a merriscourt barn wedding

What a wedding. Flower crowns, hillarious speeches, crazy dancefloor action, beautiful Cotswolds countryside and some of the best ceremony light I have ever seen at the amazing Merriscourt wedding venue in the Cotswolds. It was my first time photographing at Merriscourt and I absolutely loved it, what an amazing wedding venue! But to be honest, Gemma and Sam were the icing on the already pretty special cake – they were absolutely awesome from start to finish. It was so lovely spending the day with them and their families and friends.

We started the day with Gemma who was getting ready in the beautiful Pump House cottage next to the barns. It was a hive of activity, especially when Lucy from Lucy Walker flowers arrived. A cornucopia of bouquets, crowns and even wands were unloaded and everyone crowded round to admire her handiwork. I followed her over to see Sam who was getting ready with his family in one of the cottages. Lucy helped them put their buttonholes on and I even got to see some of the most confused, slowest shirt ironing I’ve witnessed in my life :)

It always happens – you hit the one hour before the ceremony mark and suddenly time seems to speed up and a renewed sense of urgency descends upon those getting ready. It’s inevitable, no matter how prepared you are or how early you were before that point. So before we knew it Gemma was ready and making her way into the beautiful Merriscourt barn for the ceremony. Like I said above – that ceremony light! So stunning. It’s basically a photographer’s dream. The readings were great – with one actually slightly amended by Sam to personalise it for Gemma which was really special. And then they were married. They left in a hail of confetti and guests descended on them to congratulate them. I always tell couples to really soak this part of the day up, not to rush into anything formal but to just enjoy it and take it in – and it allows me to get such lovely natural shots too. Like the one of the boys enjoying the ‘ham station’. (No, I’ve never heard of a ham station before but I think every wedding should have one. See if you can find the picture of it below).

The wonderful thing about Merriscourt is that you can literally walk in any direction you like and be surrounded by beautiful countryside and spectacular views. So after a little while that’s exactly what we did. I think they enjoyed having some time together and a chance to take it all in. Then it was back to the barn for the meal and some speeches. The shot of Gemma and Sam pulling the ‘oh dear’ faces during her mum’s speech is one of my all time favourites. For contractual reasons I can’t tell you what was said to elicit such a reaction ;)

The day merged into the evening and the band (AMAZING – Ooompf band from Brighton, highly recommended) started up and people hit the dancefloor immediately, before the first dance had even happened. Next thing you know it was congas, dancing on shoulders and general craziness. Enjoy!