Laura & Rob’s timeless and classic Compton Verney wedding, with J S Coates Photography

Published by Claire Gould on May 26, 2021May 26, 2021

This one’s special. Every once in a while I’m sent a wedding which absolutely blows me away – the romance of it all, the couple, the photography and the styling – and it goes STRAIGHT into my secret favourite weddings folder, ready to share again at Christmas. And on that note… hello Laura & Rob! These two just smile all day long. Their (safely before covid) wedding is joyful, beautiful and deliciously elegant with stunning styling touches. And a little surprise – well, a big surprise – instead of a wedding car. It’s like the biggest alternative-to-a-wedding-car we’ve ever seen, and it’s extra wonderful because of the story behind it. Oh, and one of our fave photographers gets a glowing review from the happy couple: lovely Midlands wedding photographer J S Coates was a big part of Laura & Rob’s day, and his photos are just incredible. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Wedding photographer’s website

https://jscoates.com/

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

Absolutely!!! Where do we even start?!
Rob and I were very nervous about what to expect and very shy at the thought of being in front of a camera on our big day but from the moment we spoke to Jonathan he instantly put us at ease!
His communication from day one was amazing and we really felt like we got to know him immediately.

On our wedding day, Jonathan was simply amazing! We can honestly say there is not a single fault we could say!
We both felt as though he was part of our wedding and he really made a huge positive impact on the entire day. All our guests have commented on how incredible he was and how well he simply fitted in.

Upon receiving our photos we were not disappointed to say the least! He has captured every part of our day and more, the photos are exactly what we wanted and more.. natural, clean, crisp and full of every emotion.

We can not honestly recommend him high enough! We will treasure our photos and memories with Jonathan for the rest of our lives, we are so so grateful to him, he went above and beyond for us.

We actually loved him that much, one year on from our wedding we booked him to do our family shoot with our newborn. What a guy!!!!

If you’re looking for a Compton Verney wedding photographer you can see Jonathan’s portfolio on his wedding photography website here.

Videographer details if applicable – and any thoughts for other couples about having a wedding video?

We booked Blue Ridge Films who had actually worked with our photographer Jonathan in the past. This worked incredibly well. They knew how each other worked and complemented each other perfectly. I would highly recommend booking both a videographer and photographer and even more so if they know and worked together before. Your photos and videos are your physical memories that you can look back on and relive every moment.

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

We got married a little distance from our hometown at Compton Verney Art Gallery Warwickshire. Not only is this venue incredible with 120 acres of beautiful historic land, a beautiful lakeside and amazing architecture featuring large windows, an ornate marble floor, grand pillars and high ceilings, it exudes timeless elegance.
But this venue also holds a special place in our hearts as this is the exact place Rob and I went on our first date all those years ago.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

Dress shopping for me was amazing, i was open minded and tried on TOO many styles. One day my bridesmaids organised a surpise trip in London where they had booked an appointment at Pronovias London. And this is where and when I first came across my dress (its true, you always find love when you least expect it haha) Every dress fitting was then made into a great excuse for a trip to London and maybe a drink or two.
Robs suit shopping was not quite so, lets say smooth. Rob and his groomsmen went on a lads day out searching for their suits. Along with sample swatches to match bridesmaid dresses, photographs for inspiration and “loose” instructions for a dark navy 3 piece suit, matching pocket ties. A few drinks in to the day they were shopping when they then got more than “swayed” into buying a light blue suit, jackets that didn’t nt match and a shade of pink far from the swatches to match from the salesman. Somewhat happy with themselves, 5 suits on order, Laura then received a photograph of the mismatches suits. The next day the order was on hold and a search for the DARK navy suits resumed (eye roll)

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

We hired a decor company called The Midlands Events Company (https://www.themidlandseventscompany.co.uk/) who also worked with a local florist to help bring our visions to light. They were amazing and we were very happy with the service

Did you hire a wedding planner?

Our venue had an onsite wedding planner who helped us plan our day, alongside the decor company and the organised bride. Together we all made a great team

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

We used a baker from our hometown Malvern called The Cake Tin. Ruth the incredible baker was amazing!! we had a pre-wedding consultation, tried samples and designed the cake together. She listened to what we wanted PERFECTLY and our cake was insane. A 5 Tier (one false) cake consisting of one tier gluten free chocolate and orange, filled with chocolate orange ganache icing and covered with dark chocolate ganache, another tier made from lemon and elderflower cake filled with homemade lemon curd and elderflower butter icing covered in a white chocolate ganache and another tier made from vanilla cake filled with rasberry jam and vanilla butter icing covered in white chocolate ganache. All decorated with a white fondant icing, white ribbon, white roses and pale green foliage. Clean, Classic and perfect.

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

We had many special, personal touches but the biggest one has to be those in memory of the brides father Kevin who unfortunately passed away when I was 19 after a battle with cancer.

I have always been a petrol head, which is actually what first brought Rob and I together but One of my most treasured memories of a child was going out in the trucks together. Kevin was a long distance heavy goods driver for sometime while I was a child. One thing he always promised me was the fact he would always drive me to my wedding day. With this no longer possible, a dream of mine was always to arrive in a truck to my wedding. Its then when i came across the most perfect transport.. A HUGE ROSE GOLD AMERICAN TRUCK!!! So we just had to have it, with his music blasting, horn blowing and im sure it was the first Bride this truck had ever taken to a wedding! I could feel Dad with me, smiling and laughing at his princess arriving to an incredibly beautiful and elegant venue, in a rose gold truck, saying “Thats My Girl”

Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

We chose to have Ed Sheeran – Thinking out loud. As the lyrics include the words “we found love right where we are” and as we were standing in the same spot we had since our first date, it seemed only fitting.

I’d like to add how incredible our Band were, we booked The Distractions Band for the full day and they were AMAZING!!! we had a live 3 piece acoustic throughout the service and during the drinks reception on the lawn after, all songs were personalised for us. Then a 5 piece for the live entertainment in the evening and they were worth every single last penny and more! Dwayne the lead singer on the day was incredible and a personal favourite was the Sax! They read the room perfectly and got everyone up, signing and dancing the night away! You choose our own playlists and they were simply perfect !!