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Herefordshire Autumnal Wedding at Lyde Court
Herefordshire Autumnal Wedding Photography at Lyde Court
Another beautiful Autumn Wedding at the stunning Lyde Court in Herefordshire, a romantic 17th century stone barn, set in an idyllic rural location
Over 2 years ago Emily contacted me via Facebook. She had been following me for 5 years and told me that she always said if she ever got married she wanted me to be her photographer. When she told me this it completely made me well up. I love my job so much so to have someone say something so amazing literally made me beam and then get excited about her wedding. She told me that when they saw pictures from a wedding I shot at the stunning Hereford Wedding venue Lyde Court, they knew instantly it was the venue for them. They weren’t even engaged at the time but little things kept falling into place. Emily and Sam live in London so we didn’t get chance to meet up but kept in contact via email and text.
When I got to Emily for bridal preps the morning of September 29th and ‘met’ her for the first time, I felt like we had been friends for years. It was an absolutely stunning Autumnal day and the sun was shining so bright and light was thick with Autumnal colours. Exactly what Emily and Sam had always wanted. Emily’s Bridesmaid’s wore a stunning shade of green that went perfectly with the oranges and reds. Her nieces Boudicca, Morrigan and Elfwyn wore super cute Autumnal Princess dresses. They were absolutely adorable. The boys looked equally as gorgeous in Tweed.
I think we laughed the whole day. It was fantastic. I absolutely loved the whole rustic feel of it. They had decorated the venue with autumn leaves, lanterns and corks. Added to the millions of fairy lights at Lyde Court and you’ve got the perfect setting for an Autumnal September wedding.
Sam and Emily both wrote their own vows which even gave me eye bubbles and a lump in my throat. Afterwards we all went outside where the fire pits were blazing away and the sun was shining. Like I said the whole rustic Autumnal feel was incredible. I am a massive fan on Autumn. In fact its my favourite time of year so this felt like perfection to me.
I totally fell in love with both Sam and Emily and their families. I was in awe of her grandparents who have been together 71 years were sat holding hands on a bench even though she had fractured her arm.
Their friends were equally as amazing – we all had such a giggle – it was so funny during the throwing of the bouquet one of the Groomsmen literally ran in, threw his girlfriend over his shoulder and ran off!!! we got some cracking shots of that and someone actually got it on video!!
Anyway I think Ive babbled on enough. I will let Emily and Sam tell you their story
Early days- Your love story
- How did you meet; what attracted you to one another?
We actually met via Instagram. I found Sam through knowing someone else “following” him on Insta and didn’t think anything about giving him a cheeky little follow as well – he was a rugby player, beardy, tattooed and once we actually got talking, he was just really, really easy to talk to. He’s always told me I was the total opposite of his usual type; I’m tall, curvy and blonde, but he soon realised I was everything he was missing in his life. We put a date in the diary to meet, but unfortunately the day before, my Grandad passed away, so I cancelled due to just not being in the right frame of mind. Sam was ridiculously supportive for someone I’d never met. 1-week later Sam then went off travelling around the world for 4 months and I think both of us thought it would fizzle out, but it never did. We’d dropped the “L word” before we’d even met (Sam said it first) and the day after he got back, I drove to London to meet a total stranger that I’d had a 5-month virtual “thing” with.
Tell me about the proposal…
I always joke about this and tell people it wasn’t that romantic, but I don’t give him credit where it’s due. At the time, we lived by a little shopping centre, which the cutest little jewellery shop – and I always said if we got engaged, that was where I wanted him to get my ring from. After months and months of hinting and showing what I liked and didn’t like, we walked past the little shop and I fell in love with my (now) engagement ring. I said to Sam “that’s it, that’s the ring” and his response was “come on then, let’s go get engaged”. There I am sobbing in this teeny tiny shop trying on a ring that was a bit too big for me. So we sent it off to be re-sized and Sam picked it up a day earlier than expected without me knowing. We got home from work and I put my coat on the back of the door, turned around and Sam was on one knee – “I haven’t even asked you yet….will you marry me?”
Your perfect day spent together would be….
Going for a long walk in the autumn countryside to a little pub with a cosy fire is definitely our favourite thing to do and we ensure we take advantage of having the time to do it when we can.
What inspired you to choose your location/venue and theme of your wedding?
You did, Tammie!!! You posted some (amazing) pictures of the venue on your photography Facebook and I was scrolling through one day and Sam said “we need to go and look at this venue, it looks incredible”. We went, very quickly fell in love and after checking the Guinness tap worked, came away with the 15th September 2018 booked. Whilst driving home and thinking and chatting away about themes, we decided we wanted an autumn forest theme (we love the colours, we love countryside walks in the autumn all snugged up and felt it suited perfectly to the venue) and wanted to move the wedding to 29th September 2018 – one call later and it was confirmed. It was the only venue we looked at and what the funniest thing about all this is, we weren’t even engaged!!
Memorable moments on the day
We were just so excited and really relaxed about it all. One thing we’ve both said is that we were never worried or nervous about the day.
- What parts stood out for you the most? We’ve been asked this so many times and it’s so hard to pinpoint a single moment in an entire day of pure joy, but someone gave us the advice to go and take ten minutes just to us away from the wedding party and there is a little secret garden at Lyde Court and we went and found a bench and just sat there together quietly holding hands and both of us have said it was such a special moment for us.
Tell me about your Honeymoon
- Where did you go? We went off to west Canada (visited Vancouver, Whistler, Jasper, Lake Louise, Banff & Calgary)
‘How long for? Just shy of 3 weeks
The bits thay stand out the most was seeing grizzly bears standing on top of the Athabasca Glacier. Putting some of my (Emily) grandad’s ashes in Lake Louise – just to name a few, but these were key highlights for us.
What advice would you give other Brides to be?
To enjoy the run up to it, to not let it stress you out. Keep a checklist of what’s left to do and give yourself time, get as much done as early as you can, so you can chill before the wedding – it’s about enjoying your day with your new husband & family.
Suppliers
www.weddingdressesbirmingham.com
Bride’s dress – service was incredible in here
https://www.facebook.com/jojo.crooks
Hair – one of the nicest ladies I’ve ever met
Make-up – I’m so so fussy with my make up, but Rosie listened to everything I said
www.jjshouse.com – we ordered them custom fit from this website
Bridesmaids’ dresses (boutique)
Groom’s suit (store)
Wedding cake
www.thegreatbritishflorist.co.uk
Flowers
www.illuminightobiledisco.co.uk
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