Wedding photography wonderful Clock Barn, an exclusive-use wedding venue near Whitchurch in north Hampshire. It's easy to see why Clock Barn is such a hugely popular venue with wedding couples: you've got everything you need all in one place: the magnificent barn itself with a whole series of smaller side rooms to make use of throughout your celebrations, the quite excellent prep space and dressing room, and of course a whole load of accommodation so you don't even have to head home at the end of the night. The catering is fab, and he grounds are beautiful, varied and always immaculately presented - great news when it comes to your wedding photographs. Jess & Chris married here in mid-Autumn: the colours were still there in the trees while the cosiness of the barn's interiors really came into play.
The main bridal suite / getting ready rooms at Clock Barn are a fantastic, self-contained annexe in a converted stable set to the side of the courtyard, opposite the barn and to the side of the accommodation. It's a fantastic space, with so much room to spread out in, and with no danger of any pre-ceremony spoilers with members of the wedding party accidentally seeing each other (while Jess was set up in here with bridesmaids and family members, Chris had access to a second preparation space in the main barn building).
It's so easy here as a photographer to flit between locations through the morning, catching up with different parts of the wedding party and also capturing all those important detail shots and more candid moments as guests start to arrive; no feeling like you're in danger of missing anything as you're travelling from one spot to another. Another one of the hoys of an all-in-one wedding venue is that you've removed any travel stresses in getting to the ceremony; everyone's already here (or should be, at least, with time to spare before things really start moving). The most complicated part of the whole journey is walking the bride from the dressing room round to the rear entrance of the barn without guests getting an early peek. Easily solved: once all the guests are in the barn and seated, they just close the curtains.
With a bit of an Autumnal chill in the air most guests chose to spend the majority of the drinks reception indoors, with the cosiness of the smaller wing of the barn (later the party room) and the comfortable lounge area next door available to them while the main ceremony room was turned around for the wedding breakfast. With all that Autumn colour in the background though we definitely wanted to take advantage for the group photographs, and also for the couple portraits - the beautiful grounds here are a real attraction. A particular advantage on cooler days like this is that there's just so much to work with right on the doorstep, so you can stick close to the venue rather than have to venture further afield and still enjoy a huge variety of wedding portrait photography options. Of course if you do want to strike out a little further, even more backdrops await. This really is one of those venues you could photograph dozens of times over and always be bringing something new to the party, at every time of year - it never gets old. Love it!
Formal photographs completed it was back into the now turned-around barn, all set up for the wedding breakfast, speeches and then the party. Loads still to photograph, back into a more documentary style again now for the most part and just capturing all those moments as they happened. Speeches in particular were very poignant and emotional (they often are when brothers are involved as best men) and the party vibe for the evening was strong: a lot of energy on the dancefloor, just the way we like it!
Clock Barn is always such a treat to return to and photograph on a wedding day. Jess & Chris put on an absolute show: what a pleasure to be there and capture it all. I hope you've enjoyed this little snippet from their day. Friends and family can view the full gallery in my client area (link at the top of the page), but you'll need to ask them for the link and password first.
Making it happen:
Venue: Clock Barn
Dress: Shropshire Country Brides
Suits: Moss Bros
Hair: Georgia Muddiman
Makeup: Makeup by Lauren Faye
Content Creation: Magic Moments Social
Flowers: Lower Norton Flower Farm
If you are currently planning your Clock Barn wedding and would like to know more about my wedding photography availability, packages and prices please drop me a line through the contact form link below.
