SOUTHEND BARNS WEDDING – ALEX & ROSIE
I must confess that I had been looking forward to Rosie and Alex’s Southend Barns wedding ever since their pre-wedding photoshoot at Chichester Harbour. The shoot was great fun (and will be coming to the blog soon) and we all got along really well, I felt a genuine connection with Rosie and Alex and was excited to see them again.
Southend Barns
Southend Barns is a beautifully rustic wedding venue situated in the village of Donnington in Chichester. Despite being a city dweller I’m a country girl at heart and Southend Barns is my favourite sort of venue with it’s landscaped gardens, well-kept lawns and courtyards there’s no shortage of outdoor space, perfect for the guests to enjoy as well as providing a vast choice of photography locations. Rosie and Alex’s wedding day didn’t disappoint, they are perfect together as a couple and obviously deeply in love and the day overflowed with emotion.
Getting Ready
Rosie had chosen a country pub in the picturesque village of Donnington for her preparations and was joined by her mum and sister (Jean and Aisling) and her bridesmaids. There was lots of laughter and giggling as the girls were joined by makeup artist Rebecca as well as Rosie’s regular hairdresser and good friend who did everyone’s hair. While I was with Rosie and the girls my second shooter Bea photographed Alex getting ready with his brother Lawrence and the groomsmen who had decided to take advantage of a lovely room at Southend Barns.
The Ceremony
Rosie is very close to her family, especially her grandfather Jim who arrived at the village pub to escort her to Southend Barns in a Rolls-Royce (kindly loaned by the manufacturer who are also Rosie’s employers) before proudly walking her down the aisle to join Alex who looked incredibly smart in his Army Captain’s uniform. Rosie’s mum was overcome with emotion at the sight of her father walking down the aisle with his granddaughter on his arm. The ceremony was wonderful, one of Alex’s sisters gave a lovely reading while another played some beautiful music during the signing of the register. After the ceremony Alex’s military friends raised their swords and formed a guard of honour ahead of the confetti line, an impressive way to leave I thought!
We were lucky to have beautiful sunny weather so the guests could enjoy the outdoors while they were served drinks and canapes and I could sneak away with the couple for some romantic portraits. In fact the weather was so perfect that we made the most of it and sneaked away again to take advantage of the stunning golden light of the sun setting over the fields.
The Reception
The one part of this wedding that will always remain with me is the speeches, the floor was open to anyone who wanted to speak and there were tears of laughter and words so poignant that many of the guests quietly brushed away a tear or two. Rosie’s mum shared hilarious stories of the couple, some of which caused quite a bit of embarrassment. Alex moved everyone to tears when he paid tribute to Jim and thanked him for his role in raising the love of his life and for giving his blessing for their marriage. I don’t think there was a dry eye in sight when he turned to Rosie to tell her how much he loved her. The tears turned to laughter again as Alex’s grandad, a lovely charming Welshman and full of character, took a turn to speak. He constantly referred to Rosie with great affection calling her a ‘fine young filly’, his speech brought the house down with everyone on their feet and Alex’s mum was clearly moved by her father’s words.
The rest of the celebrations continued in the same wonderful way, the food was amazing, Rosie’s talented sister performed a song she had written for the couple and moved everyone to tears (again!), everyone let their hair down on the dancefloor, Rosie’s grannies had the time of their life and loved the photo booth. There were toasted marshmallows on the firepit, lots of singing (and yes I did join in) and some very emotional goodbyes at the end of the night.
“Emmie slotted right into our day. Guests commented that they had no idea how Emmie got certain shots as they didn’t even know she’d been so close. I felt exactly the same way, she was just perfect, got involved in the wedding, was on the dance floor and chatted to our nana’s!
Emmie went on to be requested for many of my friend’s weddings after ours as everyone was just blown away by the photos and Emmie herself – she even ended up being asked by two of my friend’s who got married on the same day!
She’s fab, fun and incredible at her job.”
Rosie & Alex
If you are planning your own Southend Barns wedding I would love to hear from you, please hop over to the Contact Page to get in touch.
SUPPLIERS
Hair – Seacombe & Co (Simon) / Dress – Proposals (Chichester) / Campervan – Vinnie’s Vintage Hire / Brides getting ready venue – The Blacksmith’s / Groom getting ready venue – Southend Barns / MUA – Rebecca Herniman / Florist/Flower Crown – Rococo / Cake – Wedding Kate / DJ – Hannah Worthington / Rings- Timothy Roe / Caterers – Field & Fork / LOVE Letters – The Wedding Project Ltd / Shoes – The White Ribbon (personalised by Ali Knight) / Second Shooter – Photography by Bea