Lillibrooke Manor Wedding Photography | Charlotte + Joe — RS Brown Photography

"We really wouldn’t have chosen anyone else but you guys to capture our day. We felt totally at ease with you both and you’ve provided us with beautiful photos that we will treasure forever"

It was lovely to be back at Lillibrooke Manor again for Charlotte and Joes wedding. It was an extra special day for us as it gave us the chance to capture the memories of two friends. I worked previously with both Charlotte + Joe so we were honoured when they first approached us about photographing their big day. It was a wedding full of every kind of emotion! The stand out moment for me has to be when Joe first caught glimpse of Charlotte walking down the isle - No spoilers here... Check out below ;-)

C+J's wedding day was so much fun, made even more so for being surrounded by friends, past clients (now friends also!) and future clients! x

The Dress:

"Very early on into planning the wedding, my mum and I popped into a a local wedding shop. The dresses were beautiful but every dress I tried on felt like I was trying on fancy dress! I didn’t feel ‘me’ in any of them. Back to the drawing board I went. Having tried on a lot of long dresses I though maybe a tea length dress would be the better option for me - I was right! I found Ocean Bride on the internet and knew they stocked a range by True Bride called the Brighton Belle collection. The first time I went down with my mum and sister I tried on quite a few and ended up with three that I liked. The second time I went back (just me and my sister) I tried on those same three dresses and didn’t love any of them as much as I did the first time I tried them on. Nightmare, I thought I was going to have to start my search again! I asked if they had a dress called the Eva dress in stock which I’d seen on the website. The minute I put it on I just knew it was the one so put a deposit down on it! The third time I went down was with my mum who hadn’t seen it before. When I appeared in the dress she burst into tears so I knew I’d made the right decision :) the ladies at Ocean Bride were so helpful and patient through the whole experience"

The Jewellery:

"My pearl earrings were a gift from Joe’s mum. Her mum had a pearl brooch given to her years ago that she didn’t so when jane got married she asked for the pearls to be turned into earrings. She had some left over and very kindly got some made up for me too"

The Music:

"The Music was always going to be an important part of the wedding since Joe is a musician. We had many heated discussions about what kind of music we wanted at wedding and actually wrote off having any band at all because we couldn’t decide! We chose Andy Blackwell band because we saw them at Joe’s cousin’s wedding and thought they were awesome! They did seriously good covers of wedding party classics but also some untraditional songs such as Hot Chip - Over and Over. They also did an amazing cover for our first dance - You & Me by The Wannadies. A very special moment for Joe and I especially when everyone joined us on the dance floor. We also had Joe’s band mates from The Amazons to play the most beautiful cover of John Denver’s Annie’s Song as I walked down the aisle. A moment I will never forget"

The Favours:

"The favours were done by both Mum’s. Traditional Swedish Aquavit for the men. This was a nod to Joe’s Swedish heritage. 'Mumma Sal' made her famous flapjacks for the ladies!"

The Food:

"Getting the food right was a big deal for us and we spent ages umming and ahhing as to what we were going to have. We both wanted something informal with a sharing element to it. We ended up choosing from the BBQ range at Lillibrooke Manor - succulent beer can chicken, lamb sausages and steaks all served on wooden boards. It came with fresh green salad and a potato salad. Later in the evening, when the party was in full flow we had wood fired pizzas to offer everyone. They went down a treat!"

The Cake:

"Fiona Mair is the owner of Cakeadelic - She has made cakes for our family before so I knew she was the only choice when it came to our wedding cake. We decided on a four tier cake - chocolate and orange, Victoria sponge, chocolate hazelnut and the final tier was lemon. The best cake I’ve ever eaten. I wish we’d kept more a side for us to keep!"