Sophie & Andy

Huntsham Court Wedding Photography

Huntsham Court near Tiverton in Devon was the venue for Sophie & Andy’s whole weekend wedding. This great old house has 20-something bedrooms so a large chunk of the wedding party and guests could spend a few days rattling around inside the place. Having photographed the birth of their first child, and having met them and most of their family and friends at previous weddings I had shot, this was a fun one. The partying started on the Friday night with welcome drinks, which also coincided with the bride’s birthday!

Unlike some of the guests, the bride and the groom had a relatively early night. The next morning they got ready with their respective parties in different parts of the house. Meanwhile, a friend of the couple from Pretty Little Parties was downstairs putting together the flowers. As guests started to gather in the Great Hall, fabulous humanist celebrant Zena Birch appeared to give the bride a pep talk. Once she was dressed Sophie had time to show off to her bridesmaids, before it was time to head down the beautiful staircase!

Humanist Ceremony at Huntsham Court

The ceremony began with a performance from bridesmaid, and talented singer, Laura. As always Zena put together an emotional, personal and super-fun ceremony. And as is standard with this circle of friends, there was even time for a communal sing-song. There was also a performance from Sophie’s brother whilst the ‘certificate’ was signed. As the couple departed, everyone headed outside. RAF man Andy had a few of his colleagues in uniform perform a guard of honour, before the guests unleashed the confetti.

Wedding Photography at Huntsham Court in Devon

Soon everyone headed back in to the warmth for the reception, with lots of fizz and nibbles. The amazing guys from The Function Band signalled the start of the wedding breakfast by singing everyone into the library. Always a great surprise for the guests, and a genius way to take the party up a level. Speeches followed, with sneaky shots for those responsible for the most carnage the evening before! The band reappeared towards the end of dinner, and got the place properly jumping.

Stately Home Wedding in Devon

After a brief break for dessert and a rest, everyone reconvened in the hall for the first dance. With the members of The Function Band perched on podiums, we had singalongs, dance routines, and some quality limboing. There was also an obligatory human pyramid by the female guests, before things got a bit messy in the bar. Glad I wasn’t tidying up!

Thanks also to Beth A Weddings for looking after me and co-ordinating the hell out of things.