It’s all in the detail…
August 19, 2015
Kate & Jon’s Southend Barns May Wedding
Kate and Jon are a lovely couple from the Midlands who totally knew how to personalise their wedding day, thinking of every detail to reflect their fun-loving relationship and personalities. They managed to showcase their own wonderful taste and style perfectly through all the detailed & thoughtful decor they had selected to display throughout the already beautiful rustic wedding venue.
Tying the knot at West Sussex’ gorgeous Southend Barns, Kate and Jon had the perfect spring country setting and were true ‘darling buds of May’, ensuring that their guests were able to indulge in a few English traditions such as croquet on the lawn and cream tea (with champagne, of course)! Originally a dairy farm, the stunningly restored venue which has been brought up to date in a modern/rustic style, maintains history whilst still giving hint to the original purpose of the rooms but offering a modern twist. Jon & Kate’s careful consideration of their chosen setting cleverly incorporated little personal touches that blended seamlessly with the existing subtle country theme seen throughout the barns.
Often my day begins with the locating the guys to photograph them first so I ventured to the Hilton Avisford Park Hotel near Arundel, West Sussex to find Jon and his groomsmen getting ready.
Before the lucky groom set off for the ceremony to take his first glimpse at his stunning bride, we captured some lovely images of him all suited and booted. In this symbolic image, Jon was positioned centrally, ‘under the spotlight’ and framed between his brother and brother in-law in this symmetrically styled shot.
After some time with the groom's party I made my way over to see how Kate was getting on. She was getting ready at a cottage in the quaint and local village of Birdham and she had her bridesmaids on hand to help with hair and makeup duties. The girls then moved on to the Barns to get into their dresses and Kate’s Mum assisted getting Kate into her stunning bridal gown.
Kate looked absolutely stunning and I was really pleased to have time to capture a lovely portrait of this flawless bride.
One of my favourite parts of a wedding day is the beautiful moment when the father of the bride sees his daughter for the first time in her wedding dress before heading to the ceremony. Seeing the reaction on Kate’s Dad’s face when he walked through the door and saw how beautiful she looked was so touching, a lovely moment to be captured. I get the feeling that Fathers never really stop seeing their daughters as their ‘little girl’ and the pride that beams out from them is just magical.
The bridal party lead by Kate and her Dad made their way through the courtyard for the ceremony in the Dairy Barn. It was a lively and joyful affair and after the signing of the register, the excitement emanating from the guests was very tangible (which was also appreciated by the Registar)! The new Mr & Mrs along with their guests, exited outside onto the lush green lawns and enjoyed a bit of warmth whilst the sun shone down on their drinks reception.
It is quite rare to meet a bride and groom where the two families know each other, let alone have close friendships. I learnt though that Jon and Kate’s families have been good friends for a number of years, as the couple have been together since school days, and so we ensured that they would have some precious pictures taken together before heading to the neatly manicured gardens with the bridal party for some bridal party pictures.
In the Threshing Barn, the room was set and ready to welcome guests for a sit-down meal and speeches. Tables were decorated with pretty pink and white roses displayed at a height in clever tall glass vases (enabling guests to still see each other and converse across the table). Logs had been made into plaques and branded with the years that the couple had been together, this became the theme for each table, and hessian wrapped napkins enhanced the rustic charm felt throughout the barn setting. Even the cake was bedecked with a beautiful personalised Mr and Mrs cake topper which again brought another little personal touch.
More guests trickled in to join the wedding party and in true British style, everyone enjoyed sipping bubbly, drinking tea and eating scones - to the not-so-english exotic sounds of a steel band! (Kate and Jon had wanted to get married in the Caribbean but instead brought a bit of Caribbean flavour to England)! Whilst many of the younger guests enjoyed taking ‘selfies’ to later upload to Jon and Kate’s bespoke website wedding gallery, others played croquet on the lawns, (or at least had a good attempt)!
In the evening, even more guests showed up to join the wedding fun and they enjoyed eating icecreams whilst I stole the couple away from the action to capture some lovely images as the sun was setting.
The fantastic party kicked off with covers band ‘Go Commando’ there to entertain and to encourage everyone to let their hair down on the dance floor. Then for Jon’s surprise moment arranged for Kate…he had secretly organised a show-stopping fireworks display, ending the evening with a real bang!
The day closed with attempting some ever popular sparkler writing, where Kate and Jon experienced the final personalisation to their lovely day - being photographed together whilst their initials were being drawn in lights in the sky next to them! What a special and memorable day it had been!
Congratulations Mr & Mrs Seymour! Wishing you many more years of love, unique memories and happy selfies!
Love Kelly x
Kelly Hearn A.B.I.P.P - A.M.P.A