I felt a mixed bag of nerves and excitement when one of my best mates asked me to film his wedding. When the day finally arrived I was honestly less anxious for my own wedding day!
The day began by driving to the stunning venue, The Barnyard in Sittingbourne. I had not heard of this venue before but when I took a look at it, I was SO excited as the scenic Kent countryside was going to make for a great film.
I arrived at the venue and found a very nervous and quiet Gem in the bridal suite alongside bridesmaids Jess & Laura, the girls were having hair and makeup done by the brilliant 'Purple Twins MUA' and blasting out some of the the best music (I think the friends theme tune was playing when I walked in!) After filming a few bits I left her to finish getting ready while I got some shots of the venue.
Not long after the boys arrived and Father of the Bride Jonathan stood waiting outside the bridal suite ready to see Gem (this may have been a little optimistic, as around 45 minutes later the girls were ready to have him come in!) along with the registrars.
The guest soon starting filling the seats in the barn while Rob waited at the end of the aisle alongside best man Sam & Usher Samuel, in all my time knowing Rob I don’t think that I’ve ever seen him look so nervous and the heat of a 3 piece suit probably wasn’t helping (although they did all look incredibly smart!) A short 40 minutes later, the wedding was underway and the bridal party started to enter. I think Rob would say it was well worth the wait and he looked so emotional when he saw his STUNNING Bride Gem.
After a lovely ceremony (and wondering if Gem was going to be able to get the ring on Rob's finger) the couple headed over to the marquee, where they had a couple of photos together. Just after Gem said to Rob "we need to try and take it all in so we don’t forget anything" they proceeded to down their glasses of Prosecco! We then moved on to the formal groups shots featuring a very cute newborn and fireman hats.
Then it was the time for speeches and I knew how much Father of the Bride Jonathan was dreading going up first, but he absolutely smashed it with some very moving words and some great jokes in there too! Jonathan passed over to Rob, who I knew had been prepping this for a while now and you could tell. I've seen a lot of Groom speeches and this one was right up there! Rob delivered all the traditional toasts and thank yous but gave some great humour and some really lovely words for his new Bride, you could tell this was so genuine and from the heart (and gave me some great audio for the video!). Last was the best man Sam, who went for a half and half of jokes and sentiment. The friendship between these two goes back to primary school and you could see just how good mates they were!
Me and photographer Dan then took the newly weds off for some couple shots which looked epic surrounded by the scenic orchards, only problem was it was still slightly muddy, so Rob found himself with his Cider in one hand and his new brides dress train in the other, talk about multitasking!
Soon, after some mingling, the couple took to the dance floor for their first dance and after a lovely slow dance to Ed Sheeran - Afterglow they were then joined by their guests and the party got underway!
I've known Rob since the start of secondary school and I've never seen him as happy as the way he is with Gem, you can just see how infatuated he is with her. I am so happy that I was able to capture your wedding day and that two of my good friends are now married!
Wishing you both all the best for your future together!