Siobhan & Sam – Tithe Barn

“Sophie! We are blown away!!! These are PERFECT. Thank you so, so much. There are so many amazing ones. You captured my grandmother Shanna so perfectly, her looking at her great-grandson in the pram is priceless. My mum doing my dads pinhole. My girls getting ready. Me talking to Sam’s mum. All the photos of our families and friends. They bring back ALL of the wonderful memories of the day. I don’t think we’ve smiled so much in one day :-) and you’ve captured all of them.”

Tithe Barn Wedding, Petersfield

Ok you’d think I have better things to do on NYE than blog, but in all truth I’ve been saving this one up because it’s one of my most favourite ever weddings. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these two. We met in a bar in Wimbledon for our meeting, and I’m fairly sure we stayed well past just one drink! I clicked immediately with both Siobhan and Sam because they truly are two of life’s absolute treasures. They were married at the Tithe Barn, Petersfield, in September last year. Yes I know!…but sometimes it’s quite lovely to look back over past weddings and really look at the images I captured. It’s a lovely way to reflect, and to reach into those moments that gave me all the feels, rather than what might be perceived as the ‘hero’ shots of the day. If anyone knows me and my work, I always focus on the in-between glances, or certain expressions that a person has. That’s the tough bit, truly capturing the essence of the people in our lives, and pinning down that moment forever. It’s something I try to achieve at every wedding I shoot, which is what makes my job so fascinating, and challenging! This was a wedding where the people were truly themselves. Tears flowed, loving looks were thrown and many, MANY hugs were given. It was one I remember enjoying so much I wanted to keep hold of it as long as possible.

So back to the start, I began at Siobhan’s family home, meeting Wes their gorgeous dog first of all, and then a wall of happy faces followed, and I knew it was going to be a goodun’. Siobhan was so happy and relaxed and her sisters and Sam’s sister kept her nice and chilled until it was time to head to the barn. An anxious but excited Sam awaited the bridal crew, and the beautiful ceremony began. Siobhan’s Mother read the most beautiful piece (I think from The Velveteen Rabbit, but I will need Siobhan to confirm this!) and we all cried. There were moments when her Mum couldn’t quite get through it, and she glanced away from the guests only to catch my eye, which was also brimming with tears, so I smiled and she carried on. It was one of the loveliest moments of 2017 for me. A wonderful confetti line in the Autumnal surroundings of the Tithe Barn kicked off the reception, and we took our chance to wander the grounds for some quiet time. Sam and Siobhan’s guests were absolute legends. SO upbeat and fun, a total joy to photograph. After a few group shots the couple made their way into the wedding breakfast accompanied by New Order, Blue Monday which was quite possibly the best entrance I’ve ever seen. Bless them for being the BEST sports and doing it their way. We had some brilliant and heartfelt, but still funny speeches and a beautiful first dance, followed by some cracking dance-floor action. When it was my turn to say farewell I knew that I’d been very lucky to spend my last wedding of September (my 7th of that month!) with such awesome people. A big thanks also goes to Caroline at Perfect Peony Weddings who ensured everything ran smoothly and I know was a life-saver to the couple in the lead up to the wedding.  I have been incredibly lucky these past 6 years, and each year I am invited to take part in people’s weddings, I have to pinch myself that I get to call this my job. My sincerest thanks goes to Siobhan and Sam, for being downright ruddy wonderful. I hope we always keep in touch, but for now (better late than never!), here are my favourites from your day. Lots of love xxx

Thanks for looking! Like what you see? Head over to my Portfolio page for more images, and my favourite images from previous years! x