A Beautiful May Wedding at Lyde Court in Herefordshire

A Beautiful May Wedding at Lyde Court in Herefordshire

Last May I had the pleasure of photographing the stunning wedding of Tara & James who got married in a romantic rustic 17th Century stone barn located in rural Herefordshire. Lyde Court is easily one of my favourite venues with so much character about it.

On the morning of Tara & James wedding one thing massively stood out to me, how completely chilled and laid back it was. Music was softly playing in the stunning White Room where the girls were getting ready. I immediately fell in love with all the girls who were such a giggle to be around. I felt like I had known them for years.

At the end of May Lyde Court was in full bloom with beautiful flowers and this definitely added to the romance of the whole day.

Tara and James said their ‘I do’s’ in the beautiful Rose Garden which was in full bloom with yellow roses. It was perfect. I was really touched with Tara’s Dad’s emotions on the day. He didn’t have a dry eye from the minute he saw her in her wedding dress and watched her exchange vows with James.

I absolutely LOVED Tara and James wedding. We literally had such a giggle and never took the couples shots seriously at all. Even the group shots were filled with silly poses, funny faces and much much laughter. It was the theme of the day to be honest. Chilled with A LOT of laughter. I remember Tara saying a few times throughout the day ‘This is exactly how I had dreamed it’ and I totally got that. It was the perfect day in every way.

 

Early days – Your love story

•How did you meet; what attracted you to one another?. 

It was coming up to Download Festival 2009. Myself and James had never met before. My dad drank in the pub where James worked, he told my dad he couldn’t get to the festival until the Friday but wanted someone to secure a good spot on the campsite for him. My dad suggested I could take his camping gear with me on the Thursday and save a good spot for James and his mates to set up camp. We met for the first time at the festival gates and we became inseparable from then really. We immediately got on, and I was very impressed when he was able to jump start my car at the end of the festival because the battery had gone dead. We were best friends from the start, and it was like we had always known each other. Very relaxed, good sense of humour, and we liked the same things most importantly rock and metal music.

Tell me about the proposal…

St Ives is one of our favourite places to go on holiday. We went for a break around Easter time 2018. We were drinking in our favourite pub , it was getting late, and we decided to call it a night around midnight. James then decided it was a good idea to walk down to the beach on the way home, it was a little cold so I was initially resistant but agreed to go down and have a look at the empty beach. When we got down there after a while I decided I was a now too cold and decided to walk off back home, James however said he had one question for me, I turned around and he was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was very speechless, swore one too many times, very shocked, and had to be reminded to give my answer. I then ran over to him and whilst trying to give him a hug, very clumsily we managed to bash heads. Not the most dignified proposal, but it was perfect for us.

Your perfect day spent together would be….

Eating a pasty, drinking some Prosecco on Porthmeor Beach in St Ives on a sunny day.

What inspired you to choose your location/venue and theme of your wedding?

We saw a couple of venues prior to picking Lyde Court, but they didn’t feel ‘us’.

We knew we didn’t want a traditional wedding, as it wouldn’t fit who we were. We like heavy music, rustic places, beautiful countryside, nature, and Lyde Court was the perfect setting for our wedding ticking each and every box. As soon as we went round on one of their open days, we both completely fell in love with the venue and all of its quirky surroundings. There is no other places we wanted to get married. The venue itself is extremely beautiful and there is a lot of flexibility to ‘dress’ the venue to match your dream wedding. We were very grateful they even let us do axe throwing!

Memorable moments on the day

•How did you both feel on the day?

Despite initial nerves, and having a very bad cold on the day of the wedding, (desperately reaching out for tissues during the ceremony! Haha) after many months of super detailed planning, once I was in my dress, I felt everything fit into place. For me the day just perfectly flowed from one activity or event to the next and it was amazing to see all our friends and family having an awesome time. For me it was the absolutely one of the best days of my life which I will never forget. James conversely tells me he felt calm throughout the whole planning, morning and the day itself, concluding that overall he had a fabulous ‘rad’ day.

One of the most memorable parts for us would be firstly the ceremony, which we enjoyed much more than we were expecting and the way we paired the readings and the music to personalise the spectacle was very moving. We also loved the atmosphere throughout the wedding of everyone having a fantastic time, and the high amount of energy and love from everyone.  We did not stop dancing the whole night to amazing metal and rock music, played by the awesome Dj Ed Steelefox. Every part of the wedding from the axe throwing, to the fires, to the heavy metal party was simply perfect to celebrate our marriage our own unique way.

Tell me about your Honeymoon  •Where did you go?) ‘How long for?

We  had a 3 week busy itinerary travelling firstly to South Africa, to Cape Town, and then along the Garden Route staying in Wilderness and Plettenberg Bay to then have a 4 day safari before travelling onto Mauritius. The honeymoon itself was a trip of lifetime, and South Africa is a truly beautiful country. We have never travelled in such luxury and style. The key highlight for us was the Safari in South Africa. Being able to see all the amazing animals including lions, cheetahs, giraffes, elephants, rhinos up close, and in the wild was astounding. Memories to last a life time.

 

What advice would you give other Brides to be?

• Don’t leave things too late, suppliers get booked up far in advance, probably earlier than you expect. Always book your photographer first as they are such a key part to the wedding day.
• Make sure you keep your guests entertained throughout the day.
• Don’t do something because you feel you have to to please others, only do it if you want to.

Suppliers 

Bride’s dress – , La Couture Bridal

Hair – Rebel Rock, Hereford

Make-up – Rebel Rock, Hereford

Bridesmaids’ dresses (boutique) – Debenhams! Haha

Groom’s suit (store) Moss Bros

Wedding cake – Cakes by Karen, Worcester

Flowers The Fabulous Florist

Entertainment DJ Ed Steelefox