Wow.
This wedding was a while ago. Back when I was 34 weeks pregnant with my now 19 month old son! My husband got lovingly dragged along to be my bag carrier and food/drink provider for the day and to make sure I sat down every hour to rest my very pregnant feet... Given all that has happened since this day I'll apologise now for forgetting almost everything about it. So, buckle up for a blog post that I can guarantee has absolute zero mistakes in it. None. I promise.
So, going even further back, I actually photographed these two wonderful people on April 1st 2021 with just their parents present due to that C word I don't dare write. If you fancy more reading and pretty pictures go check out the blog post from that day, here. I was absolutely honoured to be invited back to document their Alice in Wonderland themed wedding day with all their family and friends in attendance in June of 2021.
They chose the incredible Stourton Estates in Baumber, Horncastle as their venue and even braved an outdoor ceremony! You'll all be relieved to know England decided to be very kind and gave us a beautifully sunny day with zero rain 🙌
Stourton Estates is set in a beautiful woodland with festoon lights guiding your way from the guest car park through a beautiful tree lined pathway to the arboretum. Here they have their safari tent with wooden flooring throughout and views down to the lake and fields, home to herds of Red Deer. Dan and Jess even had all of their guests camp within the Stourton Estates ground on the night of their wedding to get the most of their day with their loved ones.
I started my day at Jess' mum's house where I got my first glimpse of the ridiculously glorious VW camper they had hired for the day. It was a wonderful chilled morning and I was soon heading off to Stourton Estates thanks my chauffeur for the day, my lovely husband. After the vows, filled with many science related jokes that flew straight over my head, I took them both away for a few minutes to get some couple portraits whilst their guests played a variety of lawn games. One game in particular sticks in my memory, which I believe it was called Kubb and is Swedish in origin. From what I could tell it mostly consisted of launching blocks of wood at each other. Sorry, I mean at the other teams row of neatly balanced wooden blocks on the floor... Definitely one for earlier in the day when less alcohol has been consumed for sure.
They then had afternoon tea, in which I was VERY well looked after by the lovely staff at Stourton Estates. A full 3 tiered cake stand full of different puddings? Yes please. We were then treated to some excellent speeches followed by a first dance to "The Time Warp" played by the band The Mixtapes. Who are phenomenal by the way, highly recommend!
The rest fo the evening was filled with more Kubb (of course), a hog roast, a fire pit for toasted marshmallows and BUBBLES. Gotta love bubbles. Yes I'm a child... Long after I had gone home, my comfy bed calling to me, The Mixtapes even got everyone sitting round the fire pit to do an incredible rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody! Safe to say, everyone had a great time at this wonderfully relaxed day.
Not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of myself for this recollection. Well done brain.
Wonderful suppliers from the day:
Hair and MUA: Emily Johnson Hair and Makeup
Shoes: Irregular Choice
Venue: Stourton Esates
Band: The Mixtapes
Decor including bouquets and buttonholes: The wonderful bride!
Now, onwards to the photos!