Hop Chapel Wedding Photography - Zoe and Ash

Weddings

27 Jun

I love a unique wedding so when Zoe and Ash got in touch to enquire about the possibility of me photographing their wedding at a local brewery, I was already sold!

Turns out, Broad Town Brewery, although no longer brewing their own beer, is a fantastic venue near Swindon which has a large outdoor deck overlooking the surrounding Wiltshire countryside and their own private Chapel (suitably named the “Hop Chapel”). It’s described as a “Monastic Style Tap-Room” on their website so I was very intrigued and excited to photograph a wedding there.

The day arrived, sunny and hot and I started my coverage by capturing details of the outdoor space which had been decorated in swathes of blue with gin bottle centrepieces containing gypsophila. I was also amused to see that packets of crisps had been dotted along the tables - a lovely touch to keep the guests fed before the Gyros were served in the evening.

The guests started to arrive soon after and so I busied myself capturing candid photos of everyone interacting, buttonholes being pinned and photographing the flower girl who was looking very cool in her shades! It was then time for Zoe’s arrival, driven by her Dad in a camper van.

The ceremony was short, emotional and certainly very intimate with all of their guests squeezed into the tiny Hop Chapel. Despite positioning myself next to the registrars table it quickly became apparent that there wasn’t enough room so during a pause in proceedings, I leapt down the aisle to the back of the room. In hindsight, I’m glad I did as it meant I was able to capture a second angle, grabbing photos of their dog who acted as ring bearer and capturing a wide shot during the first kiss. The ceremony concluded with Zoe and Ash making their way back down the aisle to the sound of “Gold” by Myles Smith.

After the ceremony, the guests were served glasses of Pimms and we headed straight off to throw confetti . In a rather amusing moment, Zoe and Ash decided to restage the confetti as one of their Grandparents hadn’t quite been ready to capture it on their iPad! In doing so, Zoe’s Dad pulled out a plastic bag FULL of dried flower petals and did the rounds, resupplying all the guests with additional confetti. If you’re going to have a second run at the confetti then it’s definitely worth making sure the guests are well armed!

The guests then took their seats on the decking ready for the speeches - it was all very emotional and many tears of joy were shed. It was at this point that Zoe’s Dad produced a card and poster that had been sent by Emily Eavis congratulating Zoe and Ash on their wedding - had it not been a fallow year, the couple would likely have been at Glastonbury!

The formal photos followed and, to be honest, I’m not really sure where the rest of the time went! It was taken up by lots of mingling, duck-spotting (take a look at the photos!), gyros eating, doughnut scoffing and general merriment!

Below you will find a small selection of my favourite photos from the day. To view the full gallery, please ask Zoe and Ash