Somerford Hall Wedding Photography – Charlotte & Zach
My brief from Charlotte and Zach when chatting before the wedding was slightly different to most:
“The main thing we want to come across in our pictures is everyone having fun, drunk pictures, people laughing, people doing silly things, people having shots – the more of these the better!”
This as you can imagine was just music to my ears, as much as I love the big emotional and romantic moments in a wedding… I usually find that some of my favourite pictures are those that feature the weird, wonderful and often straight up hilarious moments that often occur. I’m always striving to capture the true essence of any wedding day, and if that involves the groom rolling outside on the floor whilst his bride stands above him cheering, then I’m down for that!
Charlotte and Zach created a day that was focussed on their guests having as much fun (and drink) as possible. They didn’t want any stress, just to be able to enjoy some quality time with family and friends… and they certainly achieved that. I shall let Charlotte tell the story of the day with her write up below that accompanies my pictures.
So here it is, Charlotte and Zach’s beautiful day… the first I’ve ever attended that had a ‘Shot of Tequila before you sit’ Rule, here is a little of what I saw:
Charlotte & Zach’s Dream Team
Venue: Somerford Hall
MUA: Rachelle Grimes
Bride & Groom Q&A
How did you meet?
At school! We dated in year 7 but Zach didnt get me a birthday card so I finished with him HA then I gave him another chance when we were 16 and he has never forgot a birthday card since haha
Tell me a bit about yourselves
We love having fun. Everyone says it but we really are best friends and love spending time together mainly just laughing. We love visiting places and moving to different countries. We love eating out..well actually just eating ha. But mainly we love doing anything fun
How did the proposal go down?
Wow ok. We were in Dubai and day 1 Zach paid for me to get my nails done at the Burj Alarab (worlds only 7 star hotel) the we went to see my fave, Example play at Zero Graviry. While I was having my nails done he left me for ages and said it was a surprise then came back and nothing (little did I know he was at a jeweller sin Dubai who were making my ring that hed designed). Next day woke up and he was being suspiciously nice to me ha! Later on he said he needed to finish the surprise and not to come back from the pool until 3:30 on the dot. At exactly 3:30 I opened the door and he was gone but left a note saying something along the lines of meet me at Dubai marina mall at 5 wear your fanciest outfit I want to show you how much I love you. I got there and he was in a three peice suit and lead me to a yacht hed hired. We drove round the marina and then he gave the driver his phone and asked to take a pic but actually it was recording and he proposed to me! I cant remember anything he said because I couldn’t believe it was happening. We then went to an underwater restuarant surrounded by beautiful fish drank champagne and continually smiled!
How did you choose Somerford Hall as your wedding venue?
Zach didn’t like anything we’d looked at because he didn’t want other weddings or anyone else apart from our wedding party at the wedding. We also wanted our closest circle to stay with us so when we found this beautiful venue we could private hire but was still small enough to feel homely yet grand to our 50 guests we just fell in love.
Vibe & Style
Fun fun fun!!!! And a real sense that this was about us. I didn’t want any stress or worry just us being us with our very favourite people.
No theme but we wanted neutrals so ivory roses with foliage worked perfectly. The ceiling of one of the rooms was a powder blue so we kind of mirrored that in lots of our stylings as it was perfect as I love Zach in blue. We also had a fun theme with the casino, magic mirror, tequila table etc.
What was you best decision during the wedding planning?
Don’t stress and enjoy every moment and we truly did. Maybe because the wedding was so true to us that I didn’t need to stress.
Tequila table!! SO much fun everyone talks about it and Roo got the most hilarious pics that will stay with us forever (great to embarrass people on their birthdays ha)
Not having names on the table instead having funny pics of everyone to show where they were sitting. It was a really talking point and made everyone laugh.
What was the hardest decision?
I’d say not inviting everyone. We upset some people which I personally took very hardly and was the only bad part about planning my wedding but luckily we had supportive parents who understood our venue and budget restrictions.
What were your favourite memories of the day?
Being surrounded by everyone I love having fun knowing I was starting the next chapter of my life. The details mean nothing on the day, the silly things you think are important mean nothing when you look around and see the love. Roo captured my favourite imagine ever which summarises this. My new husband lay on the floor outside drunk with me dancing over him not a care in the world laughing. I will forever cherish that picture
What advice would you have for any couples planning their wedding?
As above and also, remember its about celebrating your love for each other I know I’m a hopeless romantic but forget about who did what for other weddings and what people may think and pour your heart into making your wedding an extension of yourselves and focus on your love for each other. Thats what I need and unlike every other bride I’ve spoken to I had the most chilled fun day ever! I know so many people who say you dont enjoy your own wedding day- whaaaat?