The Barn at Berkeley Wedding Photography
There are weddings, there are epic weddings, and then there’s Becky & Jamie’s wedding at the Cotswold venue, The Barn at Berkeley! On this day, we had a mix of tears, laughter, a brilliant magician, a fantastic DJ, slides, a celebrity appearance (kinda), gorgeous weather, along with a beautiful Bride and a dashing Groom. Quite frankly, what more could a wedding photographer want from a terrific Gloucestershire wedding?
The day started bright and early for the bridal party, who were staying a mere five minutes away from The Barn at Berkeley. Jessica Ava was in charge of makeup, while Cotswolds Bridal & Colour complemented Jessica’s work with some epic hair styling. With some cheesy girly anthems blaring though the Bluetooth speaker (which this Cotswold wedding photographer may have shamefully sung along with…), coupled with some dodgy Bridesmaid dancing, the vibe of the morning can be summarised in two words: chilled and fun. With go time fast approaching, it was time for Becky to slip into her wedding dress from WED2B before everyone made their way over to The Barn at Berkeley.
Jamie & the lads were already at The Barn at Berkeley, mingling with guests while donning their suits from Dyfed Menswear. Inside, Etiquette Events had styled The Barn and The Loft wonderfully for the big day, and it wasn’t too long before guests filed into The Loft for the ceremony. Becky and her Bridal Squad walked down the aisle carrying their bouquets, courtesy of The Floral Potager, and the ‘I Dos’ went off without a hitch in front of Becky & Jamie’s nearest and dearest. With the rings exchanged and the paperwork signed, it was straight outside into The Garden for the confetti throwing and drinks reception.
With guests splitting their time between The Garden and The Parlour, everyone was enjoying catching up with each other. On hand to keep guests entertained was none other than Christian Fletcher. Regular readers of this Blog will know that Fletch is well thought of here at Chez Smyth, and it was great to see him wow guests with his silky skills. With those guests distracted, I grabbed the new Mr. & Mrs. for a quick portrait session before everyone went into The Barn for the wedding breakfast and speeches, which included an appearance from blink-182’s Tom DeLonge (well…a cardboard cut-out of him)!
With the roasts and toasts complete, it was time for something a little bit different. During the downtime before the party kicks off, Becky & Jamie treated their guests to the Cattle Country Farm Park – an indoor play barn where guests took turns sliding, climbing and generally having a damn good time. Even videographer extraordinaire, Gaz Proctor, had a go! I, on the other hand, am far too chicken to have a go on the Death Slide!
After pouring the worst pint ever, Jamie took his new Bride over to cut the cake before heading to the centre of the dance floor for their first dance. It wasn’t long before guests joined them, and Jules from Bristol Disco Hire kept the floor rocking with a great mix of tunes, including cheesy anthems for Becky and the girls, along with pop-punk and Emo for Jamie and the boys.
Earlier in the day, I saw an opportunity in The Loft for a banger of a photo, but I wanted the sun to go down before I did it. With guests dancing and drinking, as well as getting papped by Old School Booth, I took Becky & Jamie upstairs. It wasn’t too long before everything went a little bit Strictly Come Dancing! These two absolutely nailed their poses all day, and that continued into the night when we went outside for some night-time photos, as well as the signature silhouette.
