Mark & Laura, Wedding on the hill!
Jen and I have known the Holmes family for many years and have watched Mark grow from a baby in nappies to the fantastic person that he is now, so when Mark & Laura announced their engagement and I was asked to be the wedding photographer I felt really honoured.
So the great day arrived, I went to Mark & Laura's home to shoot the getting ready photo's whilst Lucinda my second photographer went off to Marks parents house to photograph the boys, the girls take.... well hours to be ready, the boys....all of 5 minutes...lol.
Then it was off to All Saints Church in Ryde on the Isle of Wight.
After a beautiful service packed with emotion it was back to the family farm and with the reception on top of a hill with stunning views of the beautiful Island it just had to be the perfect place to party!
So here we go.
First names:
Laura Butler & Mark Holmes
Ages:
Laura - 27 & Mark - 29
Wedding date:
27th May 2017
Venue:
Ceremony at All Saints Church, Ryde & reception in a marquee in Rookley
How did you guys meet, tell me all?
Mark and I both knew someone who suggested I came over for Bestival one year, so I did and we went to Marks family pub, The Chequers Inn, the night before, that was when we very first met. From then on we done the same thing for a few years but each time we gradually spent a bit more time together meeting up at the festival. Then after Bestival 2014 Mark told me he wanted to take me out on a date, which he did a few weeks later!
How did you get engaged, is there a cool story?
Our engagement was like something from a film! My Birthday was coming up in January and Mark said we should do something for it, for which we came to the agreement of going up to London for a weekend, little did I know that he had planned this but somehow made me feel like I came up with the idea. I think it was the Thursday when Mark phoned me when I was at work and said to make sure I wore something nice to go out for dinner on the Friday, and when I got home my Mum was going through my wardrobe with me to make sure I was going to be dressed appropriately. So I thought, wow, he must be taking me somewhere nice! We arrived to the hotel on the Friday and Mark had already planned with the taxi where we were going, so I was very shocked when we then pulled up outside The Ritz!! We got seated at our table and we both found it hilarious about how posh it was and how out of place we felt, but it was very very nice. We had what felt like about 10 courses, which was lovely, then we were waiting for our desert… I saw some waiters coming out with a big rose, and I turned to Mark and said ‘oh look, someone’s getting a rose’! Then I see two plates being bought out, which had different silver lids on, again I turned to Mark and said ‘how come they’re getting silver lids?!’ The next bit seems a bit of a blur, they bought the two plates with the silver lids over to our table, they put the rose down and then they put the two plates down and lifted the lids to which I look down at my plate and see a ring! I didn’t say anything for a while just stared at my plate then Mark got down on the floor on one knee, of course I started to cry, neither of us are completely sure what Mark said whilst down on one knee but it was lovely. Mark then got up to put the ring on my finger, knocking over my glass of wine, at this point I still don’t think I had said anything but I think I did manage to finally say yes!
What made you choose your wedding venue, did you look at many?
We did look round a few churches but we needed one big enough to fit all of our many guests in! We were set on the marquee from the start.
What was the inspiration/theme of your wedding?
We wanted to go with a rustic/vintage theme, we also wanted an informal day to get everyone together to all have a good time.
What is your first song and why?
We chose Eagle Eye Cherry – Save the night. We chose this song because of the lyrics, the first 2 and a half years of our relationship was long distance. Mark lived on the island and I lived on the mainland so only got our weekends together, which was tough, the lyrics of this song are all about saving the last night with each other, and making the most of it, before having to leave.
What would be your number one tip to other couples planning their wedding?
Start planning straight away, time just goes so quickly, you can’t prepare enough!
Wedding Suppliers
Hair stylist: Zarla Fowler
Website: http://zarla.co/
Make up artist: The Beauty Shed
Website: http://www.the-beauty-shed.co.uk/
Bridesmaids dresses: A Bride 2 Bee
Website: http://www.abride2bee.co.uk/
Suits: Osbornes, Ryde
Website: http://osbornes-online.co.uk/
Florist: Flowers by Nic
Website: http://floralboutiqueiow.co.uk/
Cake: Frostbite Bakery
Website: http://www.frostbitebakery.co.uk/
|
|
|
|
The singing waiters ( Silver Service Singers ) were a surprise from Sue, Marks mother, Sue told me that she had had sleepless nights about what they would do and how good they were........ Well they really made the reception, they sang superbly and the interaction with the party was amazing. I think Jess quite enjoyed the attention as well! The first two images below are evening shots with extra lighting to give a dramatic look to them, I do this at most weddings to give the couple a few Hollywood style photographs that are a bit more dramatic than usual. |
|
The shots bar was a huge success...lol
|