Oliver and Kathryn were married at the amazing Fforest Farm early in May this year. We always get excited when we have the pleasure of capturing a wedding here as it is a pretty special place and we love the relaxed nature and ethos behind how these guys host weddings. Its also such a wonderful welsh venue and cant help but feel proud of that! (Super chuffed to be back there later in the year too).
Oliver and Kathryn wanted to combine moments of importance from both their family backgrounds, so there was Jewish "breaking of the glass" and "chair dancing", along with a wonderful welsh male voice choir and obviously amazing welsh sunshine! (it actually was an incredibly hot day!).
We loved this day so much and smiled from beginning to end. x o&c
(do scroll down to the end to read a bit more about Oliver and Kathryns wedding and how they planned and organised their wonderful day - enjoy the photos first!)
In brief {or as long as you like}, tell me your story. How did you meet, how did you become engaged and for how long had you been engaged before your wedding day? What happened along the way? How did you get here?: We met through a mutual friend six years ago when Ollie moved to Wales for a physiotherapy job. We lived five minutes away from each other in wales for nearly two years, Ollie stayed in wales when Kath got a teaching job in London, and we did long distance for a while. Then we decided to make the move to Brighton together which is Ollie’s childhood home.
We got engaged on 20th January 2017 (the day Donald Trump got inaugurated funnily enough!) on the band stand on Brighton sea front. Ollie had brought a bag of M&Ms (Kath’s favourites) for us to share on our cold evening walk, and when he gave me one he told me to look at it carefully. It had the words “will you marry me?” written on it, and he was on one knee.
What made you choose your venue(s) and location(s)?: We knew we wanted to get married in wales as that was where we met. It is also where Kath is from, and Ollie went to Cardiff uni, so it means a lot to both of us.
When visiting venues, we realised we were looking for something a bit more relaxed than traditional wedding venues. As soon as we visited Fforest we fell in love. It was exactly what we had in mind, and we loved the fact we could have the venue all weekend to fit in as much time with family and friends as possible.
Your outfits & accessories - What made you choose your outfits? What did you love about them?: I chose my dress because I loved how simple it was. As soon as I put it on I didn’t want to take it off again.
Ollie had always wanted to have his very own tailor made suit, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity! He has always loved tweed, so got the three piece suit he had always wanted.
What made you choose your decor and styling? Tell me about your flowers/florist (bouquets, centre pieces & general decorative arrangements)?: We were recommended our florist Jill at green and wild flowers by the venue. As soon as Kath and her mum met with Jill they knew she was the right person for the job. Kath wanted wild flowers to suit the relaxed vibe of the wedding venue, and Jill knew exactly what we were after from the start.
We kept decor at the venue very minimal to show off the rustic beauty as much as possible. So we just had some of Jill’s lovely flowers dotted around as well as some candles.
Tell me about your Ceremony including any readings, any special moments and your vows. Did you tailor your vows?: The ceremony was outdoors at the pavilion in the venue which was what we really wanted, so we were glad that the sun came out of nowhere on the day!
We tailored our vows, but on the day we were amused to find that the registrar kept losing her page and ended up ignoring the vows that we had asked to include.
We had two readings, one by Kath’s cousin Emily which was taken from Phillip Pullman’s Amber Skyglass (one of Kath’s favourite books). The second reading was by one of Ollie’s best friends and ushers Darren, and was called he’s not perfect by Bob Marley (chosen by Ollie not Kath!).
On the way back down the aisle Ollie stamped on a glass in a nod to his Jewish roots!
Do you have any comments about your photography? What was it like working with o&c? Why did you decide to book us?: We decided to book O&C because we loved all the images we had seen on their website and social media. We spoke to them via FaceTime, and they both seemed very relaxed and friendly. In the run up to booking with them they were very flexible and offered to help out with advice even if we decided not to book with them, which we thought was a lovely gesture.
We met face to face for the first time on the wedding day and they slotted straight in to the festivities. Owen was even on hand when Ollie popped a button off his shirt. They were not intrusive whatsoever and went out of their way to make us feel as relaxed as possible.
We had multiple guests commenting on how impressed they were with Owen and Charis, and our newly engaged friends even asked for their details as they liked them so much.
It was confirmed that we made the right decision when we got the pictures back, they were exactly what we wanted and even in the candid shots I am yet to spot a guest who wasn’t smiling.
What was your first dance song and why?: Our first dance song was Mumford and sons- lover of the light. Ollie has long been a massive fan of the band, and on our long drives back and forth to wales we like to listen to them together, so it seemed like a fitting choice.
Did you have any entertainment (day & evening)?: Between the ceremony and the afternoon tea we had Cor Meibion Llanelli come and sing for us. I don’t think there was a dry eye between all of us, they were outstanding and gave everyone a wonderful show. It was a lovely nod to Kath’s Welsh heritage, and they made sure to include You’ll never walk alone for Ollie who is a huge Liverpool fan.
What was your favourite part of the day and why?: I think the choir was a huge highlight of our day. Having everyone we love around us listening to such lovely music. The ceremony itself was probably number one though, as for us that was what the whole thing was about! We both loved seeing each other from opposite ends of the aisle, then making such a big and meaningful commitment in front of everyone we love.
If you could impart any words of wisdom to a couple planning their marriage and wedding day, what would they be and is there anything you would do differently?: I think we would both say don’t sweat the small stuff, and don’t worry if things don’t go to plan - no one will ever know.
Also, to take some time together just the two of you during the day. Even if it’s just 10 minutes. We really enjoyed having a breather and appreciating it all together.
There is nothing at all we would have done differently, we really had the best day.
Credits: Please let us know the website address of the other awesome suppliers that made your wedding amazing. Venue, cake, band, etc: Flowers- green and wild flowers
Band- festival heart booked through music HQ
Venue- Fforest farm