Shannon and Fred’s Autumn Barn at Upcote Wedding | Barn at Upcote Photographer
Shannon and Fred’s cosy, autumnal wedding at The Barn at Upcote was a relaxed day focused on spending time with family and making sure their guests had a fabulous time. Keep reading to see how Shannon and Fred sprinkled some fun personal touches throughout their day and created a gorgeous, autumnal and wintry celebration with fairy light styling and fun table centrepieces.
Chic colourful wedding party outfits
Shannon and her bridesmaids had a relaxed morning getting ready in The Barn at Upcote’s dedicated getting ready room. The bridesmaids were in mismatched-yet-matching warm autumnal colours, which was perfect for the wedding’s November setting. Shannon had loads of lovely details and accessories with her as she got ready - I love to capture a getting-ready flat-lay so was very happy to capture the morning’s details, as well as Shannon’s epic white wedding boots!
Emotional wedding ceremony at The Barn at Upcote
The light in the ceremony room at The Barn at Upcote always hits absolutely perfectly so I was really looking forward to photographing Shannon and Fred’s ceremony. This day was no exception and the ceremony space looked amazing. Actually, it was a bit of an exception because it looked even more special - the ceremony room was covered in gorgeous fairy lights. Anyone who knows me will know that getting out-of-focus fairy lights in the background of a photo is my absolute favourite so I knew it was going to be an absolutely beautiful ceremony. I tucked myself into a corner to photograph the ceremony from the front - my favourite position for the best angle on the first-kiss photo. The ceremony was followed by dried petal confetti in the courtyard and a few group photos to start the drinks reception.
Magician, pianist and a wedding dog
Making sure their guests had an amazing time was the main focus of the day for Shannon and Fred, and the drinks reception absolutely demonstrated that. Outstanding magician Thomas Moloney was on-site in the courtyard to provide fun and entertainment for the guests, and just tucked indoors was Richard Snow the piano player, creating live music for everyone to enjoy. Fizz and canapés were available thanks to the always-excellent Orchard Catering, and just when you think it couldn’t get any better, who should show up? Only Shannon and Fred’s absolutely adorable fluffy dog Chester! He was being looked after by his dog walker, but made a special guest appearance for the reception. He had the absolute best time.
Modern couple photos around The Barn at Upcote
Well Chester the cockapoo had to come along for the couple photos, obviously. In the morning, I had arrived on-site early so I had time to do a ‘recce’ to work out where to go for the couple photos. The light is always different day-to-day so even if I’ve worked somewhere before (like at The Barn at Upcote) I still like to keep my ideas fresh and visit photo spots on the day. This meant that I didn’t need to take Shannon and Fred away for too long - I had already made a plan of spots to visit which saved some time. We started by walking up the driveway and getting some photos with Chester the dog, before getting some edgy and modern photos with the barn as a backdrop. As a final stop, we took advantage of the gorgeous autumnal colours in the trees to get some classic and timeless couple photos with a nature background. Shannon and Fred weren’t keen on spending ages posing for the camera - which I totally get because I’m the same - so we kept it natural, candid and relaxed, making sure everyone felt at ease and comfortable.
Cosy Autumn wedding styling
The wedding breakfast room was styled by Every Event Hire and was a gorgeous cosy autumnal VIBE. The fairy lights made everything look so warm and cosy and the centrepieces looked amazing. Shannon had picked pages from her favourite books to use as centrepieces and the dark green table runners just enhanced the autumnal vibe. Because this wedding was in November, it started to get dark outside as everyone came in for the wedding breakfast. Honestly that just made the reception room look even warmer and more welcoming! Shannon and Fred entered the wedding breakfast to “I believe in a thing called love” by The Darkness, which was absolutely iconic and so much fun.
After the speeches and food, Shannon and Fred had some sparklers, followed by the cake cut, a first dance and then a fun outfit change by Shannon into a second dress! This was such a fun opportunity to get some edgy editorial flash portraits in her evening dress.
Suppliers
This day was made possible by an absolute dream team of suppliers, listed here:
Venue - The Barn at Upcote
Photography - Suzie Smith
Venue Stylist - Every Event Hire
Magician - Thomas Moloney
Pianist - Richard Snow
Catering - Orchard Catering
Looking for a Barn at Upcote wedding photographer?
Look no further! I had so much fun documenting Shannon and Fred’s day and would love to document yours too. If you’re looking for a photographer for your Barn at Upcote wedding, just tap the link below to get in touch and tell me about your plans!