Clare and Karl chose a traditional church service at Barham church for their marriage followed by a reception in the Stables Coffee Shop at Brightwell Barns near Ipswich. Their wedding was amazing and it was clear that they had put a lot of thought and effort into the day to make it special.
Clare started her bridal preparations at the couple’s house (Karl having been despatched to his Mum’s) along with her bridesmaids, her twelve year old twin daughters Demi and Aaliyah. After the flowers arrived we all went off to the hairdresser’s, where I got some ‘getting ready’ pics, before coming back for a spot of lunch and the rest of the bridal preparations. Meanwhile John, who I was photographing the wedding with, was having a ball in Felixstowe with the boys and, from what I hear, did a good job in calming the nerves and keeping some sort of order.
Clare walked down the aisle looking absolutely stunning. Tobias, Clare and Karl’s five year old son, gave her away (he was awesome!) and when Karl saw them in church for the first time he had to wipe away the tears. The service was beautiful and over far too soon; it sounds a bit corny but you really wanted to bottle the emotion and keep it for ever.
We had planned for the formal photographs to be taken outside, both at the church and reception, however the weather had other plans and at 3pm, just when the wedding began, the rain poured down, continuing for the rest of the day. The vicar very kindly let us use the church after the service for the formal group pictures and also the church porch for the confetti throw so we were able to keep dry on a very soggy afternoon as well as getting some memorable images for the wedding album.
The wedding party took over the Stables Coffee Shop for the afternoon and evening and the owners did Clare and Karl proud, providing a fabulous buffet and decorating the venue beautifully. The sweets table was definitely a hit with both young and old and the kids loved the bouncy castle.
The planned formal photographs of the newly-weds in the grounds and by the lake had to be abandoned due to the weather and the first dance was moved from outside into the marquee, but Clare and Karl did not let the rain ruin their day. Everyone had so much fun and there was a lot of happiness and laughter.
Huge congratulations to Clare and Karl and wishing them both a long and happy life together. Here is a little glimpse of their special day with a few of my favourite images. I’ve been asked not to share pictures on social media that show other people’s children and I am happy to respect this.
If you’d like to see more pictures from Clare and Karl’s day, take a look at their album on my Featured Weddings page.
If you are getting married and looking for a friendly, relaxed documentary-style photographer to record your day and make some special memories, please get in touch and we can have a chat about your plans.
All images © Carol Street
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- Creating memories
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- Just married
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