Shilstone House Wedding Photographer

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE TWO OF YOU…

We both currently live and work in London, but are always looking for ways to escape to the countryside. Important in life to us is to not take ourselves too seriously, but to live life to the full and surround ourselves with positivity. More often than not our free time is dictated by the latest sporting fixture - be it playing it, or watching it (we couldn’t even avoid this on our wedding day with England playing Sweden in the World Cup!)

THE PROPOSAL: HOW DID IT HAPPEN, WHAT IS THE STORY?

Charlie proposed on our 9th anniversary down in a very special part of Devon to me. We were on a long dog walk up on the coastal path and as we neared the end of the walk he got down on one knee.. it was the most surreal and happiest times of my life!

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE SHILSTONE AS YOUR VENUE?

Having looked at a few venues we discovered that there were very few that opened up their whole house to guests however, Shilstone did just that and in a style that takes guests on a complete journey throughout the day. The attention to detail that the owner has put into the venue is outstanding and they are continually looking at ways to make the venue better each year. It was also important to us to be in the stunning Devon countryside which Shilstone shows off so beautifully.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE SIMON BIFFEN TO PHOTOGRAPH YOUR WEDDING?

We met Simon at a recent family wedding and we both loved how relaxed he made everyone feel and how seamlessly he slipped into the background. We really wanted to capture natural photos of our guests and Simon’s style always manages to achieve that. We had total confidence in Simon on our wedding day which was a huge factor to us being so relaxed.

WHAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE DID YOU WANT FOR YOUR GUESTS?

One of our main aims was to show off the beautiful Devon countryside and share with our guests some really special places that mean a lot to us both. Most of our guests had to travel from far and wide to get to Devon so we were really keen for them to have a relaxed and fun weekend… the fact that England won the quarter finals of the World Cup on our wedding day certainly helped us achieve this!

WHAT WERE THE MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM YOUR DAY?

The weather… it was super hot! But it made for some amazing photographs to be taken, which was also a key part of our day. Having the timeouts with Simon really allowed us to take the time to reflect - there was a particular moment where Simon had taken us to a point high on a bank that overlooked the house, gardens and marquee where we could see and hear the laughter of our guests - it was a real pinch me moment to realise what we had managed to achieve and what an amazing day we were in the middle of… if only I could have pushed the pause button then!

ANY TIPS FOR FUTURE COUPLES PLANNING THEIR WEDDING?

Keep writing lists, think about the guests’ experience, delegate what you can and keep referring back to your lists to make sure everything you want done has been ticked off! Take a deep breath on the morning of the big day, forget about the lists (!) and just sit back, relax and let the day unfold for you.. everything will fall into place so just enjoy every moment.

AWESOME WEDDING SUPPLIERS ON THE DAY:

Make up artist: Scarlett Rainer

Hair stylist: Zac Fennell

Bride’s dress: Suzanne Neville

Bridesmaids dresses: Maids to Measure

Groom’s suit: Brook Taverner

Floristry: The Velvet Daisy

Band: The Distractions