A country affair: eco, rustic wedding at Folly Farm

The Penfolds -  Heavens Above

The Penfolds -  Heavens Above

**AS FEATURED IN WEDDING IDEAS JAN 2011 ISSUE!**

A day in the country
Bunting, haybales, teepees, a hogroast and bluebells…this was a truly country affair. The Avon Wildlife Trust’s glorious Folly Farm [www.follyfarm.org] bathed in surprisingly glorious sunshine, atop the Mendips, was the perfect venue for this rustic wedding, embellished with plenty of lovely decorations handmade by friends and family and a fabulous dress made by the seamstress extraordinaire Gill Cockwell of Gilly Woo Couture (www.gillywoo.com).

A fortunate accident
I wasn’t even meant to be there. Someone else’s misfortune had turned into my good fortune; Faye and Dave’s wedding photographer pulled out a month before the wedding. Without a contract to protect their investment, they were left in the lurch. With little notice, they had to find a new photographer. Photographs for several feature articles had to be delivered. As the wedding promised lots of handmade touches in a rustic setting, I originally recommended Rosie Parsons [www.rosieparsons.com] and Owen & Charis at O&C Photography [www.oacphotography.com], with the intention to second shoot. It would have been an honour to work with either of them.

A different challenge
In the end, Faye’s friends, Chris Marshall and Mike Clarke, took up the gauntlet and then she asked me to come along too. Between them, the videocameraman and yours truly, things were…interesting. The main challenge was keeping the others shooters out of the frame! For me, my favourite shot of the day came at sunset. I always carry an extra wide angle lens in my bag, but rarely put it to use at weddings. The couple were sitting for some of Chris’ pictures on a bench by the pond. Suddenly the pond was filled with all the colours of the sky and I realised that having very few minutes before the sun disappeared, I cleared everyone out from around the pond and got my shot.

Added bonus
Faye kept the cost of her wedding to a minimum by trading off goods, services and favours (!) against the promise of press coverage. I was more than happy when she selected my pictures to be submitted to Wedding Ideas magazine [www.weddingideasmag.com] , which were featured in the January 2011 issue, to be followed by further publications.

Some of the highlights (scroll down to bottom for full gallery)

Folly Farm Orchard100410 Faye Dave Penfold C1_0004_585

Bunting galore100410 Faye Dave Penfold C1_0027_585

Hats off to you kind sir100410 Faye Dave Penfold C1_0076_585

The arrival of the bride
100410 Faye Dave Penfold C1_0143_585

Traditional decor100410 Faye Dave Penfold C1_0173_585

Delicious nibbles prepared by a chef friend shipped over from New Zealand100410 Faye Dave Penfold C2_0031_585

The bride arrived in style100410 Faye Dave Penfold C1_0125_585

A wonderful gnarly tree standing atop the hill100410 Faye Dave Penfold C2_0207_585

Faye, the blushing bride100410 Faye Dave Penfold C2_0251_585

Cute bunches of local blooms100410 Faye Dave Penfold C3_0082_585

Centrepieces made by the talented matron of honour100410 Faye Dave Penfold C3_0164_585

What character!100410 Faye Dave Penfold C3_0167_585

Heavens above100410 Faye Dave Penfold C3_0050_585

Into the night100410 Faye Dave Penfold C4_0082_585

Illuminating100410 Faye Dave Penfold C4_0087_585

Spellbound100410 Faye Dave Penfold C4_0169_585

Ole!100410 Faye Dave Penfold C4_0243_585

Gleaming smile and ring100410 Faye Dave Penfold C4_0256_585

Knees up!100410 Faye Dave Penfold C4_0261_585

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Comments

3 responses to “A country affair: eco, rustic wedding at Folly Farm”

  1. Waiman Yau Avatar

    Awesome photo’s! You did a great job of capturing the spirit of the day which seemed like a very unique event!

  2. Dominique Avatar

    Great shots, love the night time ones, that sky is amazing! Also, the ones of the kiddies are really well captured, so cute. x

  3. fenderbirds Avatar
    fenderbirds

    nice article, keep the posts coming

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