A Classic Case
August 25, 2017
Maria & Ben's Upwaltham Spring Wedding
In a quaint Grade II listed village church built in the 1800's, loved up couple Maria and Ben decided to exchange marriage vows with friends and family as their witnesses on a sunny Friday in May this year.
Being close to their home, it seemed like an obvious choice to make Southwater Parish Church near Horsham, the venue of choice for the ceremony. In all it's history and tradition, the church looked enchanting, decorated with generous arrangements of ivory roses and delicate green foliage. With accents of gold subtly interweaved into the colour palette for the day, it was clear to me that this couple had style and sophistication whilst giving attention to the finer details. I instantly knew this wedding was going to be classic through and through in all the best senses of the word.
The oldest of four, groom Ben (a police officer) had all three younger siblings as his best men. They looked very dapper in their blue suits with pale pink ties and the solidarity between them was so charming which I think is evident from their pre-wedding portrait outside the church!
Bride Maria's trusty sidekicks for the day were two close friends who also happen to be work colleagues! Maria's bridal gown was elegant and extremely flattering; sleeveless with a high neckline, illusion lace back and fitted mermaid style skirt to include a stunning lengthy train. Maria's friends looked glamorous and chic, wearing simple slash neck, pale pink floor length gowns. As a trio they coordinated beautifully with bouquets tying in, altogether making for an effortless classic and stylish look.
As the bride approached the doors of the church (just a slight fraction of time after she was due to hit the aisle!), she was greeted by a little ring bearer who was doing a fantastic job of keeping a patient Ben updated on her progress!
As soon as the main official bits had been taken care of, just the more relaxing part of signing the register remained. The congregation enjoyed the lively playing from the organist who certainly was keeping the church's tradition alive and giving the pipes a run for their money! Meanwhile the newly weds sat under a spectacular stained glass window, through which gentle natural sunlight filtered through the coloured panes in warm and rosy tones, and put pen to paper to declare their newfound married status!
Framed beautifully by the church arches, the new Mr & Mrs stood in the warm sunlight pausing briefly to enjoy the novelty of the newly married moment before being congratulated by guests. It wasn't long though before this cheeky pair had escaped the crowds who were left chatting in the church grounds, jumped into their classic (of course!), cream 1929 Willys Knight wedding car and were seen to be having a cheeky backseat kiss before heading to the reception venue of Upwaltham Barns near Chichester! 
Guests arrived together by bus having been collected at the church and dropped off at the beautiful rustic barn venue in West Sussex. Maria and Ben were soon reunited with the best men and bridesmaids and were excited for the next part of the day. Each best man was lucky enough to be paired up with a bridesmaid, oh apart from one - who gave me a wink and the gun!
As the reception was about to commence we took a moment to capture the bride and groom in the midst of the meticulously laid out barn, set and ready for the filtering in of guests. All these people, special to Maria and Ben were about to be treated to some very fine food by Upwaltham's exclusive caterers, Nibbles 2 Nosh. Delicate white organza drapes hung from the rustic oak beams whilst flowers decorated large suspended candelabras overhead. The tables were cleverly named after the phonetic alphabet used by the police which I thought was a great link to Brava Echo November (sorry, I mean Ben)! Adorned with endless garlands of roses and greenery complimentary to the girl's bouquets, tables also sported matching posies perched in martini glasses, finished with a scattering of pearls around their glass bases. A simple golden heart chocolate favour was laid out at each table setting, linking in with a few golden touches including little sparkly toppers used for labelling the tables.
A lovely meal was enjoyed by all and some great speeches brought laughter, a sense of togetherness and a warm inclusive vibe to the occasion.
Family and friends continued to mingle and chat and whilst the evening reception was in preparation, Maria, Ben and I made the climb up the hill behind the barn that is certainly not for the faint-hearted! The amazing light bode well for this couple who looked gorgeous and ever so happy as I photographed them with the glowing green landscape as their backdrop. Everything about the sky and the warmth of the sun felt magical and dreamy and despite a slight breeze on top of the hill Maria managed to hang on to her long veil!
Later in the day when walking through the gardens I was able to photograph Maria in the most beautiful light as the sun was lowering in the sky, dropping down behind the green hills in the distance. Maria was waiting for Ben when I seized the opportunity to capture them in this pastoral scene. Ben came along and sat on an old wooden bench under a bare-branched tree as Maria was wandering through Upwaltham's secret gardens alongside an old stone flint wall. As I took the picture I happened to get some pretty lens flare either side of Ben which has given this image a rather magical and wistful feeling.
What a perfect example of a classic wedding done so stylishly that it could never ever get boring. Whilst keeping so many traditional elements in play, Maria and Ben made simple tasteful choices and ensured the finer details were not overlooked. I believe all these carefully considered decisions combined together to create a truly beautiful and successful wedding day. When I first met this lovely romantic pair we did an engagement shoot where they were favoured with the same magical sunlight that graced them on their wedding day. There must be something in the air with these two as this is one of my favourite images!
Maria and Ben, it was so lovely sharing the day with you both and I am so grateful you chose me to photograph your wedding. Congratulations to two very high quality people who are obviously appreciated and loved so much by all held dear. May your wedding day be a timeless classic that you can always revisit and enjoy great memories of no matter how many years go by. Wishing you continued happiness!
Love Kelly x
Kelly Hearn A.B.I.P.P - A.M.P.A