River Cottage Wedding
River Cottage Wedding | Suzanna & David
The iconic River Cottage is a working organic farm tucked amongst the rolling hills of the Devon & Dorset border. And you can use the farm for your wedding.
Suzanna & David chose River Cottage for the excellent food and they wanted a wedding venue that was relaxed and non-formal. Suzanna said ‘We wanted somewhere organised, but not a wedding factory. Beautiful surroundings & non-religious. The sustainability of the venue was also an attraction.
With a River Cottage Wedding, you are guaranteed a feast and Suzanna & David worked with the chef to plan their amazing menu. With sustainability an importance, the menu featured the finest seasonal ingredients locally sourced and much grown on-site.
River Cottage Wedding Photographer
I often joke that I only shoot weddings for the food, so a River Cottage Wedding was a dream. And yes the food was amazing.
But back to the reason I was there, the wedding of Suzanna & David.
Suzanna first met David when she threw a newspaper at him whilst he was in a skip. (This has to be one of my favourite stories about how a couple met and there is a story to accompany it but I’ll leave you with the skip image).
They met again many years later in a pub in Oxford and have been together for over a decade living in Oxford, with their daughter Ella and two trouble-making rescue cats.
The weather on the day to quote Suzanna ‘was atmospheric!’
When I arrived in the morning the rain was pouring down and there was fog all across the valley. But throughout the day the weather broke and the evening saw a beautiful sunset and everyone was able to enjoy the outside space of River Cottage.
As a wedding venue, River Cottage has a variety of spaces for ceremonies and celebrations. Suzanna & David had originally planned to marry outside of the famous farmhouse in the kitchen garden but due to the weather, the ceremony was held in the beautifully restored Threshing Barn. It’s always a great testament to a venue that adapts to the weather and has different options for your day.
Looking back on their River Cottage wedding, Suzanna said that she has so many happy memories of the day. ‘From getting to hang out with my husband and our friends in such a lovely environment to the kids having an absolute ball running around the farm’.
‘We loved dancing with everyone to the live band and seeing our different groups of friends who didn’t know each other, leaving as friends and staying in touch’.
Just before the wedding Suzanna’s Mum unexpectedly ended up in hospital and was not able to make the day. But Suzanna’s friends organised a live stream so her mum was able to join them from the hospital, see the ceremony and chat with them through the day.
The sustainability of the day was also important to Suzanna & David. River Cottage covered this with much of the produce from the farm or sourced locally. And Suzanna’s wedding dress was second-hand from Oxfam and the table flowers were also from the River Cottage Gardens.
Just perfect.
River Cottage Wedding Photography
Venue: River Cottage HQ
Wedding Dress: Oxfam
Alterations: by Carmelina
Suits: Moss Bross
Flower Girls Dress: JJ’s House
Hair and Make-up: Changing Faces
Flowers: CJ Flowers
Caterers: River Cottage
Cake: River Cottage
Cake of Cheese: The Cheese Shed
Band: The Hipsmiths booked via Entertainment Nation
When looking for a River Cottage wedding photographer, Suzanna & David wanted someone to capture the day and the moments that they wouldn’t have seen. They said ‘We wanted photos that brought out the fun & relaxed nature of the day. And you totally delivered!’
Suzanna also said ‘I hate having my photo taken. You took more photos of me that day that I like than I think the rest of my life put together.
We loved that you got a photo of every single guest. (and I don’t just mean the group shot). Everyone was in at least one other shot. You were everywhere, but never obtrusive’.
