Amy and Ruth’s Fun, Colourful and Carefree Inkersall Grange Farm Wedding
What can I say about this Inkersall Grange Farm wedding without sounding totally biased? Well truth be told there is nothing probably about this gorgeous wedding that I can say impartially – because I absolutely love it! Not only did I get to photograph a wedding where the bride arrived in a helicopter and they played my favourite Scandinavian game at the reception. But I also got to take pictures for my best friends wedding. This experience is one that I know that I will treasure the whole of my career because it is not very often you can provide something so creative and intimate for your closest friends. When I started out with my business I wanted to project my commitment to working with all couples. Being an LGBT wedding photographer it is important to me to photograph the essence of a wedding day with amazing couples. However my couples identify themselves, as well as age, race, colour and physical ability. This wedding embodies all that my business strives to be.
The setting for Amy and Ruth’s colourful, camping themed wedding was Inkersall Grange Farm. The couple booked the tipi’s as a dry hire venue which meant that they had all the creative freedom that they desired. Ruth said that “on the run up to the wedding we’d bought 360 different coloured drinking glasses and 100m worth of coloured fabric from local charity shops. We used the fabric to make bunting and the glasses brought colour to the tables. Both of them combined brought our tipi to life!” which indeed it did!
After arriving in style (Amy by helicopter and Ruth by a vintage Rolls) their guests took their seats on the outdoor benches at the venue surrounded by colourful flags and flowers. With their closest friends and family present the brides walked down the aisle to the song ‘A Millions Dreams’ from The Greatest Showman which did not leave a dry eye in the house. The couple broke from tradition – after legally being married the day before – they chose their ‘bearded best man’ as Amy described him to officiate their ceremony. Amy said “we chose Adam to be both our master of ceremonies and wedding officiant – we’d both known him since uni so he put his own personal touch on our beautiful blessing ceremony.”
After reciting their own written vows the couple walked excitedly back down the aisle as gleeful wedding guests threw colourful knitted pom-poms instead of confetti. If you were interested in the use of these pom-poms that the ladies used, check out my blog piece about making your wedding more eco friendly. In this I talk about all different elements to weddings and discuss confetti in great detail. The couple played games of KUBB at the reception as guests mingled and ate gorgeous canapés from the Salted Orange Food Company. With hilarious speeches and energetic dancing throughout the evenings festivities it was hard to know which was the couples favourite part of their wedding – so I asked them a couple of questions!
FUN FESTIVAL INKERSALL GRANGE FARM WEDDING
What was the best moment of your day?
Gosh! What a hard question! It’s sounds cliche but we enjoyed every moment of it! We both felt as though we were gliding through the day, as if we were floating. If we had to pick one moment it would be the walk back down the aisle as a married couple when our guests through coloured pom poms in the air as we walked, hand in hand, to the tune of ‘I love you, always forever!’ by Betty Who.
Is there any advice you would give to other couples?
Keep the formal photos to a minimum – enjoy your time WITH the people who have come along to celebrate your day with you. Prioritise the natural shots – they make for the better photos anyway!!
Do you have a moment during the day when you were most surprised?
Ruth – it HAS to be when I saw Amy for the first time in her DRESS! I had no idea she’d be wearing one and she’d certainly led me to believe she’d be wearing something else on the big day. She looked absolutely beautiful. Angelic. I’ll never ever forget that moment!
Is there anything from your day that you are particularly proud of?
We’d have to say the way in which our tipi looked. We’d been collecting glasses and making bunting over the last 18 months so seeing that come together on the Friday was just incredible. The wooden signs that we’d cut, made and painted along with the assortment of coloured flags set-up on the entrance to the tipi really set the tone for what to expect inside and the day certainly lived up to that and more!
TO TOP IT OFF HERE ARE SOME WONDERFUL WORDS THEY SAID ABOUT ME
Jesse, you made us both feel so relaxed and comfortable (both on our engagement shoot and on the big day itself) with your calming nature and effortless ability to keep things moving whilst ensuring we had fun and really ‘took part’ in our day! You caught those natural moments and nothing felt forced or too structured. You were the perfect photographer for our carefree, fun loving, bright and colourful wedding day! It’s a day we’ll never forget and thanks to you a day that we can literally look back on for years to come with such fondness, love and laughter.
Thank you!
It was such a pleasure and a privilege to be involved with Amy and Ruth’s Inkersall Grange Farm wedding. How often do you get to photograph your best friends wedding with a helicopter entrance and an impromptu live set with the bride her self? Not only were these two girls my close friends, but I was able to provide an un-biased service. I pride myself in the inclusivity of my business being an LGBT wedding photographer. In the future I hope to grow my portfolio with all manner of diverse couples. My passion lies with providing an amazing service to couples however they identify themselves.
If you are embarking on planning your own wedding and want to seek a little advice then why not check out my Wedding Day Timeline advice piece or perhaps Amy and Ruth’s Sunny Cusworth Hall Engagement Shoot?
THANK YOU to all of AMY and RUTH’S wonderful suppliers
Dresses: Rembo Styling and Maggie Sotterro Designs
Shoes: TOMS
Venue: Inkersall Grange Farm
Catering: Salted Orange Food Company
Bridesmaids Dresses: ASOS
Flowers: Forget me Notts
Hair: Ashleigh Turner Hair and Make Up
Make Up: Kate Odudu That Beauty Place
DJ: The Fat Cats
Acoustic: Daniel Sims Music