The sun came out in force for Leanne and Chris’ super-stylish October wedding day at The Tythe Barn in Oxfordshire. From the chic autumnal reception styling to the unforgettable owl ring bearer (more on that later) it was a fabulous wedding that was a real treat to photograph.

The engagement story

In Leanne’s words: “People have always asked me, ‘You must have known Chris was going to propose?’. And to their amazement my answer has always no. Why would I think that after 25 years together? We were always quite happy living family life day to day and making our life the happiest it could be. Honestly, a marriage proposal never even occurred to me.” However, Chris surprised Leanne with a stay at London’s iconic hotel, The Savoy, and one of the most creative proposals I’ve heard.

During breakfast on their last morning at the hotel, Chris produced two scratchcards and encouraged Leanne to reveal hers. As she scratched away the card revealed three matching symbols. She explains: “I then re-looked at my card and realised I had three symbols… three rings! Chris excitedly prompted me to scratch the ‘prize reveal’ box to see what I had won. It said, ‘Will you marry me?’”. The penny dropped and Leanne, of course, said ‘yes!’.

The idyllic Oxfordshire wedding venue

The Tythe Barn is such an awesome Oxfordshire wedding venue, and I loved getting to shoot Leanne and Chris’ wedding here. It has a real rustic elegance about it and the thatched barn, where they held their ceremony, is super romantic and atmospheric. The couple were so lucky with the weather and enjoyed glorious autumn sunshine for their October big day. Nothing looks better than the Oxfordshire countryside in the sun and this wedding venue really does make the most of its spectacular rural setting.

An unforgettable moment

Leanne and Chris told me beforehand that they had hired an owl to deliver the wedding rings. This was quite exciting as I’d never photographed a ring delivered by an owl before, even though I’ve shot hundreds of weddings!

On the morning of the wedding I met the owl handlers to ask how it would all work and how the owl was with flash – it was very dark and atmospheric in the ceremony barn, and I would need to use flash to freeze the owl in flight. They told me in no uncertain terms that no flash was to be used as it would scare the owl – noted! 

This made it very tricky to capture an owl flying at speed in a dark barn, but I was up for the challenge – plus I had Amanda, my brilliant second photographer, shooting from the back of the room so at least we had two chances to nail the shot.

When it came to the moment to hand over the rings, the best man hammed it up searching through his pockets saying he didn’t have them. Then someone appeared to put a leather gauntlet on his arm. The owl handler brought the snowy white barn owl with the rings attached to its talons, halfway down the aisle and let it go to fly to the best man. All good in theory, yes?

Here comes the… owl!

Well, not in reality! The owl had a string attached to one of its legs as the chances of it flying up to one of the rafters (or worse, out of the barn itself) was obviously a big risk. As the owl was flighted let’s just say that everything didn’t go to plan..

Second time around it all went perfectly, and Amanda and I both got some great shots of the owl landing on the best man’s gauntlet (pushing our cameras’ low light performance to the limit). The rings were removed safely by the groom and the ceremony proceeded. What do they say about never working with children and animals?!

The autumnal reception styling

Embracing the season, the couple really leaned into an autumnal theme for the reception styling. The barn looked so inviting and stylish, decked out with flowers in rich tones of red, orange and peach. The long tables were set with quirky brown glass jug table settings and lit with flickering candles and twinkling fairy lights. It was the perfect setting to come together and celebrate with fantastic food and drink.

The couple also filled their day with so many unique touches. From the fantastic wedding newspaper – complete with a crossword all about the bride and groom ­– to the surprise singers and sparkler send off, it was such a classy day packed with personality. 

Leanne and Chris’ wedding photos

The Tythe Barn has some stunning spots for couple shots and we made the most of the excellent weather with plenty of outdoor photography. We also took some posed photos of Leanne and Chris with the ring-bearing owl (now fully recovered!) and another beautiful owl the handlers had brought. However, we had to keep the owls well apart from each other as the handler said they hated each other! Definitely a wedding to remember.

The style file for Leanne & Chris’s wedding at The Tythe Barn

Venue: The Tythe Barn

Photographer: David Bostock

David’s Second Photographer Amanda Foreman

Videographer: Matt Spencer at Fizzy Jelly Films

Florist: Willow & Thyme

Wedding Cake: Lisa Adams Cakes

Daytime Music: Singing Surprise

Evening Band: DJ Frank & Ash – booked through Dave Jordan Gigz Management

Hair: Bridal Hair Design by Lorraine Newark

Make-up: Makeup by ZK

Photobooth: Old School Booth

Styling: Copper & Carlyle

Owl Ring Bearer: Stuart Laidler

Coach Hire: Imperial Coaches

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