Bowood Wedding Photography - Jodie and Christian

Weddings

28 Jun

Jodie and Christian's celebration at Bowood Hotel near Chippenham was everything I love about relaxed Wiltshire weddings – beautiful, fun, and filled with personal touches that made me smile from start to finish!

One of the reasons they chose Bowood was Christian's love of golf (and yes, he absolutely managed to squeeze in a round the day before the wedding – priorities!).

For this wedding I had the pleasure of working alongside some wonderful friends from the wedding industry. Sarah from Cakes by Mrs F created a beautiful rustic cake, Steph from Venues Covered worked her magic, and the ever-talented Rachel Neate handled hair and makeup beautifully. The gorgeous flowers were by Claire from The Derry Hill Florist – someone I don't get to work with as often, but her arrangements were absolutely stunning.

I started my coverage capturing Jodie's preparations alongside all of those important details – the dress, the shoes, the jewellery. But what made me chuckle was discovering that instead of traditional Maids of Honour, Jodie was surrounded by her "Hags of Honour"! I love couples who put their own spin on traditions.

With everything happening at the same venue I was also able to capture some of Christian's prep with his best man – the usual tie adjustments and cufflink tweaking, but with the brilliant addition of Christian’s cowboy hat!

The ceremony itself was beautifully set up outdoors with a flower-lined aisle. The weather was hot and bright but thankfully breezy enough to give the guests some relief from the heat. However, before getting to the serious business of saying "I do," Jodie had made a rather special request – a shot at the bar! After her meeting with the registrars, she enjoyed a little tipple with her Hags of Honour and her Mum (though I think Mum wisely opted for a refreshing shot of water rather than anything stronger!).

Following their emotional ceremony, we set up a confetti line that had everyone clapping and cheering. Then during the drinks reception, Cheryl (the Events Manager at Bowood) whisked us off in a golf buggy for some couples photos around Bowood's incredible grounds. We started at the famous Golden Gates, made a quick stop on the tree-lined driveway, then finished with photos on the helipad – which led to some lovely stories about how a helipad featured in their very first date!

It was then time for food and speeches, which were beautifully poignant but also delightfully risqué! Certain parts had Jodie and Christian absolutely howling with laughter – exactly the kind of genuine emotion I love capturing through my documentary photography.

Before we knew it, the evening party had begun with cake cutting and their first dance. I said my goodbyes and left the happy couple partying away on the dancefloor by which time the Cowboy Hats had found their way onto the dance floor too!

Below you will find a small selection of my favourite photos from their joyful day. To view the full gallery, please contact Jodie and Christian.