A Colourful, festival-style winter wedding at Sparkford Hall
Why winter weddings are a great idea and some information about Sparkford Hall, an alternative and DIY wedding venue near Bristol
Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I updated my blog and I have soo many cool weddings to share with you! So I wanted to start by sharing a mega fun, Christmassy winter wedding I photographed at Sparkford Hall in Somerset.
I absolutely love this venue. I have a few weddings booked this year at Sparkford Hall too and it just brings me so much joy just driving onsite. I mean, it probably helps that I’ve only ever been to Sparkford Hall on days when the light has been incredible so it’s always in my mind as a really beautiful spot, but nonetheless I think it’s a fab venue for anyone planning something slightly unconventional, alternative and fun for their wedding. The indoor space is fab. The outdoor space is fab. The getting-ready rooms are lovely. Oh, and it has a disco cellar? Hello? Best venue ever.
Ok, enough about the venue. Let me tell you about Kelly and Ben’s day. It was one of those weddings that I drove away from smiling, because they were absolutely just the nicest people ever. I knew that Kelly and Ben both have careers arranging festivals and that really showed in the styling of the day. Guests were encouraged to wear bright colours and sequins and they all looked absolutely amazing. The venue was decorated with such pretty dried flowers and fairy lights. The outfits of the bridal party and groomsmen were extremely cool too. Their friends did DJ sets for them in the cellar. The whole day really was such an ideal celebration of the two of them.
Oh, and anyone who has read my blog before will know how I feel about dogs at weddings. If you haven’t, I’ll fill you in: I’m a big fan. There was not one but TWO dogs at this wedding and they were such cute fluffy little angels. As usual I had to remind myself that I was there to photograph the people, not the animals… although I’m sure nobody minds a little canine photoshoot in their wedding gallery, right? Well I hope not because getting a good photo of a wedding dog is always my personal challenge.
Kelly and Ben’s wedding was in December and it was soo cold, but lovely and toasty inside the venue. It was one of those beautiful winter days you get where you get lovely light, and we made the most of it by going out for photos straight after the ceremony. The sun sets at around 4pm in December so you have to be quick to get the good light! I would always recommend getting your group photos as soon as you can. I’m quite documentary-style in my photographic approach so when it came to taking couple photos, we didn’t spend hours out in the cold doing lots of posing. We got some natural, fun, unposed portraits (and played with a confetti cannon too!) and then went back in to celebrate with their guests. Winter weddings can be such a lovely idea if you want a cosy, intimate ceremony and you are happy to go out in the cold for some photos!
Words really can’t do this day justice so I’m going to stop telling you about the day and just show you some pictures. But I will end by saying that if you are thinking about having a winter wedding or thinking about getting married at Sparkford Hall (or both!) then get in touch!
