outdoors wedding Archives - Marianne Taylor Photography | Portrait & Family Photographer in Cornwall

Elodie & Vianney | Wedding

September 19, 2010 · 47 Comments

This blog post has been a looong time coming! Elodie and Vianney’s wedding on the outskirts of Paris was up there when it comes to individuality, hard work and seeing your vision through. While the happy couple were on their honeymoon, Elodie’s mum was sharing the story of preparing for this wedding on her daughter’s blog, and the story really is a testament to how much work it took to put this special event together – including everything from clearing the forest floor to hand-assembling forest-sized decorations and building a dance floor.

After getting ready at her grandmother’s house, Elodie met Vianney at the Place de la Libération in Rambouillet for a civil ceremony. From there we travelled to a little village where, in a beautiful forest, Elodie had created a magical world filled with quirky little details. I have to say the bride herself fitted in perfectly and looked like a little fairy princess in her adorable gown.

I won’t tell you much more with words, as you can read all the details from Elodie’s blog. Instead, I’ll tell the story through the pictures. Enjoy!

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Alix & Emmanuel | Wedding

September 6, 2010 · 55 Comments

On a beautiful weekend in July we made a long (and rather adventurous!) journey to a picturesque little village in France to cover Alix & Manu’s wedding. Words can’t really do justice to this place, it was like stepping into a postcard, or a fairytale. I have to say, I do love being a photographer! Not only because I get to record memories for my clients, but also because looking at the pictures lets me relive magical events and remember the places I’ve visited myself.

There were so many beautiful details in this wedding that I wouldn’t know where to start, but I have to mention the gorgeous gown that Alix designed herself, which was made at the Maria Lucia Hohan atelier – it really was a piece of art, even more delicate and magical in real life than in pictures!

I would like to take this opportunity to say a HUGE thank you to my assistant Susanna Hauru, who’s been an amazing help this summer. I’ve certainly had some adventures this year, and I’m glad she’s been there to share most of them!

p.s. Do also check out Alix’s blog for the fabulous honeymoon pictures – oh my, talk about paradise!

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Sarah & James | Wedding

August 2, 2010 · 21 Comments

I seriously am the luckiest girl ever to get to photograph the coolest of clients and the most amazing weddings! Looking back at this passing summer I feel overwhelmed by all the beauty I’ve gotten to witness.

The pretty-factor in Sarah and James’ Suffolk wedding was definitely up there! The venue, amazing Bruisyard Hall, was one of the most gorgeous places I’ve ever got to visit. Sarah looked absolutely stunning in her Monsoon dress and Louboutins, only to be rivalled by the beauty of the surroundings and the amazing flowers from Sweet Peas and Bumble Bees, who are dedicated to growing beautiful eco-friendly flowers.

And get this, there was archery! Yes, archery! It looked like such good fun that this was one of the only times I’ve worked at a wedding wishing that I was taking part rather than documenting.

Everything at this wedding was so beautiful and well thought-out, in Sarah’s own words a lot of the credit goes to her ‘incredibly talented, creative and hard working Mum who made bunting & lavender bags, scoured charity shops for linen and plates, made 250 scones as well as planning all of the other food, arranged everything and was a total star. And the whole day wouldn’t have happened without our friends and families who made all the food, arranged flowers, BBQ’d, decorated the marquee and did a dozen other jobs to make the day AMAZING.’ Hear hear!

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Jacqueline & Simon | Wedding

July 22, 2010 · 23 Comments

During yesterday’s engagement session in central London I was feeling a little bit shell shocked by the amount of people and hustle and bustle everywhere. I think I just figured out the reason why! I’ve spent most of the summer covering weddings all over the UK, from cliff tops to quiet little villages, where the most ‘bustle’ you might bump into is a cow or two or perhaps a sheep – so it’s really no wonder I’ve forgotten how busy London can feel! Jacqueline & Simon’s wedding is a prime example of the lovely places I’ve got to visit this summer.

Jacqueline and Simon got married at the church of St. Nicholas Bratton St. Maur, with a reception at Bratton Farm House, in the gorgeous little village of Bratton Seymour in Somerset. I can’t tell you how beautiful a setting the village and the farm house were for a wedding! The day was amazing through and through, with a lovely relaxed atmosphere and so many beautiful touches, from Jacqueline’s exquisite Jenny Packham gown to the wild flower arrangements and all the little antique details. This really was the perfect garden wedding!

Thanks so much Jacqui and Simon for having me, I hope you’re having an awesome time on your honeymoon!

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Rebecca & Andi | Wedding

July 1, 2010 · 37 Comments

If there was one wedding I had been waiting for impatiently for absolutely ages, it had to be Rebecca & Andi’s Cornwall wedding! Most people know that I’m a huge fan of Cornwall, and try to get down there as often as I can, so when Becks contacted me over a year ago about covering what she described as ‘party of a lifetime’ down in Cornwall I jumped at the chance! I can’t quite believe that the party is now over – but the memories of this most awesome wedding ever will remain with me forever.

Becks and the girls got ready at The Watergate Bay Hotel, which sits on one of the most beautiful beaches ever. Lil and Bridie at Kelly Anza, Penzance did a beautiful job on their hair, and makeup artist Suzi Winter made sure that everyone looked pretty as can be. Becks’ beautiful Temperley dress and Manolo Blahnik heels created such a lovely nostalgic look, and her Royst and Aran headdress really set the whole look off. The colour theme at this wedding was baby blue and red, and the gorgeous customised bridesmaids’ dresses from Anoushka G and red (burlesque!) shoes from Bordello fit so well into it.

The ceremony took place at the Chapel of the Franciscan Monastery of Lanherne in St Mawgan in Pydar, where only a couple of weddings in a year are allowed. Guests travelled to the reception at Bre Pen Farm in fantastic 1950’s coaches from King Harry Coaches, while the wedding party arrived in iconic wedding VWs from Cornwall VW Wedding Hire. The party itself was held in a marquee on a cliff top overlooking the sea, which was absolutely one of the most amazing places I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending a wedding at! Here’s what Becks told me about her vision for the wedding:

‘I collected all the jam jars and glassware myself and it was all inspired by “The Darling Buds of May”, but also we wanted it to reflect festivals (wellies) and our Northern/Greek/Cornish connections. It was a big-ish wedding, but I wanted everyone to feel like they got looked after and almost like they received a “hug” from all of the little details! The gingham tablecloths and bunting were made by my mum and the vintage lace tablecloths and vintage china were sourced by me and friends from charity shops and flea markets! The strawberry plants were grown for the occasion by a friend.’

‘The flowers (George Mackay Flowers) were so important to me and we even used apples (to reflect the origin of my name ‘Crabtree’) and olive branches for Andi’s Cypriot roots. We wanted it to reflect two people joining together. The rest were seasonal, mainly native and used to create a “just picked” feel.’

‘Another aspect of the day that was important was that we wanted to show how we don’t take ourselves too seriously and had quite ironic touches such as naming the tables after some of the worst nightclubs we’ve frequented over the years (as we met in our teens in a BAD nightclub) and giving everyone kebabs later in the evening to soak up the booze!’

‘The food (catering by Round Kitchen) was, again, slightly retro and ironic in theme and we went for old-fashioned desserts like trifle and black forest gateau.’

I think that’s more than enough for the introduction, let’s get to the pictures and relive this incredible party. Enjoy!

creative Cornwall wedding photography

I’d like to thank Rebecca and Andi for taking us with you on this incredible ride, it was an unforgettable day!

Also a huge thank you to Susanna, as always, and to Maz from Light and Day Photography, who came along to assist and to be ‘on call’ in case my ankle couldn’t take the long day up on a hill.

Rose & Brendan | Wedding

June 22, 2010 · 41 Comments

Where do I start! Rose & Brendan’s garden tea party wedding at the Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset really was a pretty special affair. I don’t think my words could ever do it justice (hence I take photos), so I’ll borrow some words from the bride herself – this is how she described her theme for the wedding: ‘I’m a sucker for tradition, but I love tiny personal details. For the day I wanted to create a real inside outside feel – like a vintage 1940s tea dance that has come through time and ended up in a garden – so everything’s a little distressed from the elements but still beautiful.’

Rose and the bridesmaids got ready at the gorgeous Launceston Farm, which really set the mood for the day from the start. Rose’s dress and veil were from Pronovias Bond Street, her shoes were Louboutin and her lovely little bag was a last minute buy from Monsoon Bridal.

One thing that made this wedding feel very special, was the fact that the whole wedding party was just 14 people in total (Brendan lost his best man as he had to be onboard his Navy ship on the day of the wedding as the queen was visiting). It really felt exceptional to be a part of such an intimate party, and it made for a beautifully relaxed day – the often normal ‘stresses’ of a wedding day seemed far away. I still can’t get over how beautiful all the carefully selected details looked. Here’s what Rose told me about them: ‘I collected a lot of mercury glass as it looks like formal interior decorative items that have been left outside – silver glass that has been worn away with sun and rain. They came from places such as Niki Jones, Cox & Cox, Graham & Green, and from antique shops.’

‘The candelabras were from eBay and all our cut glass vases, candle sticks, bowls and ornaments were all vintage/charity shop finds. There are some fantastic charity shops in Devon and Cornwall where you can find the best things for a bargain. Woodside is probably the all time best where most of the things came from.’

‘I used all country garden based flowers that were in season, very unstructured – no “floristry” as such, just flowers in pots and vases. I ordered all our flowers through our local market Petals Florists and we made our bouquets and buttonholes ourselves the night before the wedding. My mum did all the vases at the venue for us in the morning before the wedding.’

I should mention that Rose is a designer and she made all the table cloths and linens, and designed and made all the beautiful stationery herself (Rose’s website). ‘I tried to keep all the stationary formal in style as I really like formality, but like the contradiction that it was a garden party event,’ she said. I think that in itself sums up the feel of this wedding.

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Thank you so much Rose and Brendan for letting us share your stunning and intimate wedding day, we really felt privileged! Thank you also to Susanna (whom I really should thank at the end of most weddings, as she’s quickly become my ‘right hand woman’), without whom I probably couldn’t have covered this wedding as it was the first one after injuring my ankle.

Rachel & Ben | Wedding

May 9, 2010 · 28 Comments

When Rachel got in touch with me originally, she booked me for a few hours to shoot her and Ben’s engagement party in Oxford. They were planning on getting married in Switzerland, but wanted to throw a party for their friends and family in the UK prior to that. Three weeks before the party Rachel phoned me and asked whether I would be available for a longer coverage, as they had just then decided that they were going to change their engagement party into a wedding! The short notice was a bit of a shock for everyone involved in the planning, but it did make sense since Rachel and Ben had already put so much time into the preparations, and since all of their loved ones were going to be under the same roof.

Rachel and her bridesmaids got ready at the beautiful Old Bank Hotel in central Oxford, but from there on things got a bit more adventurous. The unusual, and beautiful, ceremony took place outside on a hilltop in Shotover country park. It was a bit of a new situation for us as photographers logging our stuff across a huge hill, but the setting sure was worth it! I really loved the idea of guests hanging wishes onto the branches of the three underneath which the ceremony was held. In fact, there were lots of lovely details to this wedding, not least Rachel’s beautiful flowers from Daisies, and the gorgeous cars, which came from London Legend.

After the hilltop ceremony, it was back to central Oxford for the evening reception at Gee’s Restaurant, which was the perfect setting to for eating and dancing the night away.

Thank you Rachel and Ben for giving me the shock of my life by changing your plans at the last minute, it really did result in one of the prettiest weddings I’ve had the pleasure to attend this year!

creative London wedding photography