Sometimes I photography a couple’ wedding and it feels like I’m at my mates weddings. I always suggest a meeting before a couple book me for as their wedding photographer and I offer a pre wedding photoshoot when they do. I feel it’s so important to be on the same page and get along. I knew April and Martyn were my type of people as soon as I met them. They liked good food and cake. Tick. They enjoyed the outdoors. Tick. Wedding photography was important to them. Tick. They genuine nice friendly people. Tick! We had so much fun at the engagement photoshoot, that I was really looking to photographing their wedding at Swinton Park in Masham. I knew it was going to be amazing to capture. A rustic wedding set in a castle estate with a lovely couple = dream wedding.
Here are just some of the highlight of their wedding photography at Swinton Parkand also a little Q&A with April and Martyn. Enjoy!
How did you meet? How long have you been together?
We met online in 2017 and have been together for 5 and a half years.
Tell us about the proposal
We had discussed marriage in the past and were both on the same page about wanting to get married one day. Martyn had always said he would propose when I least expected it. It didn’t stop me from hinting any time we were in a beautiful place which Swinton Estate most definitely is. We were staying at Swinton Hotel in September 2020 for Martyn’s birthday after being unable to use a gift voucher from the previous year due to the pandemic. We extended the stay to 2 nights and on the second day we were walking around the trails and stopped by Coffin Lake. The autumnal colours of all the trees and plants were reflected in the water of the lake and it looked beautiful. Martyn was encouraging me to keep taking picture of the scenery and when I turned around, he was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I then immediately cried with happiness and asked him if he was being serious but eventually said yes after composing myself. Our favourite tag-line from our congratulations cards was, “Locked it down in lockdown!”
“Locked it down in lockdown!”
Take a look..
How did you feel as you walked down the aisle/ waited for your bride?
Martyn: It all went so quickly for me. After setting up, getting ready, greeting guests and the registrars, the time flew by. Next thing I knew, it was time for the wedding ceremony with a million things racing through my head. April looked absolutely stunning in her dress and then my next thought was probably slow down when I saw April practically dragging her mum down the aisle!
April: I had been fairly relaxed all morning and even up to speaking to the registrars. The moment I heard the song we had chosen for walking down the aisle, I was hit by all my emotions and the moment suddenly felt so real. I had so much love for Martyn and just wanted to be by his side. I was so nervous for messing up my vows and incredibly excited to marry my best friend. When I entered the room, I saw everyone I loved waiting for me and then I saw Martyn, I was trying to fight back happy tears in that moment and felt like stormed down the aisle just to get to him.
Which wedding venue did you choose and why did you choose it?
We chose Swinton Estate because it’s now a sentimental location for us. We loved that we got to enjoy a beautiful castle estate with the rustic vibe of the deer house. And that we got to walk through a field to our wedding reception and see the deer!
How/ Why did you choose your photographer?
It was really important to us to find a photographer who had a natural style of photography and was someone we could get along with, playing such an important role on our wedding day. We found Gemma through the recommendation from another photographer. After snooping on her website and Instagram and then meeting her in person and seeing how relaxed and fun she was, we knew she would be the perfect fit for our wedding day!
Often the aspect that makes a wedding original to the bride and groom is the detail – tell us about the details of your wedding day.
When we found the deer house, we knew we would like to have a rustic themed wedding. My favourite colour has always been purple so we tried to incorporate that into the décor and outfits and we both love the outdoors, hiking mountains and through forests, particularly in Scotland (Martyn is half Scottish) so we tried to tie in elements of the woodlands and mountains. From the forest we had moss in our candles and floral arrangements, we used wood as much as we could and log slices as our place settings. From the mountains we had heather, hill flowers and thistles as part of the floral arrangements and then wild flower bombs as a wedding favour. As a nod to Scotland, we named all of the tables after Hebridean isles we have visited and included a wee dram of one of our favourite whiskeys as a favour for each guest.
How did you allocate your budget?
We’re two accountants and planned pretty much the whole wedding budget in Excel. Our key priorities were the venue, wedding photographer and our honeymoon. Although Martyn would probably put honeymoon first! Everything else fell into place with careful research and saving. We chose to do a lot of the work ourselves to get things how we wanted. Etsy sellers were amazing! I sourced all the preserved flowers and did all arrangements myself and we very fortunate to have a friend make the wedding cakes.
Do you have any advice for couples in the planning stages?
Prep, prep, prep! You can never prepare, plan or organise too early. We had a manic time in the months leading up to the wedding because we didn’t leave ourselves enough time. Doing everything ourselves from our honeymoon planning to making flower arrangements left a huge amount of work to do. Alternatively, get a wedding planner!
What was the most important wedding investments for you and why?
100% our wedding photographer! This is the person you trust to capture all the memories you will look back on for years to come. Your photographer choice is as important as the bridal party or groomsmen and we know we made the right choice with Gemma. She supported us both through the whole day and was so much fun, all of our guests commented on how amazing she is!
Is there anything that stands out?
We’d been given the advice to take a few minutes during the day for just us two. We had that moment after taking pictures at our engagement spot in the evening and it was the most special moment of just being calm together in wedded bliss.
What song did you choose for your first dance, and why?
We chose “I Get to Love You” by Ruelle. My maid of honour had recommended the artist to me when we were on a train journey. She has a beautiful voice and I remember the first time I heard the song I thought it would make the perfect first dance song as it seemed to sum up exactly how I felt about Martyn (way before he’d proposed). When we came to planning the wedding, I played the song to him and he loved it too!
Was there anything you wish you’d known before
For Brides: Adrenalin will make you want to walk quickly down the aisle, no matter how much you practice walking slowly that goes out of your head in the moment. Make sure the person beside you knows to keep you calm and slow your pace when walking down the aisle. Enjoy the moment and don’t rush it!
If you’re getting married and looking for a Swinton Park wedding photographer, it would be great to hear from you. Here’s some information for my wedding photography packages
If you like rustic themed weddings, I have lots more wedding highlights
Wedding Venue: Swinton Estate
Wedding Dress: Confetti and Lace
bridal shoes: Vans
Wedding Flowers: The bride sourced from Etsy
Wedding Cake: Richard James Cakes
Bridal Hair: Sarah Louise Hair
Bridal Makeup: Makeup by Chloe