Just a couple of days after she got engaged last year, I received an excited enquiry from Jade: was I available to photograph her country church wedding in Dorset to Jacob? I was – and I was delighted to pencil her date in my diary. I had chronicled her sister-in-law Michaela’s wedding to Rupert the year before, so it was a special pleasure to be part of another celebration in her family.
Jade asked for an engagement portrait shoot during our initial discussions, and I was happy to oblige. We met exactly a year ago at Badbury Rings, near Wimborne, where Jacob proposed. It was just as sunny and hot then as their wedding day turned out to be. I regretted not taking a portrait of her and Jacob at Michaela’s wedding, so I more than made up for that during our time together on the ancient earthworks.
Fast forward a year to last weekend and Jade seemed so much more poised and confident than the shy girl I met last year. She’s made a great start in her career, by all accounts, as well as setting up a cosy new home with Jacob and two cute rabbits!
Like Michaela, Jade and Jacob chose to get married in the parish church in Alderholt, the village where they grew up. With wooden pews and whitewashed walls, the church is pretty and unpretentious – the perfect place for them to say their vows.
The reception took place at the village hall in Damerham, a neighbouring village. A hog roast rather than a formal sit-down meal meant everyone could relax, move around and talk easily to each other. And the lawn beside the village stream was the perfect place for guests to enjoy a cooling breeze beneath the trees.
As sunset approached, I took Jade and Jacob to a cornfield I found while out scouting a week before their wedding. Taking care not to trample on any ripening crops, we were able to create some memorable images. They set the seal on a wonderful day for everyone involved.
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