Rainy Marquee Wedding at Moreton Walled Gardens in Dorchester – Lucy & Chris
Lucy and Chris didn’t let the rain dampen their spirits for their gorgeous garden wedding in Dorset
Lucy and Chris got married last summer in the lovely Moreton Walled Gardens, which is a beautiful outdoor country garden venue in Moreton, Dorset. I’ve previously blogged about their Engagement shoot, which you can see here. It was a lot warmer and sunnier for that shoot, I have to say! They had their wedding ceremony outside, which was quite brave, considering the weather! They chose Moreton Walled Garden as their wedding venue, because it’s owned by a friend and they could totally personalise it. It was an outdoor garden wedding, which I’d been nervous about in the days leading up to the big day, as the forecast was for heavy downpours all day!
Getting ready
Lucy got ready at her parents house with her bridesmaids, and the atmosphere was really chilled. Lucy’s friend did her make up which was lovely, as it made it so much more personal on the morning. The girls also spent some time deciding which colourful umbrellas they would be carrying into the outdoor ceremony! The bride then jumped into a car with her dad to the ceremony. Lucy was met by the registrars and her bridesmaids, as well as a couple of late-coming guests who had initially taken their seats at the wrong wedding in the small village of Moreton before realising they were in the wrong place!
The ceremony
The wedding itself was an intimate affair under an arbour in the garden grounds. The guests had a special marquee erected over them to protect them from the elements! During the ceremony the registrar realised that he’d forgotten to invite the witnesses into the arbour too to witness the marriage. Legally, they have to be under the same roof as the bride and groom when vows are exchanged, so the couple had to repeat their vows twice! It was quite funny – at least everyone knew they were definitely sure about getting married!
After the ceremony
The reception was in a marquee and they had a cocktail drinks reception in the afternoon, and a fantastic band in the evening. They decorated the venue with bunting and photos of the couple and all the guests, because they wanted to keep the decor simple and personal. It was such a pretty marquee and looked so colourful. I loved the table plan, and the centrepieces with photos of Lucy and Chris in different places that they’d travelled to together.
Because of the rain, we didn’t get as much of an opportunity to explore the beautiful grounds of the Moreton Walled Garden as I’d hoped. However, I did sneak the couple off for a couple of quick photo sessions – I do like some nice photos cuddled up under a brolly!
For dinner they served really delicious sharing platters, which was helped to create a really relaxed atmosphere. After dinner came the speeches – a bit of a tear jerker from the father of the bride, followed by both Chris and Lucy both making a speech, as well as the Maid of Honour, but the Best Man’s speech had everyone in stitches!
The first dance was great as everyone was cheering the couple on from the edge of the dance floor, which was lovely, and they finished off the evening with a lot of very energetic dancing to the awesome live band. I absolutely love it when the dance floor is lively at a wedding and this was certainly one of the livelier wedding receptions I’ve photographed – everyone was having a brilliant time and there were some serious shapes being thrown throughout the evening!
The most memorable part of the day was when the cake was cut. Because of the constant rain, we’d not had the opportunity to throw confetti after the ceremony, so as Lucy and Chris cut the cake, they were pelted with confetti from all sides which they weren’t expecting, but made for some brilliant photos! We also had to do the group shots on the dance floor once the marquee was cleared after the speeches, due to the rain. It was a bit of a challenge as lots of the bridal party had been enjoying a few beverages over dinner and playing ‘speech bingo’ as a drinking game, so they were quite merry to say the least!
The couple
Lucy wore a gorgeous Maggie Sottero gown and Chris wore a blue suit and red paisley tie and they looked so perfect. The couple met as teenagers, in the same friendship group and have been together for ages. Because they share the same friendship group, there was a serious part atmosphere all day with everyone hanging out together, which was brilliant.
Lucy and Chris got in touch with me as I used to work with Chris in the job I had before I became a wedding photographer, and their enquiry was really exciting as it was so great to photograph a wedding for someone I know. They said that all they really wanted on their big day was to have an epic party, and I thought it was awesome that they were so chilled out.
Lucy and Chris’s wedding was great fun and a brilliant day, despite the rain. Here’s a few frames from their awesome wedding!
If you’re getting married and are planning an outdoor wedding or a wedding in a marquee, I hope this post gives you some inspiration. I’d love to hear from you all about your plans, so please do drop me a line.
Suppliers
Venue: http://walledgardenmoreton.co.uk/