I remember this wedding day so well and without a doubt it has to be one of my absolute favourites of this years wedding season. The day felt like a complete joy and Ryan and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing it with such a lovely group of people.

From the beginning…

We arrived in the morning at the family home in Halstead, Kent. Prior to the day Ryan had told me that it was going to be a church wedding with a tipi reception in the garden Amanda’s parent’s humongous house! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and with it being October I was slightly concerned a cold chill would be among us throughout the day in a tent like venue… I couldn’t have been any more wrong.

Set on lovely grounds with a sweeping driveway the house was beautiful and sure enough there the tipi stood. Along the driveway we met two lovely bridesmaids who were busy working away putting tea lights in jars going above and beyond in their bridesmaid duties. There was a certain element of unity in the atmosphere and it was great seeing everyone working hard to create a stunning venue for Amanda and Mike.

Inside we met the lovely Amanda, the most important lady of the day! In mid action she was having her hair styled and immediately we knew we were going to get along just perfectly. The group were exactly our kind of people and alongside Matt James the photographer and our good friend, we couldn’t wait for the day to get started.

Having the tipi in the front garden was great in terms of ease of access and not to mention the church across the road. The morning already felt more relaxed and we could leave the equipment in one place rather than packing and unpacking to lots of different locations.

The morning was lovely and before no time at all it was time for me to head into the church and arrange the tripods in position. A smaller church that was cute and cosy that I would imagine has many many family memories.

It was here that I met the lovely Mike, our slightly anxious but very excited groom. We were all ready and in place for the arrival of the wonderful bridal party. First to make an entrance was our black and white incredibly chic dressed mother of the bride who took her place at the front. Then entered our gorgeous bridesmaids Emma, Victoria, Luisa and Jess followed by the most stunning lady accompanied by her father, Amanda. She looked absolutely gorgeous!!

The ceremony was very sweet and finally they were a married couple. Our next destination was the tipi and it was remarkable how tastefully decorated it had become. The little bits of detail made the reception beautiful with fairy lights, burning log fires and the most amazing collection of flowers I have ever seen.

There were so many opportunities to film and it was so refreshing to be in a different type of venue. Our next formality was the speeches and of course, we were in for a treat. We’d been warned that our father of the bride was a bit of a chatterbox and that the speech may go on for a while. It actually turns out this was more than true and I’d popped to the bathroom, turned on every battery powered candle along the driveway at dusk and returned, still in time for the end of his speech. My favourite bit of all had to be “A part of me is very sad, the other part of me is saying YES YES YES” and a good old giggle was had by all. Although we had several power cuts throughout the speeches and evening it didn’t affect the mood of the evening at all and they all did a really great job.

Amanda and Mike, you were such a great couple to film. You were so chilled out and a complete pleasure to work with. The electrics let us down numerous times but it certainly wasn’t even an issue and you really did make your day the best one possible. Thank you both for having us. Congratulations on your marriage and we wish you all the love and happiness in the world!