A Festival Wedding in Devon
What can I say about Adam and Vinnie? Actually what can I say about Adam, Vinnie and their festival wedding in Devon? Because they took the whole idea of a Devon festival wedding to entirely another level (and this is not a statement that I would make lightly). But let me step back slightly. I first met Adam and Vinnie when they contacted me about photographing their wedding at the Ash Barton Estate in North Devon. This is one of my favourite wedding venues in Devon. Mainly because it is just so incredibly relaxed, but also it is the perfect festival wedding venue in Devon. With a background in music and television production, I got on with them immediately. They had a strong creative vision of how they wanted their festival wedding to look and feel. I was hooked from the beginning.
Roll on to the big day. The good thing about Ash Barton is that you can hire it for an entire weekend. This meant that by the time I arrived on the Saturday morning, everyone was settled in. The bride and groom were getting ready in different parts of the house. Vinnie upstairs in the bridal suite. Adam in the room with a ridiculous number of mirrors (a wall of mirrors is one of a wedding photographers worst nightmares). I hit the ground running with my shooting as there was just so much going on. To be honest this is the way that I like it. Some wedding days have a slow start and I find myself over photographing the same things. That really wasn’t a problem with this festival wedding in Devon. Outside of the wedding venue there was a real buzz. Guests were waking up in the sea of bell tents that lay on the lawns.
A Festival Wedding Ceremony in Devon
The wedding ceremony was due to be held in the meadow below Ash Barton. With a styled pagoda it had a really wonderful feel to it. The aim was for Vinnie to be chauffeured round in a Rolls Royce that belonged to a friend of the family. It was only a 60 second drive but one hell of a way to make an entrance. With this in mind, the combined skills of not only a bride and groom, but also a wedding party experienced in running big events came into play. Walkie talkies were employed to ensure that both the bride and groom moved into place without their paths crossing. To the wedding guests, it all seemed to flow naturally. But like any big festival there was plenty going on behind the scenes.
With everything set for the wedding ceremony, Vinnie was driven to the top of the meadow. The groomsmen and bridesmaids joined her and the procession through the flowers began. It was sublime. As Adam reached Vinnie there was an impromptu round of applause. Like every festival, people had been waiting for the big act. This was it. The ceremony was full of laughter and a lot of love. After the wedding ceremony was finished Adam and Vinnie were showered in a blizzard of confetti. The wedding guests then processed back to the main house. The sun was shining and there was an amazing festival feel to the day.
Arriving at the house, the wedding guests spilled out onto the lawns in front of Ash Barton. I always love this part of the day. It is the part where the bride, groom and wedding guests can really kick back. It is also when you really get to see the love between everyone.
A Walk through the Meadow, Wedding Breakfast and Speeches
Once the bride and groom had managed to get round and speak to everyone, the bride and groom and I took the opportunity to wander back down to the meadow for bride and groom photos. It had a really magical feel to it. There is something about a field of wild flowers. Once we had finished we headed back up to the festival barn at Ash Barton for the wedding breakfast.
The main barn at Ash Barton provides a blank canvas for festival weddings. You can style it however you would like. Adam and Vinnie had chosen to make the most of their festival style wedding and had set out long tables for their guests. Once again, this added to the Devon festival wedding feeling of the day.
Speeches and food followed and before we knew it we were set for the evening reception. But first we we nipped out again for a few more bride and groom photos in the last of the sunlight from the day. I love dusk. It is a beautiful time of day to photography in. We caught the last few rays of the sun and headed back to where the rest of the the wedding guests were waiting. Strings of lights lit the outside of the wedding and the guests started to get ready for the next stage of this festival wedding day.
Festival Weddings in Devon - Music and Fireworks
Speeches and food followed and before we knew it we were set for the evening reception. Strings of lights lit the outside of the wedding and the guests started to get ready for the next stage of the wedding day. I mentioned before that both the bride and groom had a background in music and TV production. As always, this meant that so did many of their wedding guests. There was no need to hire a band. Like only the best of festival weddings their friends and family were all lining up to play. It was therefore no surprise that the dance floor was packed as we waited for the first of the bands to begin. We a power chord the evening began. It was absolutely epic. I really like festivals and I absolutely love live music. The assembled wedding guests went absolutely wild.
Catching some air outside I noticed that we were heading towards the end of the my festival wedding day. Adam has asked me to stay on a tiny bit later than usual. I was happy to do this as he had promised me something pretty special. Due to the craziness of the last couple of years, a friends of his in the festival world had ended up with thousands of pounds of fireworks that were due to go out of date. These guys were pyrotechnic professionals and they had promised to set up the largest display ever seen at a festival wedding in Devon. The guests assembled outside in preparation. I let the pictures do the talking. It was immense. One of the biggest joys of working as a wedding photographer in Devon is a festival wedding. Adam and Vinnie’s, however, was another level. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing their wedding day.
