Olly & Jordan are one of those couples who just sparkle, they completely lit the place up, you could feel their love and light beaming onto everyone there and I am so honoured to have been chosen to capture their wedding at Bourton Hall in Warwickshire near Rugby.
The Beginning
“We met in our childhood village through mutual friends, and our first of many dates was in the Saracens Head, the best local pub with the best grub!
I proposed at Malham Cove, Skipton in 2022.”
Olly: “I can’t wait to see my beautiful wife walk down the aisle and enjoying the smiles and laughter shared between all the people we love most in our lives as we celebrate our big day.”
Jordan: “I really look forward to spending the day just absorbing the love from everyone towards us both and no doubt I’ll getting extremely emotional throughout the day.”
Top tips from the newlyweds
“If you’re planning your own wedding, I highly recommend doing plenty of research and compiling a to do list based on your venue, style of wedding and personal requirements.
Introduce a system where you can tick things off as they’re done, and prioritise things in chronological order of when they need to be completed. It takes the stress away from decided what to do each week/month leading up to the wedding.
The most important things to secure early on in the planning process are things like the photographer, videographer, hair/makeup stylists etc as the best of the best can quickly become booked up for several months if not years ahead of time! This is essential to make sure that you secure the quality of vendors that you wish to have for your big day.
Most of all, enjoy the process! It’s easy to become stressed and see the whole thing as a series of difficult tasks to bring about, but take it from me, you can do it and it can be enjoyable.
Most important this to remember is the 6 P’s…
Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance!”
The Wedding
Meet Jordan
We Started off in the little cottage to the side for Jordan and her bridal party’s hair and make-up. We had the incredibly talented Kate Richardson on hair; and the equally talented Unveiled Glam on make-up duty! While the ladies enjoyed some breakfast in the cottage; I headed over to the gorgeous bridal suite main manor house to photograph Jordan’s bridal accessories and beautiful wedding dress. I paid a quick visit to Olly and the guys until I saw the ladies heading over from the cottage.
The ladies joined me in the bridal suite and the bridesmaids began getting their dresses on, it’s go go go time! I stayed with Jordan and her Mum in the powder room to the side to see the final steps of her beautiful bridal look! I took one look at the huge window and just had to get some silhouette shots first!
Jordan really was such a stunning bride!
We got the bridesmaids to line up with their backs to us, and got Jordan flawlessly into position ready for her bridal reveal – then Dad came in, and everyone had a lump in their throat!
We had a few quick bridal portraits and I went back to the guys to see how they’d been getting on!
If you’ve seen any of my previous Real Wedding Stories; you’ll know I always start with the guys first because they get ready a lot quicker (sorry girls, it’s true!) and it’s much easier for them to take their jacket off again and relax if they want to!
In Olly and Jordan’s case however, they both got ready on site, so it was really quick and easy for me to move back and forth between them!
Hair: Kate Richardson
Make-up: Unveiled Glam
Flowers: Isabel’s Flower Studio
Meet Olly
I moved over to Olly and his nine (yes, nine!) groomsmen in the opposite wing of Bourton Hall. The energy was up in that room and everyone seemed so excited for the day ahead! The guy’s suits were by Skopes and I just love how well they tie in with Olly and Jordan’s wedding theme!
The boys heard the four magic words… “The bar is open!” So naturally, we all made our way downstairs to put their lapel flowers on while they had a pint!
Suit boutique: Skopes
The Ceremony
Their ceremony was extremely emotional, with both Olly and Jordan fighting back tears for most of it! It was beautiful, and went absolutely perfectly.
Cocktail hour
After five minutes to themselves, they had their rockstar exit and were covered in beautiful dried flower petal confetti.
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Family Photos
It began to rain in Warwickshire, but we managed to get a few family photos outdoors before the rain came down on us (boo!) Fortunately Bourton Hall has a vast number of beautiful staircases to choose from, so we managed to finish off Olly & Jordan’s family photo list!
Wedding breakfast
The newlyweds entered the Bourton Hall wedding breakfast suite and were greeted like absolute rockstars! I couldn’t even tell you how long the cheering went on for, I really hope Olly & Jordan know just how much love was in that room that day!
“We chose natural/sage green to reflect our love for the natural world and the great outdoors!”
Speeches
I think the speeches covered the entire spectrum of emotions! Between Olly, Olly’s Dad, Jordan’s Dad and best man Danny; there were jokes, tears, embarrassment, fission and unrequited sentiment. They all absolutely nailed it, and (I probably shouldn’t say this… buuut…) I’ve never heard such a well written groom’s speech!
Bless them!
Newlywed Photoshoot
We chose to get the newlywed’s portraits as soon as the rain began to stop! We got as many as we could outside before rushing indoors to take advantage of Bourton Hall’s simply stunning architecture.
Did you know it’s a German wedding tradition to saw a log in half together during your wedding reception? Because I didn’t! I learned from Olly’s dad and step-mum that it’s meant to symbolise all of the ingredients for a successful marriage; teamwork, determination, patience and not being afraid to ask for help if you need it! Pretty cool huh?!
Cake cut & first dance
And to cap off a completely epic wedding day, Olly & Jordan had a first dance like I have never seen before! Everyone scattered confetti from the balcony above as they danced, and the photos of Jordan when her face lit up are some of my favourite first dance photos ever! They danced to Mica Millar – Heaven Knows which is a song I’ve never heard played at a wedding before. The newlyweds were simply beautiful to watch, and Olly later told me that this song has a special meaning to him, which I thought made it even better!
Why choose Bourton Hall for your big day?
As a wedding photographer I have the pleasure of working at some of the most exquisite venues with stunning architecture and the most incredible teams of staff. This absolutely stunning 18th Century Italian country mansion in Warwickshire is as beautiful as it is large. Bourton Hall has everything, to accommodate weddings of all sizes, including 15 acres of woodlands, immaculately kept gardens and even it’s very own former Catholic chapel!
Bourton Hall has timeless charm weaved throughout it’s many rooms and has had it’s many features beautifully maintained. The staff were a delight to work with and there were so many picturesque options for your wedding photographs inside and out. I cannot wait to work here again!
