Sywell Grange Wedding Photography // Jess and Paul knew they wanted a rustic, relaxed wedding, where their loved ones could come together and celebrate their love and their family and their all being together. I was honoured when they asked if I’d shoot the Sywell Grange wedding photography for their laidback, boho day – and obviously, said yes! 

A church ceremony full of love

Jess and Paul had a traditional ceremony in All Hallows’ Church, the church Jess grew up attending. It’s also where her grandparents and parents were married, so it’s a really special church for the family that holds a lot of importance.

As well as their guests, they were joined by Wellingborough Community Gospel Choir, who Jess sings with. “Whilst we were signing the register they sang a gospel tune called ‘All Around’ which had everyone dancing, and Tender by Blur which was a surprise for Paul from Jess as he is a huge Blur fan. As we were dancing down the aisle at the end of the service, they sang ‘Your Love is lifting me Higher’ by Jackie Wilson. It was so so joyful!”

There was just as much love outside of the church walls as there was inside: as soon as Jess and Paul emerged, they were enveloped in so many hugs and squeezes from beaming family members and friends. It was also proven with the colour confetti shot, which rained down around them and their gorgeous young ones.

A relaxed, rustic wedding reception at Sywell Grange Wedding Venue

“We both knew that we wanted an outdoors, relaxed reception with lots of space for the kids.” they explain. “We also have some elderly relatives so the ground needed to be flat! This made my first choice, a working farm with all the mud and dirt tracks to go with it, out of the question…’

Luckily, they found a venue that was perfect. “We really loved the big sky that Sywell Grange gave us.” (Interjection: as the person in charge of Sywell Grange wedding photography for the day, so did I: especially when a rainbow popped out in the evening, and made for the most perfect portrait backdrop) “Lindsey, the owner, gave us free rein to do as we please. We really appreciated the hands off approach from her, as it meant we could shape the day as we wanted.” 

On the wide, open grass of Sywell Grange, they set out a bar, seating, and plenty of lawn games for everyone to mingle and enjoy themselves. Inside the tent, there were long trestle tables set up for everyone to sit down at, and a Gourmet Dinner Lady grazing table to pick at and enjoy.

Laid back, boho style

Jess didn’t have a particular wedding dress style in mind when she set out to get hers. “Lots of the dresses were beautiful but I didn’t feel like me. I bought a really pretty second hand dress, but at the last minute decided to scroll online. The two dresses I ended up wearing felt so right: beautiful, relaxed, and very Jess.” With flutter sleeves and a floaty skirt, Jess was the epitome of bohemian bridal (a fact only cemented by her bridal shoes being Birkenstocks – legendary.)

Whilst she’d never imagined her dress, Jess always had an image of how she wanted her flowers to be: “wild, hand-picked and colourful!” When her Sywell Grange wedding came round, it was time to make those dreams a reality. “I chose Flowers at Fifty Eight as the florist for my bouquets and table decorations as they are all locally grown on their farm in Bedfordshire, and therefore, seasonal, which is something that is important to me. I cannot tell you how much I loved them. I cried when I first saw them, and didn’t want to put them down throughout the whole day.” 

Paul also looked extremely dapper in a navy checked kilt (he’s Irish and originally wanted to wear his family tartan, but – and I quote Jess – “it was yellow and green so he would look like peas and sweetcorn!”) He wore an Irish brooch on his jacket which symbolises eternity, while Jess wore a claddagh bracelet that belonged to Paul’s (super lovely and much missed) late mum.

Mismatched bridesmaids dresses

One of my favourite parts of this Sywell Grange Wedding photography are the shots of the bridal party. To go with the relaxed, bohemian theme of the day, Jess’ girls all wore different dresses, which though mismatching also went perfectly. Her bridesmaids wore warm shades of red, yellow, orange and pink, while her Maid of Honour accented them perfectly in a beautiful icy blue.

Collective, communal joy at Sywell Grange

When I say Jess and Paul’s Sywell Grange wedding was super relaxed, I mean ‘missed their first dance but didn’t mind’ kind of relaxed. “Our first dance was supposed to be ‘If Not For You’ by George Harrison, but our two children had a massive meltdown about leaving the party just at the moment of the first dance, so we went without! The Collective started the second set with a very intimate version of ‘Let’s Stay Together’ by Al Green, for which we were pulled into the middle of the circle and it became our first dance. It was perfect, impromptu, very romantic and better than the original plan!”

Sywell Grange Wedding Photography

It was a total joy to shoot Jess and Paul’s Sywell Grange wedding photography, with so many memories and emotions to immortalise for them forever more. If you’re looking for Sywell Grange wedding photography – or maybe you’re planning a similarly relaxed, colourful wedding somewhere different – and want to chat, then you can do that here. Let me know your plans – I’m all ears (and eyes. They’re pretty important for photography, too…)

With thanks to:

Outfits: ASOS, Etsy, Warwicks Kilt Hire

Jewellery: Etsy

Shoes: Birkenstock

Veil/Headpiece: Etsy

Florist: Flowers at Fifty-Eight and Eden Wild Florist

Venue: All Hallows’ Church, Wellingborough and Sywell Grange

Caterer: Gourmet Dinner Lady, Goujon Monkey

Entertainment: Wellingborough Community Gospel Choir and The Collective