James and Gemma- Natural retreats wedding

Im so glad James and Gemma asked me to be their Natural retreats wedding photographer. These two put together the most perfectly styled summer wedding. From the preparations in the Scandinavian style lodges to James himself playing the bass and tearing up the dance floor this wedding had it all.

How would I describe James and Gemma, well…The kindest, warm hearted individuals, humour in abundance, fun loving and extremely welcoming. Thats great recipe alright. These two stood out for me last year. Their creative spirit was infectious from our first meeting and I couldn’t wait for their wedding at the Natural Retreats.

I arrived at the aforementioned lodge to be greeted by Gemma and her bridesmaids. Preparations were already underway. There was a real sense of excitement for this special day. Gemma’s chosen look was amazing, not at all ‘typical wedding’ style and all the better for it. It wasn’t long before it was time to be putting on her dress. A Jenny Packham dress no less!

I made my way to meet James and capture the guest arriving. Check out James’ suit and bow tie. The barn looked brilliant. Foliage hanging from the industrial braces, festoon lights and two prize bonsai trees! The ceremony was beautifully lit by the entirely glazed end of the building. The light in there brought some lovely character to the photos. There were a few laughs during the ceremony. The most memorable being James trying to squeeze Gemma’s wedding ring onto her finger and making a bit of a song and dance over it. That facial expression!

There had been much talk of the olive leaf and petal confetti and it didn’t disappoint. This seemed to start off the partying already. There was no waiting for the evening for most of these guests! As I’m sure you will see from the pictures there was a lot of fun. What else would you do with a mobility scooter that was left stranded- of course you would play and pose on it. It was suggested that the bridal party took a walk around the woodland path at this point. This quickly got a little out of hand when we all realised just out steep the hillside was. I was most impressed by how the ladies in high heels managed this! I think it’s worth it for those pictures though.

I could write all day about this wedding and you’re more here for the pictures than my ramblings so let me just say one last thing. How cool is it that James’ is the bassist in the wedding band? That party was truly amazing.

So thank you again James and Gemma for having me share your special day with you as your Natural retreats wedding photographer.

If you’re looking for a Natural retreats wedding photographer please do get in touch here.

Venue – Natural Retreats
Makeup artist – Laura Mac
Dress – Jenny Packham