It’s ok to share a Christmas wedding in May, right? We’re about to fill your screens with oodles of sparkly joy from Georgia & Sean’s romantic Christmas wedding in Kent. The lovely pair were wed in December. Their wedding was elegant and romantic with natural styling touches. This one’s been sent in by our friends at The Ferry House. All of the fabulous images are by Chris Blackledge Photography. (As always, there’ll be more of our top favourites on instagram – @englishweddingblog)
“Working with Sean & Georgia was a pleasure. They chose an elegant look with heaps of fairylights and candlelight. We balanced the soft pink table cloths and napkins with a mix of candle or floral table centres. Under the canopy of fairy lights and foliage garlands felt intimate and inviting for their guests. Finished with green votives and the cutest crackers that Georgia sourced, the final look was romantic, elegant and stylish. Setting the tone for their beautiful wedding which Chris Blackledge captured perfectly.” ~ The Ferry House
Photographer – Chris Blackledge Photography
Venue – The Ferry House
Dress – Isabella Grace Bridal in Tunbridge Wells
Suit – Hawes and Curtis
Groomsmen suits – Slaters
Hire & styling – Idyllic & Co
Hair – Bridal Hair by Suzy
Make up – Helen Lee MUA
Flowers – The Flower Company
Our wedding photographer: Chris Blackledge Photography
Chris is an amazing photographer. It was important for us to find someone that had worked at the venue before and Chris is a recommended supplier at The Ferry House. He is very friendly and was always on hand to answer any questions during the lead up to our wedding. On the day he made both Sean & I feel so at ease when being in front of a camera seemed a little daunting.
We are so happy with the photos and Chris captured the Christmas feel of our wedding perfectly. We couldn’t recommend Chris highly enough.
The venue: The Ferry House
We always knew we wanted a winter wedding, we loved the idea of combining a Christmas celebration with our special day. However, finding a venue with enough indoor space proved more difficult than we thought! I came across The Ferry House on Instagram. I loved the fact that they had three separate large indoor areas for the ceremony, drinks reception and meal/evening reception.
We fell in love with the venue on our first visit. The bar area felt so warm and inviting with the fireplaces. The barn for the ceremony is rustic and looks beautiful without having to add anything to it. The event suite was big enough to seat all our guests and provided a blank space for us to make it everything we wanted & more with the help of Sophie at Idyllic.
The staff at the Ferry House are incredible. We had a number of face-to-face meetings during the build-up and the regular communications always made sure we were on track with the planning process. On the day we had a dedicated member of staff, Maxine, who could not have done enough to make sure everything ran smoothly. The bar stuff were great, they even had a special Christmas cocktail menu which our guests loved! The food was incredible and so many people have complimented us on everything they ate throughout the day. The Ferry House is fantastic, we are so lucky that we got to have our wedding at such an amazing venue.
A special review for Idyllic & Co
We were so happy with everything you did for our wedding. The venue looked better than we ever could have imagined and we really appreciated all the hard work you put in, especially coming the day before to set everything up! It was just so lovely knowing that we didn’t need to worry about anything and we trusted that you knew the exact vibe we were wanting and you completely nailed it!
Today’s absolute joy of a wedding comes from beautiful Grasmere, in the heart of the Lake District. Mark and Dan look amazing in matching suits, the floral styling is out of this world and the photography captures the atmosphere of their day perfectly.
All images are by Lake District wedding photographer Mark Battista
I am head over heels in love with so many of Mark and Dan’s images I could have shared so many more on the blog… do head over to @englishweddingblog on instagram to see more of my favourites! Congratulations to this gorgeous pair – and huge thank yous for sharing such wonderful supplier reviews for the amazing team who brought the day to life. An absolute beauty!
Wedding photographer’s website
Lake District wedding photographer Mark Battista http://www.markbattistaphotography.co.uk
Wedding photographer review
The photos are absolutely perfect, Mark captured the whole event superbly. You really get the feel of it being a truly wonderful occasion (which it was)! We were super excited to share them with everyone. Everything on the day went perfectly, the style is just what we wanted and nothing too formal.
Your best wedding moment or memory
Undercover waiters – got everyone on their feet (some even on the tables) It was a really special moment and got the party started. They even got people on their feet who we didn’t quite expect to!
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
- We both walked down the aisle with our mothers.
- Our two dogs were the ringbearers.
- The two best women gave speeches.
- We had an evening party the day before for 55 of the guests who were staying at the venue.
Videographer name + review
Moments in White – Jayson.
Jayson captured the day in the most amazing way. (Check @momentsinwhite on instagram for the beautiful highlights reels!)
Venue name + review
Lancrigg, Grasmere (Lake District wedding venue)
What a venue and a hidden gem! Simon and Alison the owners are onto something special with this one as a wedding venue. We had a truly magical weekend and everything went the way we wished… and more. The staff were fantastic and many of our guests commented how friendly they were. No request was too much and Simon and his team were accommodating with all our requests (some quite outlandish!)
The Barn, Whiskey Bar and Main House played host to the best day of our lives and it felt so festive and homely. The Barn and Whiskey bar have been transformed into an impressive venue that provides a blank canvas to dress how you wish…. And we went to town and grateful we were allowed to do so. What a party it was!
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
We both wore: Green Tweed Suit, Beige Checked Waistcoat, Burgundy tie
Suit shop name + review
Edit Suits – great service from start to finish from Joeline and Wayne. Made, Measured and fitted to perfection.
Florist name + review
Brackens of Bowness
Kevin the florist really listened to what we wanted and adapted plans based on the season and cost. It felt like Kevin was at the venue for the entire day, flipping the ceremony displays to the table garlands for the evening and working tirelessly the day before setting up garlands for the aisle and hanging from the beams of the barn. We couldn’t have wished for anything better, the flowers and greenery really added to the look and feel of the day and we couldn’t have been happier. He transformed the venue in ways we didn’t think were possible!
Stationery maker’s name + review
Muse Calligraphy
The wedding stationery was absolutely beautiful and it was an absolute pleasure working with Muse Calligraphy. We adapted the format of the menu design with our own detail and Millie was amazing at delivering what we wanted and was happy to make last minute changes. The detail of the print and the quality of the card really added an extra special touch to the day.
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
We supplied the Christmas trees and made the garland around the barn doors. We also enhanced the table settings and seating plan with our personalised wax seal, bunny tail and feathers.
Entertainment
Undercover waiters – Live Music
Tailor and Co – Band
Catering
Karen Rhodes Wedding and Event Catering
Lauren from Karen Rhodes was exceptional on the day. The food was the showstopper of the day and everyone was so complimenting of the food and service provided (especially the poor girls serving canapés having to venture outside in the pouring rain into the house from the catering tent). The food was piping hot and delicious! Lauren really out our mind at ease around the logistics of the day and is a true asset to the business.
Our whole dealings with Karen Rhodes were without fault and Charlotte and Lucy have a business they can be really proud of.
Hair + makeup name + review
B the Bride – https://www.instagram.com/b_thebride_
I can’t really comment too much as it was the ladies who had their Hair and Make up done but everyone was really pleased and the girls looked amazing, our mothers especially. They listened to what they all wanted and executed it in the best possible way.
When I wrote about wedding trends for 2025, I hope it came across really strongly that authenticity is everything. Or, as award-winning photographers York Place Studios put it, any “spontaneous shenanigans” should absolutely be captured on camera! That’s how you’ll be able to really relive your wedding, rather than just remembering it through the images and videos captured by your wedding photography team.
Gorgeous couple Shannon and Tom got married at Botley Hill Barn at Christmas time. Their day is full of warmth and love. Their images are full of life and personality, captured by leading documentary wedding photographers York Place Studios.
If you’re new to wedding planning, I suspect social media’s showing you plenty of fabulously styled, imaginatively decorated weddings. Once you start your search for wedding photographers and videographers, you’ll begin to see more real couples and real-life weddings, and what matters most of all here is how well the life and soul of a wedding is captured.
When you’re married and settled and looking back on your wedding, the memories will fade over time.
It’s one thing to have pictures of your outfits, flowers and wedding venue. It’s entirely more precious to have photographs that capture the atmosphere throughout a wedding.
There’s the happy chaos and nervous anticipation as you both get ready.
The overwhelming love and excitement, and seriousness, of your commitment ceremony.
The relief and joy once you’re actually married, and the celebrations afterwards will all feel a certain way.
Photos which bring you right back to how that moment felt, even in twenty or fifty years time, are utterly priceless.
This is Shannon & Tom’s beautiful winter wedding at Botley Hill Barn. I hope you love the images of their day!
- If this is the first you’ve heard about documentary wedding photography, this article explains what it means.
- York Place Studio & Film offer both photography and videography for London weddings, all in a documentary style.
London wedding photographers York Place Photo & Film Studio are members of English Wedding
Web: www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk
I am full of festive spirit today! It’s our last blog before Christmas and we have an absolutely gorgeous, sparkly twinkly Christmassy wedding which I know you will LOVE!!! The newlyweds are Katy and Simon, married at Northamptonshire’s Fawsley Hall with images by Sky Photography. I’ve been so excited to share this wedding with you, and I’m thrilled that Katy’s written all about their stunning day including fabulous reviews for her favourite Northants wedding suppliers. As always, I’ll share favourite photos on instagram (@englishweddingblog) but for now, grab yourself a cosy cuppa and scroll slowly – this is one of the loveliest Christmas weddings I’ve ever seen!
Wedding photographer’s website
Northamptonshire wedding photographers Sky Photography (https://www.skyphotography.co.uk)
Wedding photographer review
It’s difficult to know where to begin but quite simply we were blown away with Sky Photography.
Simon was the only choice for our wedding. As soon as we saw his work we knew Sky Photography were the best people to capture our day. I knew that I didn’t want lots of posing pictures and I also wanted the wow pictures that Sky Photography specialise in.
Sky Photography were so knowledgeable and worked well with our videographer throughout the day. Simon and Carla are such lovely people putting us at ease through the day as I was worried about posing and what to do but they took all of that away. I’m still in awe at all of the pictures, I love them all.
Your best wedding moment or memory
Apart from saying our vows, the best moment was when it was just me and my husband in the horse and carriage taking everything in and having that special time together. Everything had been so busy that morning and then the rush of getting married it was nice to take each other in.
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
I would say that we’re very traditional so I don’t feel like we did anything differently. I am such a romantic and loved watching all the wedding films growing up, that I always pictured the bride going in last down the aisle in the church. I wanted to see my sister (bridesmaid) and nephews walk down the aisle and then I come down last, I loved they had their own moment in the spotlight too. On the back of the Order of Service we had a page covering ‘Our Love Story’. We felt not everyone knew our story and when it all started, so wanted to share it with everyone as it is our favourite story to tell!
Videographer name + review
Ayelle were our first choice of videographer as out of all the videographers we had looked at, it was only Ayelle’s that made me cry. They capture the emotion of the day and their videos are truly beautiful, I must have watched ours over 100 times. Adam was amazing throughout the day and worked well with our photographer.
Venue name + review
Fawsley Hall Hotel
We had a number of venues lined up to look at, one of the things I wanted was to get married in a church but I loved the convenience of a civil ceremony where everything is on the same site making it easier for guests. I wanted a church that was therefore either in the grounds of the venue or very close by. Fawsley was the first place we looked at, and as soon as we arrived me and Simon both looked at each other and instantly knew it was the venue for us.
The church is across a small field and the venue is incredible. Everywhere was breathtaking and The Great Hall where we had our reception drinks was certainly a talking point. Originally we were looking at an autumn wedding as that is my favourite time of year. However, when Olivia showed us pictures, we saw their Christmas tree and which must be about 30ft tall along with all of the beautiful decorations at Christmas we fell in love as we both love Christmas and changed the date to fit in with having the Christmas decorations there. It really did add to the day, making it so special, warm, romantic and timeless which is everything we wished for. I also loved that the wedding breakfast and entertainment was in a separate building but with the same aesthetics as the main hotel. This made it feel more exclusive for us. We had a horse drawn carriage that took us to the church and back and it really did fit in well with the venue and gave Bridgerton vibes.
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
Pronovias – Mingsha
I am the type of girl that has been dreaming of her wedding since I was a little girl. I loved looking at my Nanna and Grandad’s wedding photo whenever I was at their house, it was so beautiful, elegant and timeless and my Nanna’s dress would not look out of place today. That is exactly what I wanted from my dress, to look at it in 50 years time and for it to still be beautiful. The Pronovias gown is a classic lace gown with long semi-transparent sleeves (it was winter!) and a breathtaking skirt and train.
I chose a veil that was slightly longer than the train with lace edging to match the dress. To complete my classic look, I had a Ivory & Co tiara.
My shoes were the most beautiful shoes I had ever seen and really completed my look. The detail with all the beading was so beautiful and they were called ‘Cinderella’ which I thought was fitting. They were from Emmy and quite pricey but worth it to keep for years to come. I personalised the bottom of the shoes with coloured crystals. I chose my birth month to put in one shoe which was Aquamarine and as we were getting married in December I chose the December stone which was Tanzanite, I used this as my ‘something blue’.
My husband and Groom party all wore a three-piece suit from Nigel James Dresswear in Coventry. This was navy in colour with a slight check pattern through. My husband wore an ivory coloured tie and the rest of the party wore a dusky blue colour to match our colour theme. This was paired with brown brogues. My 3 nephews all wore the same suits too, however my youngest nephew was 18 months old at the time and we had to get one from Next, but it matched the others really well.
Dress or suit shop name + review
Lavelle Bridal Couture – Warwick
This was the first shop I went in and also the last. I had 2 appointments booked that day but after trying on the first dress which was ‘The One’ I cancelled my second appointment.
Becky was fantastic throughout and made me feel at ease as I was on the bigger end of bridal sizes. Becky had picked out some dresses based on my likes which I did try on but I knew it was the first one. I lived in Wales at the time and Becky was so accommodating with fitting me in for fittings. It was a lovely experience for both me and my mum and one that I will cherish forever.
Florist name + review
The Country Garden Florist
I have followed The Country Garden Florist for many years on Instagram and always knew I would have her do my wedding flowers. Her style is natural and organic that captures the flowers’ beauty in a timeless manor. We had a meeting with Donna to discuss what I wanted and apart from the colours and my bouquet I left it to her to create my vision.
I gave Donna a picture of my Nanna’s bouquet which she used to create mine as I loved the trailing greenery my Nanna had. The flowers really were incredible and she bought my vision to life in the church and the wedding breakfast room. We had an archway outside the church as well as flowers down the aisle and at the end. Donna then re used the arches to place behind the top table and the aisle flowers were stood in front of the top table. I wanted lots of candle light to create the romantic and cosy look, so Donna provided some hanging tea lights from the tall flower displays which were just beautiful.
Cake maker name + review
Cake Maker – Cakes Fabulous Cakes
I met Karen at a wedding fair and when we tasted the cakes, we both loved them and booked an appointment there and then to have a tasting session. We tried all of the flavours and couldn’t decide so had a flavour for each tier.
Karen talked to us about our vision for the wedding and helped us to decide on the cake that fitted what we wanted. We decided on a 3 tier cake with a 10” base fondant ruffles in white, an 8” white smooth buttercream with mine and Simon’s initials in a gold monogram instead of a cake topper and a 6” top white smooth buttercream with pearls. We hired the cake stand from Karen which was a hoop surrounding the cake which could be decorated with flowers from our florist.
Simon is a lifelong Coventry FC fan and as a surprise I asked Karen to create a hidden reveal on the cake with the Coventry FC badge on the back. On the day when me and Simon went to look at the cake, I turned it around to show him, and he loved the surprise!
Stationery maker’s name + review
Stationery Maker – Inki Pinki Weddings
I found Inki Pinki on Etsy and their designs were beautiful and printed on lovely card. Jenni was very accommodating and fitted in everything we wanted for our stationery on the day.
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
I did not make anything unusual but I wanted to be involved as much as I could to help with cost and to also appreciate our work on the day. I asked my Dad to make me a wooden sign to signpost people to our wedding who were driving and I made the labels for this, I really enjoyed spending time with my Dad doing this, a memory I will cherish forever.
I also made the lettering for a poem and placed this on a mirror I upcycled which was displayed in the entrance way to the wedding breakfast. It read ‘True love is when both people think they are the lucky one’ and I personalised it with our names and the date.
For the seating plan, I wanted something different for the table seating plan and as I was shopping I saw a corner shelving unit that was really pretty with intricate cut out pieces and had the idea of putting them back to back and displaying the tables on every other shelf and using the spare shelves for candles, flowers and gold accessories, it all came together and looked really pretty.
I also wanted to make sure special people we had lost were a part of the day and had photographs of them displayed. I wanted to put favours on the table and we decided to make our own using shortbread biscuits, ready made icing and I bought a stamp from Etsy with our initials and the date of the wedding on. I then popped these in a bag and placed a ribbon around it to match our colour theme, this helped bring a pop of colour to the tables.
Wedding readings?
As we got married in a church we had a biblical reading which we chose ‘Song of Solomon 2.10-13; 8:6-7’ which was read by our friend. My 7 year old Nephew beautifully read ‘My Advice by Anon, he did so well and read really confidently. My sister who was my Maid of Honour chose a poem for us which was a surprise for us on the day. She read Whitney Hanson’s ‘Wedding Poem’. It is simple in its words but just so wonderfully beautiful in its sentiment.
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
Everly Fair – Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now. One day I was scrolling through Instagram and heard this song that I immediately loved. We did not have a song as a couple and this was one thing we were really struggling on. We both loved this one and loved the original was from the era we were born and it was important the words meant something to us. We researched on Youtube simple wedding moves as I did not want the pressure of learning a performance but still wanted it to look good. We had a good start with some twists and dips throughout that kept the dance interesting. We did not manage to do it right once the whole time we were practicing, but on the day it was perfect!
I have always wanted to do a Father-Daughter dance and after our first dance I had a special dance with my Dad to My Girl by The Temptations
Hair + makeup name + review
Hair – The Hairbook Wedding Stylist – I met Natalie at a Wedding Fayre and loved how nice and calming she was. She spent time talking to me about what I liked and what she could do. From that day she was a dream to work with. I had one bridesmaid, my sister and we both had a trial 6 weeks before the wedding where I could bring my tiara and veil with me. My hair stayed in all day and felt comfortable as I was worried it would start to ache. Natalie went above and beyond on the day and captured some photographs in the room for me that I had the next day from her, she also helped with my dress and was just a lovely person to work with.
Makeup – Rebecca Frances Makeup – Rebecca was recommended to me by my wedding dress shop. Rebecca is very talented and fulfilled my vision perfectly. I wanted to look ‘flawless’ but still look like me as I do not wear a lot of make up in real life.
A fabulous late December wedding with creative and beautiful lighting, perfect for the winter months. Phoebe and Rob’s day is incredible, beautifully styled and we’re in love with the lamps adding a soft glow to table settings.
Along with brilliant reviews and recommendations for photographers Lisa & Neil, Woodhall Manor and The Suffolk Florist, Phoebe told us how phenomenal The Decorative Collection Cordless Lighting (TDC Cordless Lighting) were for creating a truly magical wedding.
Wedding photographer’s website
Lisa and Neil https://lisaandneil.co.uk
Wedding photographer review
Lisa and Neil are absolutely fab! They listened to everything we asked and completely understood that we didn’t want to be spending hours doing photos during our drinks reception. Their photos have made us feel like movie stars and they have captured all the magical moments our guests had. They also offered a variety of photographs from posed, candid and artistic. They made us feel really comfortable and made all the photos very fun! We would recommend them to all our friends and family.
Your best moment or memory
There were too many to choose from but our top highlights were the first moment we saw each other as Phoebe walked down the aisle, our entrance into the Wedding breakfast as Mr and Mrs Attwater.
Our first dance was also such a special moment dancing to “Better Man” by Paolo Nutini. Also loved doing the professional artistic photos in the bar under the atmospheric lighting – the photos look amazing from this!
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
We had a guestbook of baubles where every guest wrote us a special message on a bauble and hung it on a tree (as we got married between Christmas and New Year). We also lit up our who wedding with the help of TDC Cordless Lighting. They provided all the lighting for the venue and the wedding breakfast this really added the wow factor. All our guests commented on how atmospheric and gorgeous the tables looked. We used Audio Guestbook which has captured all our guests messages and enabled us to have a keep sake of all our loved ones. I’m so happy we’ll be able to keep listening to these for years to come. Such a special touch. Phoebe’s Grandad piped (bagpipes) her down the aisle so we included black watch tartan throughout the whole wedding. Our cereal buffet was also epic (big up the chocolate weetabix).
Videographer name + review
Nick and Molly, Heartwood wedding films They were amazing, the video has captured every special memory of the day and has enabled us to keep all the special memories from the day. We keep rewatching it again and again. They were incognito the entire wedding but always there whenever there was a moment to capture. Would definitely recommend!
Venue name + review
Woodhall Manor, Woodbridge We could not have asked for a better venue it offered everything we wanted. It was perfect for a winter wedding a great mix of sophistication and cosy. The staff were phenomenal, nothing was too much of an ask. They made everyone feel so welcome. We also loved the fact we could stay and have breakfast the next morning with all our loved ones. The biggest shoutout has to be for the food though, it was outstanding and every guest has mentioned how good it was!
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
Rob is in the Royal Navy so he wore his uniform and then swapped into his mess dress in the evening so got a chance to wear both! Phoebe’s dress was tight and then went down into a long lace train it was buttoned all the way down and had a v neck that was lacy. This was paired with a pearl veil.
Dress or suit shop name + review
Grace and Lace, Colchester The service I received was amazing they made it feel so magical and adapted my dress and re made a lot of it to make it fit my perfect vision. It was like hands had never touched it when they re designed the dress. They are some very talented ladies!!!
Florist name + review
The Suffolk Florist Emma went above and beyond to help me to create our vision she thought outside the box and helped bring my pine cone theme alive. The bouquets were absolutely gorgeous and she was so receptive throughout the whole process.
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
We made our own shot wall as a table plan and donut wall. Also made all our table decorations
Wedding readings?
Ecclesiastes 4 9-12 Excerpt from The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
Better Man by Paolo Nutini
Hair + makeup name + review
Paige from House of Hair and Beauty did my hair – she is amazing she created my visions completely and came back and redid my hair in the evening with a slightly different style. Paige was like one of the other girls it was soo easy having her during the morning. Also she spent hours in my trial perfecting the right look.
Alice Setterfield – make up. Alice was amazing at creating a really natural look for me that also popped in all the photos. She was able to adapt to all ages. She listened to exactly what I wanted and made it happen. She was super friendly and fitted in so easily in the morning.
