A guest article by Bands for Hire | all images by Richard Skins Photography.
See Phoebe & Ed’s gorgeous Childerley Hall wedding in our archives!

Strutting the aisle like a Hollywood red carpet with thousands of eyes fixed on you is some couples’ idea of Heaven – but don’t worry if this sounds more like wandering through the fiery pits of Hell to you! Everyone deserves to be loved, and everyone deserves the chance to express that love in their own way. If you’re more of a privacy-appreciating introvert than an attention-loving extrovert, you might be dreading the prospect of sharing your innermost feelings of love in front of a roomful of people – only to then have to keep them all entertained for the rest of the evening.

Header image credit: Jonny Draper

It’s no secret that your wedding venue is one of the most fundamental aspects of your special day. We all have our dream venue, yet finding the one that ticks off all the boxes can be a challenge. 

However, there is nothing more quintessentially British than a countryside manor house. 

There are hundreds of amazing manor houses in the UK, and our friends at Delamere Manor are here to share with you some of the benefits of choosing a countryside manor house for your wedding. 

Photographer credit: Richard Milnes

A Classic Location 

Hey lovelies! Did you have a wonderful weekend? Ours was a busy one celebrating my amazing stepdaughter’s birthday so I’m starting Monday feeling happily frazzled and all warm and happy inside. Today’s feature is a little different: as a blogger I’ve seen thousands of weddings from hundreds of photographers over the years, and I’m a huge admirer of the craftsmanship and skill of wedding photographers. I was chatting with Sussex wedding photographer and friend of English Wedding Martin Beddall a few weeks ago, and he very kindly agreed to do a little interview for me. His answers give a fascinating insight into reportage photography – one of my favourite wedding photography styles and one I’d love for all of you to consider for your weddings! I hope you enjoy reading this: of course all of the stunning images are by Martin Beddall Photography.

After the months of planning, the spreadsheets, the budgeting and saving and arrangements to be made, when you finally have time to kick off your Jimmy Choos and snuggle up together at home, clinking wedding rings, how does it really feel? What is that ‘just married‘ glow actually like? Is it different? Does everything change? We asked English Wedding couples to tell us, in their expert opinions, the BEST thing about being married. The answers range from stuff about pom-poms to fuzzy feelings, best friends and new adventures. Grab a tissue – these amazing couples brought a tear to my eye more than once!

Wedding planning is a journey: one you should take together, and with open minds and hearts, supporting each other the whole way. You will learn heaps of stuff, not just about weddings but about yourselves, your friends and family and the things you love and loathe! It’s really important to maintain a sense of perspective: make time for yourselves and don’t let your wedding rule your lives! But my advice is like fluff in the wind compared to these nuggets of newlywed wisdom from real English Wedding couples. We’re loving the wall of post-it notes, the ‘don’t wing your speech’ tip, and the lessons learned* from things inevitably going a little wrong on the day!