Ash Barton is a lovely relaxed and homey venue for those wanting to choose all the aspects of their wedding. You can bring in caterers and decorate the huge barn in your own style. Even in January the grounds were beautiful and I was really impressed with the lake and all the interesting nooks and crannies for guests to wander in, and for us to take photos. The house is really unique, decorated with loads of different mirrors throughout, with a huge farmhouse kitchen and cosy living areas.
I was second photographer at Kim and Phil’s wedding, which I really enjoy doing from time to time. Having two photographers at your wedding is such a bonus as there is someone to photograph both the bride and groom getting ready, guests arriving at the venue while the bride put her finishing touches on and to photograph the details that sometimes there is not enough time for one person to capture fully. Wedding days are over so quickly for those involved and a second photographer helps to capture moments that the bride and groom can otherwise miss. I especially recommend it if you have over 100 guests attending. While one photographer is getting the must-have shots the other can be finding interesting angles and photographing the reactions of guests to what is going on.
Kim and Phil did an amazing job of decorating the barn, along with a lot of help from talented friends and family. Kim and her Maid of Honour even made all of the buttonholes and bouquets themselves (see photos), and the cake was made by the Maid of Honour too. Kim’s mum helped her to make her dress and her amazing shoes were from Irregular Choice which have a great selection for alternative brides who want something a bit different. I am just waiting for an occasion to splash out on a pair of these beauties for myself.
Their friends played music as they entered the ceremony barn – The Theme Tune to ‘Up’ – if I could get married again I would love to have this playing. One of my fave animated movies.
Kim and Phil were totally up for having a wander in the grounds and getting some fab photos by the lake. Kim had brought her wedding trainers especially for this.
Back in the barn for speeches, and guests had brought and shared a vast array of yummy looking dishes for the main meal and desserts and then cake was served.
Normally, even in January, I am prancing around in a dress with no jumper, working hard to get to all the right spots to capture all the moments, but Kim and Phil’s wedding was on such a chilly weekend that I wore my ski jacket and, after dinner and speeches, the guests went into the farmhouse to warm up by the huge fireplace where Phil’s Dad kept them all entertained with a great quiz.
We braved the cold to take a few flash photos outdoors and played with a few sparklers – a great advantage of winter weddings is that it gets dark so much earlier for these things. A lack of natural light after about 4pm in winter can be challenging for photographers but I am fully equipped with off and on-camera flashes for these situations.
The evening rounded off with morris dancing, of all things, with talented Kim taking part as one of the team and even playing her violin, and then a ceilidh dance, where guests fully warmed up. Two Birds Kitchen were making wood-fired pizzas outside in their van – I can vouch for their deliciousness, thanks guys.
