Spring At The Dairy, Waddesdon
You can’t help but fall for this fun loving couple, and Lisa & Nick’s informal wedding so suited their personalities. I also loved the brilliant little details that they planned for their special day, including their fabulous upside-down cake and their giant illuminated letters. They hosted their spring wedding in the village of Waddesdon in Buckinghamshire at The Dairy, and filled the day with love, laughter and so much fun!
The Dairy have kindly recommended me for the past 15 years, and I just love returning time after time to this enchanting waterside venue. I have now photographed over 200 weddings at this beautiful Buckinghamshire venue. It’s like a second home to me!
A Home For Prized Cattle In Its Day!
Working in such magical surroundings really makes my job easy, as no matter which direction you look there are striking backdrops. For guests, The Dairy is one of those venues where I hear the word ‘wow’ so many times, especially when the guests see the amazing setting for the first time, and then again when they make their way through the courtyard to the enchanting lakeside setting.
It’s quite surreal to think that this is where the Rothschilds once kept their prized cattle!
Civil Ceremony In The Wintergarden
I always enjoy capturing the civil ceremonies at the Dairy, and Lisa and Nick’s emotional spring wedding was no exception. I feel privileged to stand next to the registrar and to see a perspective that the family and wedding guests rarely experience.
The resulting pictures do enable everyone to share the magical moment afterwards, and there are some cracking images from this wedding.
Champagne And Photographs Before The Meal
One of the most enjoyable times at wedding has to be the drinks reception. It’s hard to beat catching up informally with your loved ones with a glass of champagne in hand! Then there’s the opportunity to be one of the first people to congratulate the newlyweds, all whilst enjoying the most beautiful surroundings.
I always find that this relaxing time vanishes so fast on the day. I’m sure if the guests had their way they’d carry on chatting for many hours! And I always feel a little mean when I announce that it’s time for the group pictures, although I do say that guests are welcome to bring their drinks.
A Stroll Through The Grounds With The Newlyweds
It was a little chilly outdoors for too many pictures, so I did just a quick walk around the exterior of The Dairy with the newlyweds to make sure no backdrops were missed.
Then we captured the family photographs under the pavilions with the lake in the background. The big advantage of working here is that everyone is close by to the venue’s powerful outdoor heaters. Working outdoors whilst enjoying indoor temperatures ensures the smiles keep flowing!
The Evening Reception
The evening kicked off with the cutting of the upside down wedding cake, this gorgeous creation was made by the very talented Kristina at Penn Wedding Cakes. I’ve photographed over 1,200 weddings, but this was definitely a first for me, and it was pretty amazing too!
The dance floor was now the go to place during the evening, and the Wintergarden area looked incredible with the candles and giant N & L illuminated letters. The dancing was pretty much non-stop, and especially so from the energetic younger guests in attendance.
Some of my favourite images from the day featured the illuminated letters, the image you see below was probably my top choice. It was captured mixing the available light in the room, then I added some additional soft foreground lighting. The cute flower girls loved having their moment centre stage in front of the camera for this atmospheric shot.
My day concluded after I captured some of my floodlit night shots around The Dairy of the wedding couple, with the spring landscape beautifully illuminated.
Kind Words
Dear Mark,
I think it’s safe to say that prior to our wedding we really didn’t appreciate how much a photographer can make or break the day. Without a doubt your incredible efforts on our wedding day would mean that if we were ever advising someone getting married on what to spend their money on a great photographer would be top of the list and if it were in this area would immediately suggest you.
It is so much more than just taking photos; you actively got involved in ensuring the guests were in the right place, often organising the wedding party and providing your own expertise and experience, even down to putting the mens’ buttonholes on (thank you so much for your help with that!)
We do not have the easiest of families to work with so thank you for dealing so calmly with the extended family dynamics and on the fly changes to the planned photos. With ever-changing weather and new photo requests on the day we can’t quite believe how you were able to so easily come up with new photo concepts and adaptations so that not only did we not get wet at all while you were getting soaked, but everyone was able to get the photos they wanted from the day! You showed far more patience than we did!
We remarked to Hollie, the wedding coordinator, that we have no idea where you get your constant energy from! The fact that you were shooting for the entire 8 hours is evident from the amazing range of photos you provided covering the whole time you were there. We are so pleased with the results with some real surprise shots in the bunch where you were able to work with the kids without our supervision.
We finally wanted to say thank you for delivering the images so quickly after the wedding. Having implemented a no-cameras policy we have been asked many times already for your photos of the day so to get a gallery up within a few days is fantastic for us.
Thanks again, Nick & Lisa
