A super fun, Glastonbury-esque, festival themed, tipi wedding next to a lake in the glorious Banbury countryside.
It was the first time I’d photographed a wedding at Hadsham Farm. Such a beautiful gem of a tipi venue, hidden away in the Banbury countryside. Ruth and Alex threw one hell of a Glastonbury themed wedding (they are big Glasto go-ers). And, my favourite of all, we got to mess around with smoke bombs to make some epic, colourful group shots.
Sitting within the farm estate of Hadsham Farm, Hadsham Farm Weddings is a tipi standing over the most beautiful lake, with a ceremony space on the other side of the lake and camping space galore. It really is truly unique and SUPER beautiful.
Ruth and Alex got married in front of a flower arch on the other side of the lake, overlooked by their gorgeous tipi’s. It was a really warm day, and whilst a little cloudy for the ceremony and drinks, the sun made a glorious appearance for us at dusk. Showing us beautiful purple and pink skies and of course a perfect golden hour for couple shots by the lake.
This was such a lovely relaxed, fun day. Jam-packed full of colour, smoke bombs, music, glitter (which of course I joined in on) and CRAZY CRAZY Glasto style dance moves. I have to say this might just be my all-time favourite wedding I’ve ever shot!
The bride on how I did as her Hadsham Farm wedding photographer:
“Oh wow Charlie, I cried when I watched the highlights reel! I could watch it over and over. You’ve managed to catch some really funny ones .. all of the craziness. You were the perfect wedding photographer for us. Our brief was relaxed and fun and you absolutely nailed it. You’ve captured parts of the day we didn’t get to see so when we got our pictures back, we saw how much fun everyone else had on the day which was just wonderful. I will honestly cherish the pictures forever. You’re also a really lovely person and you fit right into our wedding party – no awkward wedding pictures here! We can’t recommend you enough and if we could do it all again, we would. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” xxx
For those who like to watch rather than read:
httpsss://vimeo.com/350630127
more detail about the day
The ceremony
Alex and Ruth chose to have their civil ceremony in a registry office a few days before this wedding day. They did it with their nearest and dearest (including their lovely elderly ones that couldn’t get down to the lakeside). This meant that they could have whoever they like to marry them at Hadsham and he could say whatever the hell he wanted. They chose good friend Jim to marry them and he got the perfect mix of funny, serious and sentimental.
Guests sat on hay bales in true relaxed, farm wedding style and watched as Ruth & Alex said their homemade promises to the backdrop of the lake and the beautiful tipi’s.
Wedding Smoke Bombs & the Reception
Once wed, Alex and Ruth chose to stay by the lakeside for photographs as it had such a beautiful backdrop. We kept everyone for one big group shot and then let most of them walk up the hill to grab a much needed cold beer.
Close family, ushers & bridesmaids stayed for intimate groups and then crazy smoke bomb fun. It was the first time I photographed smoke bombs at a wedding and I absolutely loved it! It was helped along by a healthy dose of mischief and crazy from Ruth & Alex’s friends. I literally just asked them to strike a pose and do something silly and the rest was all their creation. I’ll let you look closely to see some of the things the boys came up with …
Smoke bomb fun was followed by hugs, posing in front of the rainbow photo background, beers, more beers and an amazing feed by Taste catering (the second epic feed by these guys I’ve had the pleasure of in the last few weeks – they really are awesome!).
The tipi was beautifully decorated (by all of the wedding party the day before), with each table being named after a Glastonbury festival stage.
The party, glitter and most amazing pizza
After the feed there were speeches, including suitable embarrassment and tales of many years of Glasto fun. Followed by the glitter bar. Now I do love a bit of glitter, so I may have been found first in the queue casually getting glittered up before everyone else.
It wasn’t long until everyone hit the dance floor, throwing some truly epic and crazy festival dance moves. You can see just a few of the best in the pics below.
Taste pulled another hat out of the bag later in the evening with a wood fired pizza feast to beat all others. Man those pizza’s were good!!!
And the sun made an appearance dousing the farm in the most beautiful golden hour and then deep purple skies. The perfect way to grab some really special couple shots for Ruth and Alex to keep forever.
What more can I say – it was one of my absolute fave weddings yet. More tipi festival style wedding photography please!!
Suppliers creds
As ever, weddings don’t just happen. They are always pulled together by truly awesome teams of suppliers who work tirelessly to make sure that everyone has a fantastic day. This particular team was made up of loads of fab local suppliers:
The dress: Your Wedding Shop (Cotteridge, Birmingham)
Men’s suits: Next
Ruth’s Makeup: Faye Claire MUA
The beautiful flowers: Meadow Dreams Florist
Venue: Hadsham Farm Weddings
Catering: Taste Catering
Brownie tower cake: Taste Catering
Glitter painter: Facepainting by Kizzie
DJ: Mark Walsh
and finally, the all-important wedding photographs
For those who like to scroll rather than watch, here are a few of my favourite Hadsham Farm tipi festival wedding photos from Ruth & Alex’s day. Hope you love them as much as I do:
So, how did I do as Alex & Ruth’s Hadsham Farm tipi festival wedding photographer?
If you are looking at these Hadsham Farm tipi festival wedding photos because you are planning your own epic festival wedding, please do get in touch to discuss your photography requirements. I’d love to be a part of your day too and catch all the love!
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Category: Wedding Photography | Destination: Banbury Weddings | Venue: Hadsham Farm Weddings| Setting: Relaxed tipi Glastonbury festival weddings