Swallows Nest Barn Wedding Photography
There are many reasons why I love being a wedding photographer – getting to spend an entire day with a bunch of people who love to have fun is always top of that list, but in all my years in the game, one of the many things that I have learned is that you end up making a lot of friends with like-minded professionals. To put it bluntly, we all seem to attract each other like dog hairs on a cheap suit!
Having all these professionals working together so closely has always been invaluable, and even more so since the dreaded ‘C’ word. With so many postponements, we’ve all been working tirelessly to ensure that we are available for new dates, and if we’re not, then we make sure that we put our clients in touch with a trustworthy someone who is. This brings me nicely to a fellow dog hair, Stephen Williams – a well established and respected photographer in the Midlands.
Stephen told me about his clients, Sam & Kev, and how they were one of the thousands of couples who have had to postpone their big day. Unfortunately, Stephen wasn’t available to be their wedding photographer for their new date at Swallows Nest Barn in Warwick, but as a consummate professional, Stephen started work on finding someone who will look after his clients and take some awesome photos on their big day. The sell job to me wasn’t that hard either – as soon as Stephen told me that Sam & Kev are chilled and love to have fun, I was in, baby!
The day kicked off at Grace Hair & Beauty in Coventry, where the Sam and the girls were getting ready for the day ahead. Prosecco and tea were the order of the morning as Emma ensured that everyone’s hair was coiffured before we all shot off to Sam’s mom’s house, where there was pizza, sandwiches, profiteroles and, of course, the dresses!
After Sam slipped into her stunning dress from True Romantica Bridal, I darted off to Swallows Nest Barn to find a dapper-looking Kev patiently waiting for his Bride to arrive. After the guests had filtered in, Sam & Co. rocked up in a pair of VW Camper Vans provided by Nothing But Wedding Cars, and from there we had an incredibly emotional wedding ceremony – well…expect for the bit where Sam completely lost her shit, and giggled incessantly for a few moments. Needless to say, I captured that moment!
With the vows completed and the rings exchanged, everyone was treated to a drinks reception in the Swallows Nest Barn courtyard, where Jayme Tovey of The Wedding Crashers provided the soundtrack for the sunny afternoon. While Steve Callaghan distracted everyone with his mad Caricaturist skills, I whisked Sam & Kev away for a short portrait session (including a photo under the floral display from Bedworth Florists) before we headed back into the barn for the wedding breakfast.
With the food having been consumed, the toasting and the roasting commenced and as soon as that was done, Sam, Kev & I were back out to get some more amazing portraits. It was too cloudy for a sunset photo, but what we got instead was an epic sky that looked far too good to not get photos of!
Kicking off the evening party with the traditional cutting of the cake, which was from Jenifer Jayne’s Celebration Cakes, Sam & Kev went on to perform their choreographed first dance with absolute perfection before guests piled onto the floor. Luckily, Dave Clarke was on the decks, and he certainly knows how to get the party rockin’!
Massive thanks to Sam & Kev for letting me part of their wedding day. If you like what you see and are looking for a wedding photographer for your wedding in Warwickshire, then please do drop me a line.
Oh yeah…I forgot to mention that the badass slideshow is down below. Crank that volume up!
