Preston Court Fun Wedding Photos – brilliant day for a brilliant pair

I fist met Hannah and Mickey at a wedding last summer  – the awesome wedding of Liz and Rolo – where Hannah approached me and asked if I would be interested in shooting their wedding at Preston Court Wedding photos and I knew instantly that I would love to work for them. They were cute, stylish, obviously in love and oh so funny.

Hannah looked an absolute delight and exactly as I pictured her – as a ‘Boho Goddess’ putting her organisational skills (she is a TV Production Manager nowdays) to great use and Mickey scrubbed up nicely and provided the high energy, definitely bonkers humour all day long…like all day…this kid didn’t tire!

I absolutely loved every minute of this wedding it was a totally ace day that left me with cheek ache from so much smiling and laughing! It is brilliant to be able to go to work and laugh all day long, be surrounded by lovely people in a gorgeous setting. Thank you so much for having me. Now may I raise a toast to many more Bishop/ Osbourne/ Willmore weddings! 😉

Thanks a lot to my pal, Aaron Collett Photography for being my assistant for the day. I hope you all love these images and enjoy reading Hannah and Mickey’s story.

“We booked you as we met you at Mickey’s cousin’s wedding in July 2015 and loved your laid back, relaxed and informal vibe you were giving off. Plus girl power! It also seemed like you “knew” everyone already which was a lovely feeling plus you remembered everyone’s names which was v v impressive!! I have seen a lovely pic on FB somewhere of you pinching my bridesmaid Isla’s cheek, made me smile!”

Hannah’s words of wedded wisdom…

Back to the beginning…We were runners together at ITV on a show called 60 Minute Makeover in 2006. We soon wound each other up enough that we knew there was something there! 10 years later we are married. Mickey proposed Jan 2015, we got married June 2016.

Finding the venue…Preston Court had always been on my radar after a friend got married there about 6 years ago. I went to Uni in Canterbury so knew the area plus we wanted to get married in the Kent countryside. We saw a lot of other venues but nothing matched Preston Court. We also filmed there for TOWIE so after filming there it reminded me how much I loved the venue. The carousel and organs were massive selling points too as well as the grounds. The barn didn’t need much dressing but I think the small touches I did add made big enough impacts on the room like the dream catchers and the festoons, plus homemade bunting.

The look…My dress was a Minna dress. I had my eyes on an Aussie brand called Grace Loves Lace and there was one particular dress I had always seen and loved but couldn’t risk buying it online without seeing it etc. After many hours trawling the internet I found Minna who specialise in boho relaxed wedding dresses and a very similar design to the Grace Loves Lace dress was on their website. After meeting with Minna she offered me a bespoke deal which meant I could more or less design my own wedding dress with a designer for a good price. So I altered the neckline, sleeves and back of my dress with the designer Maria to create the most perfect hippy/boho dress I could have dreamed for! I always knew this was the theme I was going for plus always knew I wanted gold accessories and braids in my hair.

In terms of the gold accessories I wore two necklaces layered up plus stacked up my bracelets too. New and old jewellery that I have enjoyed collecting over the years and not just the cheap Topshop tat you can get either! For me the hair and accessories were a big part of my outfit and without them I don’t think I would have had the look I wanted to go for.

I always saw Mickey in a blue suit with brown belt and shoes plus a Liberty tie and pocket sq. I bought the Liberty tie and then bought a meter of the same floral pink fabric and got 8 pocket squares made from this fabric for Mickey and his ushers plus our fathers. He didn’t have an awful lot of choice but luckily we agreed on this.

Our florist…Our florist was my next door neighbour from childhood. She knew the look I wanted and I totally trusted her with it. We went to Covent Garden flower market and I picked out all the country garden vibe flowers I liked then Wendy and my mum went back to Covent Garden the day before the wedding and got all the flowers. I also had a massive peace sign made out of vines and ivy from my Grandad’s garden as well as artificial flowers which was important for me to feature in as many pics as poss. Especially at the church and in the barn. I had flowers in my table plan crate as well as scattered around the barn and for the table centre pieces. The groom and best man had matching flowers from my bouquet in their buttonholes and I also had the flowers from my bouquet intertwined into a large halo style braid in my hair.

The ceremony…The ceremony for me was the best part of the day. Walking up the ailse and walking back out the church as a married couple will be my very very special moments from the day amongst all the many others. As I walked up the ailse I just remember seeing all these faces looking at me but was just looking for Mickey’s face. He was adamant he wasn’t going to cry but then cried when he saw me crying! The vicar who held the service made us both very relaxed especially as we both cocked up our vows. Nigel was great and certainly made us feel more at ease. We had met with him many times before the wedding as well as going to his house so it was good that he knew as a couple. Best best moment ever was walking out the church, under the peace sign of flowers and down the church path lined with all of our friends and family chucking confetti over us.

The party…Mickey’s little sister sang a couple of songs at the beginning of the night. We had a DJ but decided to not opt for anything else entertainment wise as knew our guests would be enough entertainment! Which was why the dance floor was busy all night! I gave the DJ a precise list of the music I wanted and asked him not to deviate off the list but welcome to do it any order. Our first dance song was Sister Sledge – Thinking Of You. No particular reason, we don’t have a “song” but both liked the lyrics and the song had always made me smile. Not slow or formal plus it got everyone up dancing.

Final tips…There will be rows but don’t worry it all adds to the build up of the most amazing day ever! Everyone is there for you both. So much love in one room so lap it up and enjoy every minute. Forget about all the stress that has been brewing! Someone told me not to worry too much about the finer details but I think it was the finer details that made the day & steered the vibe I was going for on the day… the peace flower sign, the favours, a lot of things I handmade so that added the personal touch which made it all seem so special.