Southfarm wedding with Olivia & Joe.

So my first big wedding on the year was at the very lovely Southfarm wedding venue near Royston with Olivia & Joe https://south-farm.co.uk/. I love shooting at new venues and Southfarm is definitely a wedding venue I cannot wait to shoot at again. Located near Royston in Cambridgeshire thsi 16C hall has been converted into a wedding venue since 2005. With 11 acres of gardens to explore, old steam engines, gypsy caravans and pigs - yes pigs on site there are plenty of opportunities for beautiful photography at this venue. As with most new venues for me I always make a point of visiting it beforehand and I met with Olivia & Josh in December to get a feel for the place. I am so glad that I did as I had lots of great ideas for photography before the day had begun.

It is always good to know why couples book me for their weddings as there is so much choice when it comes to wedding photography. It was great to discover that they both loved my black and white work - I do love black and white photography, have you noticed? They also both loved my use of backlighting my subjects to get strong and creative silhouettes. Olivia told me that she also felt that I would understand what they both wanted in terms of photography on the day and that we would get on well personally - so important when choosing a wedding photographer and we certainly connected well on the day.

Bridal Preparation.

Southfarm is a good two hours from Lincoln where I live, so an early start for me. I arrived with plenty of time to spare so I busied myself with detail shots until Olivia was ready for the all important bridal portraits. Olivias mum put the finishing touches to Olivias dress and then it was time for the grand reveal with dad, always a great image to produce, and one of my favourites.

Church Ceremony.

Olivia & Joe where married at St Marys church in Houghton, a good 45 minutes from Southfarm, so as soon as bridal portraits where done it was off to the church to catch up with Joe before the ceremony, phew just made it.

I really love these images of Olivia prior to the ceremony with her veil down - very cool.

Southfarm.

Although mid February we where lucky enough with the weather, but to keep things nice and simple with the family and group photos once we arrived back at Southfarm I kept all group shot nice and simple so we could shoot with efficiency and speed. I have to give huge credit to Olivia for producing the most detailed group list I have ever seen and we managed to keep all guests and family members happy by getting the the all important family photos nice and quickly - phew.

With group photos in the bag it was now time for my favourite part of any wedding, bride and groom portraits. There are so many great locations around Southfarm for great photos such as the gypsy caravans, this turned out to be one of Olivias favourite images from the day - great choice Olivia.

I also love my technique of producing bride and groom portraits by just having a walk, a cuddle, a kiss and shooting documentary style, it really does produce a lovely collection of images.

Joes favourite image.

Favourite Moments.

I asked Joe and Olivia what their favourite moments from the day where and what they where most looking forward to. They both explained that they where most looking forward to spending the day with all their families and loved ones and that their favourite moment from the day was their first dance. I really like the area where couples take the first dance at Southfarm. It is a separate part of the barn and the bride and groom can feel like they are completely away from everyone else while the guests view the first dance from the main part of the barn, a very special moment for Olivia. They chose How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding. But before we had the first dance it was time for sparklers, I love shooting these images, very technical but always looks great.

One of my favourite images is this one, I love shooting at night with portable studio flash unit. This produces really creative shots and I love teh backlighting and silhouette effect.

 

 

How long will I love you?

As long as stars are above you

And longer if I can.

After the first dance it was time for the Ceilidh band Bowstring to entertain everyone. I do like a Ceilidh band they are great at getting most guests up and about on the dance floor and Bowstring where great at this too.

 

So that was my first wedding at the very lovely Southfarm and I cannot wait to shoot here again. If you are planning a wedding at Southfarm get in touch and tell me all about your plans, I would love to shoot your wedding there.

https://www.masseyphotography.co.uk/contact-us/

 

Olivia and Joe's dream team.

Venue - Southfarm https://south-farm.co.uk/weddings/

Hair & make Up - Izzy Foster Wild https://www.izzywild.co.uk/

Ceilidh band - Bowstring https://www.ramonamusic.co.uk/bowstring/

Live artist - SP Wedding art https://www.sp-wedding.art/

Dress - Blush in Ely https://www.sp-wedding.art/