Rosie & Caleb’s Rustic Boho Wedding

A lot of the wedding party had been up in the area for a few days as this wedding was always going to be a complete team effort. With the skills of event planner Sian Chaplin, every possible detail and thought had been put into transforming the reception venue from a village hall to a rustic boho wedding wonderland and it had been all hands on deck to get everything made, ready and perfectly placed ahead of the big day. With all the time and effort that they had all put into ensuring that Rosie & Caleb had the most perfect day meant everything was that extra special, meaningful and, particularly for their mothers, emotional! 

Rosie and her bridal party were getting ready in a beautiful luxury B&B in Linton and that is where my day began. The day had started early for Rosie and her bridal team, with hair and make up starting for them all at 7am! When I arrived mid-morning things were under control but I feel that all the preparation (whilst it must have been tiring!) just meant that the levels of excitement and anticipation were at possibly the highest level I had experienced on the morning of a wedding! It was a hive of activity with lots of Rosie’s close family and friends getting ready together. The rustic boho wedding theme was evident straight away – the flowers for their hair, the individual bridesmaids dresses, Rosie’s boots, their leather jackets…I could go on and on about the individual touches that flowed through this wedding. 

Rosie’s dress deserves a blog of its own really. Designed specifically for Rosie by Adam Shaw, an amazing designer from Huddersfield it was absolutely stunning. The talented designer describes how  “Rosie came to me because she really wanted something special and individual to her and as she didn’t know exactly what she wanted it was good for both of us to work together and make the dress up as we went along. Rosie knew she wanted something with a bit of a festival vibe, relaxed so she wasn’t all formal and uncomfortable. ” I think its safe to say that what he created fit the bill exactly!

So with hair and make up done, and Rosie’s mum having helped her into her gorgeous dress (and dried her tears!) it was time to reveal the finished look to her bridesmaids. I don’t know what Rosie’s oldest friend, her two cousins and her soon-to-be sister-in-law had imagined but their reactions to Rosie’s dress is one of my favourite pictures of the wedding – and really does show how amazing Rosie looked. And then it was time for Rosie’s dad to see her…it’s not often Graeme is speechless or without a witty remark so I would say he was fairly impressed!!

Rosie & Caleb didn’t want ‘special’ transport to their wedding at The Priests’ House at Barden Tower so they enlisted family and friends to drive the wedding party to the venue. This meant that I got the special job of driving Caleb’s mum and Jessie’s (maid-of-honour) mum and it was fair to say nerves and anticipation were definitely present during the drive (and I’m fairly sure it wasn’t my driving…!) Arriving at Barden Tower the weather was absolutely wild – wind, rain, and freezing cold (leather jackets a good choice Rosie!) but nothing could dampen the spirits of these lot and Rosie and her team took it all in their stride. I just had chance to nip in front of them to catch some shots of Caleb at the top of the aisle and some of the guests – the venue was absolutely packed. The music started up and the bridesmaids and maid of honour made their entrance which seemed like a cue for all the emotions that had been held back and controlled in the morning to take over. Caleb’s reaction when he saw Rosie walking towards him (and she made him wait!!) was absolutely beautiful. A man couldn’t look more proud, in love and in awe more than he did right at that moment – it definitely made lots of the guests well up. Rosie & Caleb had written their own vows which were beautiful, touching, and very personal. Their love for each other emanated through the words, a deep contentment and sense of being ‘home’ when they are together, just gorgeous. With rings exchanged (with lots more welling!) it was time for Rosie’s cousins to read an adapted poem about Rosie & Caleb and their future. And that was that, they were pronounced as husband and wife, and walked down the aisle as the new ”Mr & Mrs Hornsby’.

The weather at this point was still completely wild, although the rain had stopped temporarily and so we all braved the elements for some quick group shots and a confetti shot…Trying to do a confetti shot in gale force winds was always going to be interesting, but when you add in an unintentional photo bomb by the bride’s father the collection of photos are hilarious! The guests that had dared to come outside soon retreated back to the warmth (and the bar!) of The Priest’s House and the relaxed feel of the day really started to take shape. Rosie & Caleb mingled with their guests, guests caught up with old friends and drinks were shared, whilst a few group shots were done using the exposed brickwork of the venue. In the background the pianist added to the ambience with some beautiful pieces. When it was soon time for the guests to head to the reception venue (on buses arranged by the couple) we took the opportunity to get some couple shots. When I had my pre-wedding chat with Rosie & Caleb they told me to bring my wellies, and I’m very glad I did. Rosie & Caleb had both brought theirs and after a few couple shots around Barden Tower, we headed over to Burnsall and down to the river for some more. As ever, this is such a nice time for couples to actually reflect back on their ceremony and also share details of what had happened in the morning and Rosie & Caleb were no different. They make each other laugh so much (and that’s not always down to Caleb’s ‘funny’ face that he is famous for!) it wasn’t difficult to get stunning photographs of them together…and thank goodness that Rosie didn’t mind her dress getting a ‘little bit’ muddy! A rather memorable moment was when Chris, the videographer, wanted to shoot a final shot using his drone of Rosie & Caleb waving up to it in the sky….however he didn’t really calculate just how windy it was up in the air and the four of us watched as the drone got swept away on a gust of wind only to land precariously close to the river on the farside bank. Unfortunately I wasn’t there later on to capture the moment when Chris decided the only way to retrieve his drone was to wade across to the other side…I am reliably informed that nothing – or no-one – was harmed during all of this!!!

Back at the venue the guests were arriving and getting their first glimpse at all of Rosie & Caleb’s vision and hard work (and their family and friends’ efforts too) Here I can genuinely not even begin to describe it all so please, stop reading this and have a look at the detail shots before you carry on reading…see, pretty impressive isn’t it! Everywhere I looked surfaces were covered in beautiful touches that had been handmade, hand-selected and hand placed and completely in keeping with the rustic boho wedding theme. The long trestle tables were adorned with flowers, lace, and silk of all autumnal colours with bunting hanging across the ceiling. The look was simply breath-taking.

With all the guests seated (and busy completing their ‘love’ quiz!) it was time for the newlyweds to be introduced to their guests and the wedding breakfast to start. Proper Yorkshire grub was on offer with guests serving themselves and having a good time doing so! And then it was time for the speeches! Well I really don’t know where to start with the speeches. Rosie’s dad did an amazing speech, so funny and so personal including a quiz and a suitability test, with a little bit of help from the children of WDS! Following that it was Caleb’s brother’s turn who had a hard act to follow but definitely rose to the challenge. A mixture of teasing and respect for his big brother, just wonderful. It was then the turn of Rosie’s maid-of-honour, a lifelong best friend who detailed her friendship with Rosie, and the beginning of Rosie & Caleb’s relationship through some hilarious extracts from letters between Rosie and herself over the years. And then it was the turn of Caleb. When I had my pre-wedding skype chat with them both, Rosie had been teasing Caleb as he had kept saying that his speech was going to be a highlight of the wedding and it was definitely worth waiting for. Well, I think every guest in the room can definitely attest that it was!! A music teacher, it wasn’t a surprise that Caleb turned to song for his speech, although perhaps a medaly of songs with re-written lyrics possibly surpassed everyone’s expectations. It was all just hilarious, so personal and so touching at times…and the support from both his and Rosie’s brother was incredible – I think Ollie’s glockenspiel solo was definitely a highlight!!!

And with that, the party begun. Rosie & Caleb cut the beautiful cake which two family friends had made (it was AMAZING, they should definitely go into business!!) and the village hall was once again transformed into the perfect dancefloor. The two-piece live act Rosie & Caleb had hired was amazing at getting everyone up jumping, dancing, congaring, head-banging you name it, it happened! When I left the party it was still absolutely bouncing showing no signs of stopping at all! Their whole day was such an amazing result due to the incredible amount of love, time, effort, dedication, generosity…I could go on, of so many family and friends all doing it for Rosie & Caleb because they are, quite simply, two wonderful people who bring out the best in each other and together are ready to take on the world. I would wish you all the love, luck and happiness in the world but I know I don’t need to, you two have got each other and because of that, you are sorted!! 🙂

Thank you SO much for letting me have backstage access to one the best weddings I have ever been to, let alone capture. Enjoy these photos and the memories they show, and have a wonderful life together 🙂

xx

If you’re interested in booking me for your rustic boho Wedding Photography then please don’t hesitate to get in touch here.

Suppliers

Venue – The Priests House, Barden Tower

Hair- Craig Simon

Make up – Jenn Edwards & Co

Florist – Flowers from the Garden

Rings – Walkers Jewellers Huddersfield

Dress – Adam Shaw Couture

Suits – ASOS & Topman

Shoes – See above

Transport – Hargreaves Coaches

Event Planner – Sian Chaplin Events

Bar – Cock ‘o’ the North

Band – Marc and Abi

Catering – Ribble Valley Catering

Furniture Hire – All Things Borrowed

Wedding Videographer – Chris Ball

Ceremony Pianist – Lewis Hitchcock

Cake – Wendy Thomas and Karen Hirst

Others- Snug Lindley (decorations etc)

Rustic Boho Wedding Photography – Gareth Newstead Photography