You know you’re in for a fun day when the bride greets you to the venue with a cup of a tea and a huge box of homemade shortbread. Chaffeymoor Grange, a Dorset Stone Manor House in Bourton, Gillingham has one of the most unique set-ups we’ve seen for a wedding venue. Couples get to hire out the whole house, kitchen included, so weddings there always have a real house party feel. The party’s very much in charge of what they want to do and when they want to do it. When Emma and Guy asked if we’d be free to shoot their special day we were so excited to go back.

During our consultations Emma let slip their wedding would have a very autumnal feel, with lots of creams and browns she brought an extra sparkle to the ocassion with plenty of beautiful handmade elements. I reckon she ought to set up shop on Etsy, not only does she made cracking button, bead and brooch bouquets…

But she can whip up a fine bridal tiara too…

With so many rooms to have a run of upstairs, all hired out by the wedding party, there’s loads of space at Chaffeymoor to get ready. With the Groom also staying on the same floor in the morning though, a lot of extra care is needed to make sure you don’t bump into each other.

The popular solution is to send the boys down the pub. Meet Guy (fourth ale from the left).

Errr… I don’t know what he’s talking about.

But it looks big!

Back at the more sedate Chaffeymoor Bridal and Bridesmaid preps were well underway.

Mum’s done.

The lovely Maggie Sottero dress.

Men back in the building, the wedding took place downstairs. Guy looks pretty nervous and excited, but the Best (Wo)Man, Caroline was never far away to offer her support.

The ceremony was a very intimate affair with loads of lovely readings…

Including an excellent short story by Bridesmaid, Zara.

As well as a good public speaker, Zara also made for a wonderful ring-bearer.

The grounds at Chaffeymoor are huge and very stunning. They were looking very Autumnal, fitting in very nice with the colour theme.

Letting off steam after the wedding…

Or maybe it’s the colouring.

Seriously, The. Best. Table Settings. Ever. My jaw dropped when I walked into the room it looks so cosy and wintery.

It made for a very cosy atmosphere during the speeches.

Meanwhile, next door in the kitchen things were underway to get things ready for grub time. These ladies were excellent, skilled and efficient they prove to the likes of Gordon Ramsay you don’t need to make a fuss keep things moving.

Emma and Guy were kind enough to organise a meal for us too (in our very own cute kitchen with log fire). So I can tell you first hand these cinnamon meringues with hot spiced apple and blackberries were out of this world!

Food in tummies and coffee rolled out it was time for some evening entertainment .

The ladies from Enigma gave it their all throughout the day with perfect harmony.

It was getting a bit windy out there, but the rain had held off so guests were given the OK to start writing messages on the sky lanterns.

It looks quite calm here but those things are pretty scary when you have your eye to a camera and you don’t notice one coming full belt at you. A couple got caught in Chaffeymoor’s trees. It was a bit hairy!

It was also very dark by this time.

Back in the warm for the First Dance and the start of the evening disco (we’re glad to hear things got better tune-wise, Emma

With everyone happy, sipping their drinks and enjoying the cosy rooms and the party we made our way back home. A top-notch day was had by all.

Posted with thanks and congratulations to Mr & Mrs Court.

Thanks also to venue owners Lindsay & Rik Elvidge.

Emma - BB

We’d never heard of the Lord Bute Hotel & Restaurant in Christchurch before Kat and Matt got in touch to enquire whether we’d be able to photograph their wedding. Which is very strange considering it’s only about a 15-minute drive from our house. With its sprawling suites and plenty of luxurious places to take bridal preps and run riot even if it rains it proved to be a fantastic location  and run exceptionally well by their wedding co-ordinator, the jovial and very helpful Chris. When we met up with Kat and Matt for this wedding prep on autumny Sunday morning we also got a whiff our their award-winning roast dinners and it smelt amazing!

We really had the run of the place when it came to the bridal preparations. Stretched out between three different suites including a mini two-floor house and the biggest honeymoon suite we’ve ever seen in our lives it offered up loads of lovely locations.

Kat had quite a troop helping her out with all the essential preps.

With Mum close at hand to help out…

Kat weirdly lost her original shoes which she was looking forward to showing off Those pesky wedding pixies must have been doing the rounds. However, these sparkly numbers looked the business, especially on Dairy Milk bed linen.

Kat and Matt’s friend, Zoe did a great job of the bouquets and table settings.

Getting the dress on…

The reaction to Kat’s new Pandora bracelet which Matt left for her that morning…

The lovely bridesmaids…

A proud Mum…

Our ‘Freemans Catalogue’ attempt may have just given us a new Big Bouquet cover girl!

Introducing Matt, the Groom who arrived in rather swish fashion in a Lambourghini.

A slightly more antique mode of transport for the Bride and her Dad.

The ceremony took place at St Saviour’s church in Brockenhurst. Other than the Bride’s entrance we weren’t allowed to take any photographs during the service. It was a lovely, emotional ceremony (but you’re just going to have to take our word for it). Skip to the confetti…

After some family shots we made our way back to the Lord Bute, stopping along the Burley Road in the New Forest for some sneaky location shots.

This next one may possibly be a bit too ‘Hello’ magazine, but we had to show off that lovely, light honeymoon suite.

The reception room had already been kitted up earlier in the day. Doesn’t it look lovely? (Kat presented us with one of these bowls when it was time to go home so it’s sitting pride of place on our living room table at the moment!)

The table plan had a cocktail theme!

There wasn’t a set menu. The guests got to choose from a number of mouth-watering dishes.

To help with the nerves, the speeches took place before the meal.

There was plenty of storytelling and teasing going on, much to the embarrassment of the Bride.

Or maybe not…

Food dishing out we left everyone to it to enjoy their meals.. We very much hope to go back to the Lord Bute soon. It was a brilliant venue with a very relaxed and stylish atmosphere. Thanks for letting us be part of your day, Mr and Mrs Warner!

- E

A week ago now we arrived back to a cold, cloudy Gatwick after a mammoth and gruelling 27 journey from Thailand (we had annoying transfers via Doha, we didn’t go by Spitfire).

We had such an amazing time during our two weeks travelling round this wonderful country. We’re not really ones to be happy sunbathing on the beach for days on end so we wanted to go somewhere that would offer up a mix of locations; city, beach and jungle. It really delivered the goods.

Our journey started at Bangkok where we had one-day to look around the sights and get settled in our new time zone and temperature. The start of October is officially Monsoon season in Thailand, but we really lucked out throughout the whole holiday with only about an hour’s worth of rain during the whole trip.  Of course, the Grand Palace was on the agenda, but we went on a bit of a jolly round the city, just seeing where it (and the naughty tuk-tuk drivers) took us.

We stayed at the rather grand Lebua at State Tower. Go all the way up to the 63rd floor and you’ll find one of the world’s highest Sky Bars giving you panoramic views over the city. It’s high. So high in fact, that after one very strong mojito I was so concerned the Imp of the Perverse was going to take over and I’d do something stupid like fall or jump off we had to go back down.

A short flight down to the Krabi to stay at the Tubkaak and things were much more sedate…

apart from having to dodge the hundreds of crabs on the beach (I guess that’s why they call it Krabi?)

A few hours drive away in Surat Thani we spent a few nights camping in the jungle at Elephant Hills (we had our own private bathroom, I’m not that willing to slum it). Set up to help elephants who had previously been used for logging or as tourist attractions in the city, the guys here have set up a camp allowing tourists to visit the heffalumps in an environment more suited to their own. I was so pleased to see our guides were really chilled out with this magnificent beasts and although we got bitten to death by mosquitoes we were quite happy to sit back and wait whilst the elephants wandered off into the trees for their snack breaks (all twenty of them).

They also took us on some fantastic boat and canoe trips…

although our Long Boat broke down more than once. When you’re able to listen to wild Gibbons  whilst waiting for the Thai equivalent of a floating RAC man though, you can’t complain.

But maybe they ought to invest in a bigger towing rope…

Our favourite day was without doubt trekking up the mountain armed with bamboo walking sticks for our cookery lesson. I loved this guy, he was a brilliant guide and he makes damn fine BBQ pork and coconut curries…

There’s nothing like sweating it out in the jungle to make you appreciate a nice, ice cold cocktail. We ended our trip with a stay at the Aleenta in Phang-Nga. They made excellent tipples in their sunset bar. Apologies for the 80’s-ness of this closing shot.

Venues:

Lebua at State Tower, Bangkok

The Tubkaak, Krabi

Elephant Hills, Khao Sok, Panom District, Surat Thani

Aleenta, Phang-Nga

Yesterday we spent a cracker of a day at Chaffeymoor Grange for the wedding of Emma and Guy. We first shot at Chaffeymoor last year for the evening wedding of Zina and Chris and were blown away by the venue and the relaxed atmosphere it offers its guests. It’s most definitely a favourite venue of ours. There aren’t many locations where we’re free to make ourselves a cuppa whenever we please and for that it gets instant bonus points.

Emma and Guy are such a fantastic couple; so welcoming, fun and loving they made our jobs very easy. They were also very thoughtful in surprising us with a  5-star energy-boosting meal in our very own kitchen and bombarding us with cake and shortbread (thank you so much guys. It was a phenomenal tea break x) . We were spoilt for choice when it came to details to shoot during this wedding. As well as loads of beautiful handmade crafts, amazing table settings and a jolly house party atmosphere we had great fun with an evening sky lantern launch. Again, loads to share, but until then…