Ross and Kevan filled their sunny April wedding at The Great Barn at Aynho, with plenty of fun, personal touches and bags of style.
The wedding party
I first met Ross and Kevan at The Great Barn open evening, on 14th May 2017 – almost exactly a year before their wedding – and was really happy to be chosen to shoot their special day. The guys both got ready, separately, at the same hotel, so I had to dash between the rooms to get shots of both wedding party groups. As it was a same-sex wedding, Ross and Kevan did things a little differently, with each having a best man and three ‘groomsmaids’.
The grooms both looked fantastic, in navy three-piece suits and brown brogues – matching their bow ties and pocket handkerchiefs to the colours of their ‘groomsmaids’ (cream for Ross and blush pink for Kevan). The girls looked stunning in matching, full-length halter neck gowns with a ribbon waist trim, in their coordinating shades, and beautiful floral wrist corsages.
The wedding day
The Great Barn, Aynho, is the definition of a rustic chic wedding venue. Perfectly restored to make the most of its historic charm, the stone walls and exposed beams combine with huge glass windows to create a light and airy ceremony room that looks and feels very romantic. Navy blue chair covers, decorated with cream bows, and lanterns lining the aisle, just added to the pretty, relaxed feel.
Ross arrived at the venue first, shortly followed by Kevan in his beloved Land Rover Discovery. Kevan had completely refurbished the Discovery when he lived in the Middle East, so it had to have a starring role in the wedding! A very cool entrance, if ever I saw one.
The ceremony was full of thoughtful, personal touches and I loved how both Ross and Kevan walked down the aisle with their mums. The wedding rings were also very special, as the guys had had them engraved with the coordinates of the exact longitude and latitude where they would be standing to say their vows in The Great Barn ceremony room.
The wedding details
The personal touches continued through the day, which really made Ross and Kevan’s day feel unique. From serving Pornstar Martinis with the canapes after the ceremony, to feeding guests bacon rolls in the evening, to make sure everyone had plenty of energy for dancing, it all just felt very cool!
The decor for the wedding breakfast nailed the stylish, rustic feel, with pastel blooms in jam jars and pots of chilli jam as favours.
As a fun alternative to a guest book, the grooms asked their friends and family to write messages to them on wooden hearts, then left out a jar for guests to pop them in. They placed this on a table with an awesome display of comic books (think X-Men and The Incredible Hulk) featuring couples getting married on the covers – a first for me!
The wedding photos
I’m spoilt for choice with beautiful photo locations, when shooting a wedding at The Great Barn. The grounds are idyllic, so I like to make the most of them. There are some private fishing lakes, which I love to take newlyweds down to, to get some photos on the bridge. The only thing is, I have to be pretty careful when I walk onto the little island the bridge leads to, as it’s a nesting site for geese at certain times of the year. I was once chased off the bridge by a very aggressive goose, during a pre-wedding shoot, so always make sure I keep an eye out for it now!
Ross and Kevan were treated to a glorious sunset to round off their wedding day, so I managed to capture some great shots of this golden hour. The light was just perfect.
For another of my lovely weddings at The Great Barn, check out my blog.
The Great Barn wedding photos
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