For the first of our two wedding preps this weekend we made our way over to the Bourton in Dorset back to the lovely Chaffeymoor Grange. We did our first shoot here almost a year ago for the wedding of Zina and Chris from Australia where we were blown away by the beautiful house, the chilled house-party atmosphere and the fact we had access to the open kitchen to make ourselves a cup of tea. An excellent set up.

We love it so much there we are so excited to be going back from Emma and Guy’s wedding and it’s just as great as we remembered. We spent a little time getting familiar with the rooms and the grounds with Emma and Guy and just generally catching up with the ins and outs of the day. The Grange is available for house parties and the staff were busy making sure everything was perfect for a group that were arriving so we didn’t have long to hang around, but we managed a quick shoot of the happy couple before we headed back.

Fingers crossed we have lovely weather that weekend to make the most of the open landscape and play around with the Autumn sunset.

We’re not ashamed to say that we were fairly apprehensive as we made our way through the steep and windy roads through deepest, darkest Dorset for the wedding of Zina and Chris – and for good reason.

Despite making a point of seeing our couples at least twice before their wedding, recceing the ceremony venue and getting to know the duo well before their big day, here we were travelling to a location we’d never even heard of before Zina and Chris got in contact, we’d never met the aforementioned bride and groom at all and only spoken to them over the phone and to top it all off…it was getting dark and quick about it too.

Zina and Chris were travelling back to the UK from Perth, Australia to get married at the stunningly beautiful Chaffeymoor Grange, close to the Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset border. They’d never been to the venue either, so at least that was something!

As soon as we arrived we were instantly put at ease. Bridesmaids were leisurely walking around in elegant silk pyjamas, grabbing themselves mugs of tea and the venue room looked absolutely breathtaking lit with flickering tealights and a roaring wood fire.

A brief session with the girls and a stunning and supremely organised Zina, gave us the opportunity to snap up some prep shots before we made our way down to the intimate and cosy oak room.

Everything about Zina and Chris’ wedding screamed ‘relaxed, fun and sophisticated’ and with the help of a very accommodating registrar and a beautifully modest ceremony we were able to capture some pleasing natural shots. When we were first asked to shoot this wedding we were a little concerned about photographing an evening wedding, especially as there would be limited lighting. However, after seeing the results we’re egging on another enquiry like this.

After a few light canapés and an impressive amount of booze it was time for the speeches and some of the most energetic and ‘give it your all’ dancing we’ve seen in a long time.

We were so taken aback with how wonderful the set-up was at Chaffeymoor Grange and the mindblowing decor, friendly house staff, easy going couple and equally bubbly guests made this one a real pleasure.

Don’t hesitate to get in contact if you too are getting married at Chaffeymoor Grange – it’s become one of our firm favourites.

Posted with many thanks and congratulations to Mr and Mrs Reeves.