BRUISYARD HALL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

If a family and friends centred wedding with music and books galore is your sorta vibe, check this one out. Relaxed wedding photography, home-made but elegant decor and a whole load of fun in the countryside.

Martha & Phil got married at the pretty unique Bruisyard Hall in Saxmundham, Suffolk. It was a totally relaxed wedding – with the day completely focused on them celebrating and having fun with their nearest and dearest, rather than getting too worried by traditions. Martha and Phil booked me as their wedding photographer two years before their wedding, so to say I was really bloody excited for their day to finally roll around to hang out and photograph them is no understatement!

Some bloody lovely words about their Wedding Photography

“Emily was THE BEST. She was really friendly and warm from the get go and was always excited for us every time we spoke. She even sent us a little prep package and a booklet to answer all the questions we might have. We also decided to have a couple’s shoot a few weeks before the wedding. This gave us a chance to meet Emily and get used to being photographed – definitely the right choice. We had a lot of fun and had some great photos of us to put on the tables!

On the day, Emily fit right in with everyone. She knew just how to get the best out of all of us – even our little flower girl who was in a bit of a grump before the ceremony!

We can’t get across how delighted we are with her photos. They’re just stunning and have given us the most wonderful memories to hold on to. She even made sure that we’d booked ourselves a night in with a glass of bubbly before she sent us the link to our gallery. We wondered if that might be overkill until we actually sat down and did it – we were so glad we did – always listen to your photographer!”

Getting ready

Martha & Phil both got wedding ready at Bruisyard Hall – just at other ends of the house to avoid bumping in to eachother.

When we talked about wedding dress shopping, Martha said “I’m a curvy woman so I was not looking forward to shopping for dresses. The bridal industry largely focuses on young, slim, white, non-disabled, cisgendered women – a very narrow image that can feel quite exclusionary.” Marthas dress was from Heavenly bodies bridal which enabled her to try on any dress she wanted and made her feel as beautiful as she is. Despite not being that in to it when it was on the hanger, said she wanted to call Phil and tell him to come and marry her there and then once she got it on.

Marthas blooming’ glorious shoes were by Irregular choice and apparently a foregone conclusion before they even started planning. Instead of a traditional veil, Martha decided on a headpiece – this uber cool gold crown by Nichola Ruby when she visited The National Wedding Show in London. Marthas mum gave her a beautiful turquoise ring as her something, old, borrowed and blue. She also handmade her handbag which was utterly gorgeous and such a special touch as it was a surprise on the morning of the wedding.

Marthas bridesmaids all wore dark green dresses to fit in with the rest of the wedding decor, then the Maid of Honour had a different dress which had lace at the top.

Phil is a self-confessed comic book nerd and so to add a bit of that to his wedding attire, him and the rest of “Team Groom” wore batman socks. They all wore Charles Tyrwhitt white shirts with custom made bow ties and pocket squares from Mrs Bow Tie. Of course, his groomswoman wore something a little different – a navy dress to match the suits. Phil suit was single-breasted blue suit custom made by Suit Supply – complete with his new initials on the inside and the date of the wedding – pretty cool, hey?!

The Ceremony in the Barn at Bruisyard Hall

M & P chose to have a civil ceremony in the barn at Bruisyard Hall. It was beautiful and heartfelt, with handwritten vows which were promises that really meant something to them. They had one reading – “Love” by Roy Croft because it had been a reading at Martha’s parents’ wedding – which was split between three friends.

Everyone threw confetti inside the barn as they walked back down the aisle which was cool. Somehow, despite having photographed a serious amount of weddings it was actually the first time I’ve ever had confetti thrown indoors!

The Reception at Bruisyard

Martha and Phil chose to have their wedding reception colour scheme as dark green and gold. Apparently, this had been in Marthas head for a while but when Phil proposed it was with a gold and emerald engagement ring so it sealed the idea in stone!

While wedding planning, M & P decided that as Bruisyard Hall is already beautiful, they would really concentrate decorating efforts on the tables. They didn’t have the budget for pricey flower arrangements as centrepieces, so had fun choosing their own DIY wedding centrepieces instead. Designing and making their own made it all the more personal.

Every table at the wedding breakfast was named after a band that Martha & Phil had seen live together. Music and gigs are a giant love for them both so it was a no brainer. As Martha is a huge, huge bookworm, it made complete sense that the centre of the tables had a stack of green spined books with the appropriate bands CD leant up against it. With some gold stones in jam jars, gorgeous candleholders and some handmade table confetti, the tables were complete.

A friend of the newlyweds, Michelle, made the wedding cake. She transported it all the way from London on the morning of the wedding – what an absolute legend hey? It was three tiers and consisted of lemon & poppyseed, carrot cake and coffee & walnut – topped off with cream cheese, mm mmmm.

The Party

The wedding band in the evening was “The Shuffle Set”. It was a no brainer for Martha & Phil to have live music but choosing wasn’t an easy decision! They stumbled across their 1990s/2000s setlist and were sold. They never thought that Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus would be THE song of our wedding but it was GREAT. The final song of the night was “We Are Young” by Fun which The Shuffle Set learnt especially. All of their friends stood around us in a circle while they danced and sang together. Can you think of a more perfect way to end the night?!

Above all, this fun, elegant Bruisyard Hall wedding was incredible. If you’re getting married and looking for a relaxed wedding photographer, find out more about what I offer here!