Somerset Wedding Photographers

Tania + Andy – Somerset, UK

Tania and Andy’s relaxed, stylish and fun wedding at Brympton House in Somerset should be an example to everyone that demonstrates that when it rains, the party continues! The atmospheric backdrop of the manor house during a storm, coupled with Tania and Andy’s upbeat, positive and infectious energy came together to create a visually stylish, dramatic and authentic day.

Oh, and don’t forget the emotion! The small glances to one another, the deep embraces, the hugs with their parents mid-ceremony, music led by their close friend with so much passion and the oodles of other personal symbols of affection throughout, this celebration in the countryside mid storm really was a real treat for my eagle eyes…

Now for some words from Tania and Andy, or scroll down to see their fun and emotive wedding photos.

Before becoming engaged, did you have any preconceived ideas of what your wedding would be like? And if so, how did this change once you started planning?

We did! We thought we wanted a relaxed “festival” themed wedding in a DIY venue where we could really express ourselves. Something outside in the summer with tipis, lots of music and Glastonbury vibes.

How and why did you choose your venue(s)?

We went to visit what we thought was our dream venue (a farm venue in Somerset) and popped by an open day at Brympton House on the way back to London as a “wild card” to test our assumptions about what we thought we wanted. It was a dark drizzly January and the house looked so grand and romantic in the darkness. We fell in love. We were both quite shocked as it wasn’t what we thought we wanted but the house was so beautiful and the chance to get married in such an amazing venue – with that staircase! was too tempting. We thus decided we could bring the elements of the festival wedding that we wanted to the stunning and grand venue that was Brympton House.

What were your top one/three priorities in planning your wedding?

(1) Having the wedding party being able to stay on site for more than just the wedding day.

(2) Being able to party late.

(3) Being able to bring our own wine.

What one thing most surprised you during the build up to your wedding?

Honestly …. how awful the wedding venue treated us at every step of the planning process and then on the day and after! Their service level contrasted so acutely with the incredible service we got from all the third party providers, the band, cake lady, hair, videographer, photographer (of course!) were all a compete delight to deal with and could not have done more to help and put us at ease. Obviously this does not detract from how stunning the venue is in itself, what a location!

On a positive note we absolutely loved planning our wedding. It really was great fun to plan the food, readings, music, pick the flowers and just plan our perfect party! The build up – shopping for all the outfits, picking flowers and food, learning to do a few dance moves – all of these things provided wonderful excuses to spend more time with loved ones and build excitement.

We felt that one of the best ways to justify the cost of a wedding is to divide the cost by the number of days you look forward to it as that way it seems like a bargain :)

What one thing most surprised you on the day of your wedding?

Everyone says it, but honestly, how quickly it goes. It really was the fastest day of our lives! That’s why our advice to everyone getting married is two things:

(1) Try and stay relaxed and enjoy all the build up and planning as it’s all over in a flash; and

(2) Invest in a good photographer and videographer because at the end of the day after all the canapés have been eaten the photos and video are what you have left!

Of course the weather was also quite a surprise too. We had seen the forecast was not good but we were definitely not prepared for Storm Dennis and the torrential rain and 100mph winds. We had planned for rain so had lots of brollies but the wind meant they all were useless.

I suppose the lesson is don’t worry about the weather as the weather really could not have been worse for us. We didn’t get the beautiful photo by the lake which we had pictured when we booked but it did not matter at all. The storm made the atmosphere electric and made for a wedding no one will forget!

If you could do it all over again, which one thing wouldn’t you change, and if anything, what one thing would you change?

There were quite a few slightly unconventional things we did that friends and family advised against some example – making Oasis, Wonderwall one of our “hymns”, doing a joint speech, having a bridesmaids speech, Andy doing a DJ set at the end of the night. We also worried that our band (very dance music focused) were going to alienate the “older generation” but at the end of the day all these things were what we wanted and made us so incredibly happy all day that everyone else just buzzed off of our energy and happiness.

It’s hard to say what one thing we would change as we can’t imagine it any differently. We wanted everything to be super relaxed and didn’t want any time away from our guests however we probably wish we had spent just a bit more time getting photos with specific groups of people (like school friends, uni friends etc) as Barney had suggested to us before the day.

What advice would you give a couple planning their wedding?

(1) Stay true to what you want and don’t do things just to please other people or because you think it’s something you have to do.

(2) Don’t underestimate the importance of the photos and video. The flowers die, the food gets gobbled down, the dress ends up black (especially in storm Dennis!) but the photos and videos keep forever.

(3) Enjoy every second of the build up as it’s over so quickly and you will just wish you could do it all again.

A complete supplier list can be found in the footer of this blog post.

With help from:

Venue – Brympton House

Videographer: Foster Filming

Catering – Sage With Zest

Ceremony & Reception Singer – Laura Wyatt

Band – Chromatic

Cake – The Silver Cake Company

Hair – Pare Hair

Make-up – Elena Bedwell

Flowers and Styling- Brympton Styling

Dress designer – Enzoani

Joanna + Scott – Somerset, UK

“We had a few non-negotiables in terms of what we were looking for in our wedding venue, and as soon as I saw The Walled Garden at Orchardleigh online I knew it would be a strong contender. We had quite a big guest list, so a lot of places had to be ruled out simply because they couldn’t accommodate our numbers. We knew we wanted some accommodation on site, and that the layout for the reception room felt open. It was also important that the bar was easily accessible in the same room as the dancefloor to keep everyone together. My (now) husband was also adamant that with a July wedding there was adequate air conditioning 😊.

In terms of styling, it was important to us that our day reflected us as a couple. I’d describe it as, if our friends and family had walked around not knowing it was our wedding, I’d have hoped they would have been able to guess anyway, and that they would walk away saying the day oozed Scott and I’s personalities. We had Fleetwood-Mac themed invitations, a personally chosen gin bar during reception drinks, a Sean Paul “Like Glue” entrance, homemade skittle vodka shot favours on the tables, and of course, our now infamous wedding breakfast playlist! I will always remember the whole room singing The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me Baby” back at me whilst the starters were being served. The music was loud, people were up dancing and it was a party atmosphere from start to finish, exactly how we wanted it!” – Joanna and Scott

Full Supplier List in the footer.

Some wedding planning tips from the Bride, Joanna…

My advice to anyone going through the planning process would be that, in my opinion, the top three things that make a great wedding haven’t changed much….

People – Make sure you have the people you want there, and if venues can’t accommodate your numbers, don’t sacrifice not being able to invite people for a place. There are loads of beautiful venues so just keep searching!
Food & Drinks – Choose the food & drink you want for your wedding breakfast and but don’t worry about splashing out on things like canapés and champagne during reception drinks. When I was fretting over wanting the more expensive canapés my husband said to me “Think back to a wedding you went to 3 years ago… can you remember what the canapés were or whether it was champagne or prosecco?” he was right, I couldn’t!
Music is key! Whether a string quartet is your vibe, a steel band or acoustic guitar player, or even just a well put together iPod playlist, having a good selection of tunes sets the mood and tone for any event. We spent over £1000 on two sets of live musicians, one for during reception drinks and then some live singers in the evening and are SO pleased we did.

And finally some very kind words too…

“I couldn’t recommend Barney enough! From the moment we met, my now Husband and I both felt completely at ease with him, and that our wedding photography was in safe hands. After all, you can only capture those moments once!

Barney can be described as nothing less than an expert in his field. On the day, he coordinated so much behind the scenes with our venue, videographer etc. to ensure we captured great shots at the right time. As a couple who don’t sit easily in front of the camera, he made us feel completely comfortable which meant a lot.

If you are looking for real, natural, unstaged wedding photography with a down to earth guy, look no further, Barney is your man!”

Supplier List

Photography: South West Wedding Photographer Barney Walters.

Ceremony & Reception Venue: The Walled Garden at Orchardleigh Estate

Videographer: Red Carpet Cinematography

MUA: Kayleigh Marsh

Hair Stylist: Gemma Scott

Reception Drinks Band/DJ: Jason Darling

Evening Band/DJ: Scott Richardson

Florist: Norma @The Lily Locket

Cake: The Cheese Shed

Dress Designer: Grace Loves Lace

Light Up Lights: The Word Is Love

Rebecca + George – Somerset, UK

Gants Mill Weddings Gants Mill is not the easiest place to find, located off the beaten track in the no phone signal parts of Somerset, down a narrow lane and over a train track, past some fields and then you ARRIVE ! Wow what a find for Rebecca & George, and what a day ! – One which I’m so glad I was involved in and could witness. The sun shone endlessly from start to finish and with the garden setting, backdrop of the old mill and sheep grassing all around it was a magical english country fun garden wedding.

Top work to Becks & George for putting together such a blast and using their personal skill sets to put their own unique stamp on the day. (Becks a dancer and George a set designer)

Thanks to the truly organised owner duo of Gants Mill – genuinely what a lovely home you have. Most of all however a huge thanks to Becks & George, for allowing me to do my thing and amuse me with a few ideas.

Gants Mill Weddings