I had the pleasure of joining J & O for their wedding celebrations at Goodnestone House. I had visited this new-to-the-market venue last year and had a show round and was delighted when J & O got in touch and booked for a short coverage package of their wedding. They were married at the Church of the Holy Cross which is beautifully positioned around five minutes walk from the house … or three minutes if you are a photographer in a hurry!
J & O have asked that their images remain, at the moment, private but I wanted to share just a couple of images of the grounds and gardens at Goodnestone. The weather could not have been better and showed this beautiful wedding venue at its very best.
The sun shone brightly for this wonderful couple. The house has exclusive use for wedding guests and when I arrived, breakfast was in full swing which then moved quickly on to lunch … all in the beautiful house itself. The dairy has been renovated into a wedding space and J & O had opted to use the marquee for their wedding breakfast … just in case it rained. But there was absolutely no need to have worried. The vicar, Nigel, was incredibly welcoming which is so helpful for a photographer and the singers in church were in fine voice. J & O had chosen some wonderfully quirky songs such as “Top of the World” and “Only Just Begun” and I could see O singing along during the signing of the register.
Always great to work with my good friend Kelli from www.kelliwaldock.co.uk who I have known and worked with for many years. Her make up skills are on pointe! And it was actually one of Kelli’s colleagues who introduced me to the bride and groom so thank you Marie!
With the weather being so amazing, I had to work out where best to take the formal photographs. When I arrived at the house, the front was in shadow and I considered this as a possible location … but there were cars parked out in front. As we exited the church, to a wonderful confetti arch, the bride and groom led their guests to the back of the house for drinks and canapés. At that time, this aspect of the house was in full sun which would have made formals quite challenging, both for me as the photographer and also for the guests. But as the drinks reception progressed, the sun moved around, casting a welcome shadow … which then made the steps at the back of the house the perfect position for formals. The light bounced around from the honey coloured stone and also up from the gravel path and created beautifully warm tones. Although I was only booked for limited company, I’m confident that we captured wonderful images in particular candid ones of the bride and groom, but also of their guests.
Thank you again J & O for allowing me to be part of your day. I look forward to editing and sharing your images with you and wish you a wonderful married life together.
If you are considering Goodnestone Park as a wedding venue, please do get in touch: sam@samanthajonesphotography.co.uk and I would love to return to this fantastic venue.
