear, as it probley won’t be, you have lovely soft light (which makes skin look great) to work with. Other great things about Novemeber wedding? Wind and rain gives that cosy feel if you choose your venue well, and it’s dark by 5, so all your guests stay in and make it most of your evening entertainment. And for your photos what’s better than your wedding story really representing a bit of great Britishness, brollys, interesting hair styles thanks to the wind and posh dresses blowing around in a gale. Something the photos you will help you remember forever.
LAURA + JAMES
A couple so bursting with energy & life it makes you wonder what exactly they sprinkle on top of their Weetabix! For these guys a November wedding was the first choice. Like myself they are in love with the natural display of colour awesomness on offer, and their wedding just had to be part of it, their choice of venue and colour scheme was thought through to blend with and reflect natures palette. I think also the energy in the November air may also play a part in their love for the month! Wind is always rushing across the open fields, clouds race across the sky at speed and trees dance in the wind. Nothing is ever still, just like these guys. And don’t even get me started on their offspring!
Below are some of Laura & James photos from their Autumn wedding at Bury Court Barn.
Laura & James tips & insight on their wedding journey are after the photos .
OUR WEDDING STORY BY LAURA & JAMES
Our wedding story started when James and I were both at university and worked as Christmas temps at Marks & Spencer. I was asked to take him off till number one and fast forward nearly 12 years (and two beautiful children later), the rest is history.
VENUE
I found looking for a venue the most difficult part of wedding planning. We knew we wanted the ceremony and reception in one place but we were conscious of not having a ‘cookie cutter’ wedding. A venue local to us was also important as it’s the area we grew up in but we were very open minded as to what type of setting that could be. We visited a range of different venues from a castle to a manor house but as soon as I stepped into Bury Court Barn we knew it was, ‘the one’. The lighting, the relaxed atmosphere, the grounds; there wasn’t a thing I wanted to change about the place. I actually ended up dreaming about Bury Court Barn that night and if that’s not a sign, then I don’t know what is!
FASHION
DRESS: I booked two appointments, both at local bridal shops. It is advised to look for your dress with plenty of time before your big day as with most of the boutiques, the dress needs to be ordered in (mine took around five months to arrive). I went with both my Mum and my sister and asked them both to pick a dress for me to try on, as well as one I selected. Again, I wanted to be open minded although I did have a style in mind; fitted and with long sleeves. I definitely did not want a dress that was strapless or sparkly… which was exactly the dress I chose. Cue face palm! They always say that you end up picking a dress totally different to what you had in mind and that was certainly the case for me.
I absolutely loved the experience of wedding dress shopping. I loved trying on different styles whilst practising having my hair up and hair down and most importantly, imagining if this was ‘the dress’ I was to walk down the aisle in to meet James.
HAIR & MAKEUP: I’m not sure how I stumbled across Melissa’s Instagram profile but as soon as I saw her posts I knew I had to get in touch to book her for the wedding! I loved the relaxed, boho hairstyles and gorgeous make up but what really stood out for me was that none of her photos looked the same. There was not the same look and style for every single bride and you could tell that so much care, love, thought, effort and creativity was put into each bride and bridesmaid.
GROOM: Having met at M&S, we had to have a shout out to the store so decided to get our eight suits from there. James went in and found the suit he wanted, an indigo three piece and then we waited until a suit offer came up to purchase. We ended up saving a lot on the suits just by being patient! The super helpful staff also managed to find a tie to match the colour of the bridesmaid dresses – win! And not forgetting our four year old son, we were able to get a suit to match Daddy’s. Double win!
BRIDESMAIDS: Originally I had dreamt of having navy bridesmaid dresses, a lovely colour which always looks great on every skin tone but I thought against the indigo blue suits it might look a bit too much… and with our date set for Autumn, a deep red felt naturally the right choice to make for the colour. I also thought the blue suits and burgundy dresses would complement one another. My four bridesmaids all have different body shapes, I had never planned for everyone to be wearing the same dress and really wanted everyone to feel relaxed and comfortable on the big day. One of my bridesmaids was also breastfeeding so it was really important for me to find a dress that meant she could easily feed if she needed to, so a wrap around dress option was a must. I came across the brand, Rewritten and immediately fell in love with their relaxed, floaty dresses but what I really loved was the fact they had dresses of the same colour but in different styles. Perfect for my girls! For our daughter (nearly two years old) we were also able to pick up a bargain bridesmaid dress again by waiting patiently for Summer sales. I was totally against forking out a lot of money for a white dress which I knew would get filthy which it most certainly did!
STYLING
I’ll be honest, I didn’t really have a theme! I knew I wanted the Autumnal colour palette to come through seeing as we got married in that season but I found I matched the colours to the surroundings, both inside and out.. I also love lighting and think there is something so romantic and ambient about candlelight which we decided to use for our centrepieces instead of flowers. And Bury Court Barn was so naturally beautiful we didn’t see the need to dress it up so simple fairy lights were all we needed.
FLOWERS
I love Autumn. I love everything about the time of year, the colours, the leaves, the crispness and I really wanted this to come through in the choice of flowers. Think foliage and deep reds. After stumbling across Fuchsia Blooms (I think I found the company whilst stalking a wedding dress shop on insta) I spoke to Jane on the phone who I felt really understood the style and vibes I was looking for and the mood board she sent through mirrored this. My favourite flowers are actually peonies but I had to be realistic about what was in season for that time of year and so pleased I didn’t choose them in the end!
CATERING AND CAKE
We decided to have our cake for dessert, the last thing I wanted was to pay for a cake that no one eats which I’ve heard happen before! We went with a simply decorated cake and it was all about the flavours for us. We chose biscoff, raspberry and white chocolate and bakewell tart flavour. Our son also helped choose the flavours which was super fun to do and got him involved in the preparation for the big day. Lucy made our cake for us who has made us a few cakes for us in the past for various big birthdays, it was a no brainer to ask her to make our wedding cake.
PHOTOGRAPHY
I must admit, I did really enjoy looking for a photographer. I love looking at creative portfolios and really admire great photography. I was very keen not to have staged shots on the day, I wanted to have relaxed shots of us enjoying the day and not spend hours standing around having photo after photo taken. Not fun for us, or our guests. Matt’s portfolio really stood out for us. We loved the lighting and the finish of the photos. The colours in each shot were mesmerising and this was exactly the style we were picturing for our Autumnal barn wedding. When looking through his portfolio it was clear to see the narrative throughout the day too, each couples’ wedding felt like a story as opposed to a random montage of their day. We also arranged an engagement shoot with Matt close to the wedding. It was great to meet Matt in person and not just speak via phone or email as well as help us to picture how the shoot for James and I would be on the day.
HIGHLIGHTS
I genuinely thought I would be an emotional wreck when it came to walking down the aisle but when it came to it, I was absolutely buzzing! I genuinely couldn’t wait to walk down the aisle, get married and celebrate with everyone I love, all in one room.
TIPS FOR FUTURE BRIDES & GROOMS
Don’t feel you need to justify your decisions. I had a lot of people ask me, why are you not having a DJ? Why are you not having flowers for centrepieces? Why didn’t you throw your bouquet? The truth is, we did what we wanted and I felt very in control of the choices we made for the day. Trust your gut instinct, do what you want to do. Relax. You might find it hard to but there is really no need to stress. Write a list, ask for help from friends and family, vent to your other half. This should be the best day of your life for a reason, no one will know if something is not as originally planned, nor should they care. They are there to watch you get married! And everyone will tell you this but enjoy every minute of your day, it goes by so quickly!
If your planning your wedding in Surrey, at Bury Court Barn. And you’re looking for your wedding photographer, if you like the look & feel of Laura & James photos I would love to hear from you so we can create awesome photos for you too!
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