Kirsty & Jack

THE MOAT HOUSE WEDDING – A STAFFORDSHIRE WEDDING

So this was my second wedding at the stunning ‘The Moat House wedding’! I’d been wanting to work at this incredible venue for many years. This place just oozes charachter and it’s set in such a gorgeous location! There is one very speical feature here that I’d been dying to capture! They have their own row boat, which if the couple are brave enough, they can take out onto the lake! I have a drone in the bag for this very moment and boy did it shine at this wedding! Please make sure you have a look at those pics! The Moat House wedding, really is an incredible place to have your day and I would recommend it in a heartbeat! For me as a UK & Destination wedding photographer, it has all the unique quirks and gorgeous grounds that I look for in a venue!

BRIDAL PREP 

One of my favourite times of the day, where the pressure isn’t on me as much and I have the freedom to be more creative! Not only that but I just love the nervous energy the morning brings. Everyone is so excited and nervous at the same time, it’s the perfect storm for great photos! Kirsty had all her girls with her on the morning and they were all such a laugh! At times I just felt so spoilt for choice with moments happening all around me, the hardest challenge I faced was not missing any of them! Honestly the Moat House wedding bridal suite is to die for. Period features and gorgeous window light, for me as a wedding photographer, that’s my perfect scenario!

GROOM PREP 

Now onto Jack and the boys! Groom prep is never as long as bridal prep, as the boys don’t take long! Usually it’s shirts and ties, few drinks and they’re on thier way! With that in mind, I had to think fast and get some nice candids of them while Kirsty was having her hair done! Once we got some greact action shots of the lads, I took Jack to a cool location to get a few solo portraits of him! For me it’s mega important I get what I like to call ‘the hero shot’ of the groom, so he feels special too! Weddings can so often be all about the bride and it’s important to include the groom, plus you get a new Insta profile pic 🙂

THE CEREMONY 

This ceremony, seriously!! Now as a UK wedding photogrpaher I just live for ceremonies like this!! There were emotions flying everywhere, literally! So many happy years and laughs, don’t take my word for it have a look at the photos below! Kirsty & Jack were one of those couples who you can really tell they’re in love! The way they looked at each other and their body language, it really was a privalidge to capture them! The Moat House wedding has a gorgeous ceremony room with gorgeous natural light spilling in. Great photography for me is about being able to use the light available where possible and the Moat House wedding venue really allows me to do this! 

THE CELEBRATIONS AT THE MOAT HOUSE WEDDING VENUE

With the ceremony now over it was time to let the party begin and boy did it begin! I can say with complete certainly  Kirsty & Jack invited the right people. When your wedding guests are on the same level as the coupe, magic happens! Everyone was up for a laugh and that makes me bring my A game 🙂 I felt like a kid in a candy store photographing all the moments that were happening around me. Candid photography is what I do for probably 95% of your wedding, I just love it! You’ll find me in the thick of the action, squeezed up with all the guests and hanging on every word of those meaningful conversations and moments!

At each and every wedding, there’s usually one or two trouble makers (in a good way) It didn’t take me long to find the culprites at this wedding! These two were hilarious and played each other and everyone else up all day long! See if you can spot them in the gallery, I bet you can!

THE MOAT HOUSE WEDDING VENUE PORTRAITS

With the party in full swing and Kirsty & Jack all mingled out, it was time to take them off for 10 minutes to grab some portraits! This was session 1 of 3. In the summer months with the long days we can easily do three if you want to! They won’t last longer than 10-15 mins each, I never like to keep you away from the party long! We stayed local for these portraits as I really wanted to showcase the venue. You guessed it, these two were a dream to work with it was effortless on my part, they had the magic! I assured the couple as the sun started to set later in the day we would be back for more! Now this is where I planted the seed, to see if they would like to be brave and take the row boat out for some epic drone shots!

THE SPEECHES AT THE MOAT HOUSE

With everyone now gathered into the gorgeous orangary at The Moat House wedding venue, it was time for the speeches! Kirsty & Jack had opted for a sweetheart table and for good reason! Leading up to the wedding, Kirsty had asked me if I’d be able to re create one of their first photos, they’d had as a couple many years ago! Little things like this and that’s what I love about weddings, each is differnt to the next!

Just like the ceremony the speeches were full of joy, emotion and a few more tears! Us wedding photographers do like good teary pic! I always feel bad running over to grab these photos but trust me, these are the ones you will look back on fondly!

THINGS I WON’T FORGET FROM THE MOAT HOUSE WEDDING

So with a wedding like Kirsty & Jack’s there were so A LOT of stand out moments, but I’ll do my best to highlight a few now!

I think the winner for me has to be Kirsty & Jack heading out onto the Lake in The Moat House wedding’s row boat! I’ve dreamed of capturing a couple rowing around a lake for years and it came true. I was taking photos with one hand and controlling the drone with the other, doing my very best to give these two amazing humans some really special photos!

Another standout moment, which I’ve mentioned before is the connection between Kirsty & Jack. I’ve seen lots of people in love over the years, but something about these two it was palpable! They spolit me for amazing moment and I will always be grateful for that 🙂

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Kirsty and Jack for allowing me to be a part of their big day! Another huge thank you to all the wonderful staff at The Moat House, who really were amzing and made me feel right at home!