On a beautiful, sunny August day we all came together for the wedding of Ruta and Joe. This wedding was full of memorable moments including celebratory shots of vodka and a live painter and I can’t wait to share some more details. 

 

It was a lovely morning with Ruta and her bridesmaids in the preparation room of Horsley Towers. I just love that moment of walking in to a wall of lovely smelling hairspray and clothes strewed all over the place. There was some chilled music playing as the hair and make up artists finished their work and at that point I noticed the loaf of bread on the centre table- read on to find out why, and no it wasn’t their breakfast. 

 

Horsley Towers is a real life castle in the heart of Surrey and the grand ceremony room was the perfect setting for Ruta and Joe to say their vows. Their beautiful little flower girl did a smashing job at sprinkling the petals, with a little help Mum of course. 

 

The most gorgeous parts of Horsley Towers however has got to include the grounds. The fairytale turret is so iconic and I was so happy to be able to get the newlyweds outside for some portraits in front of it. As well as this, the archways of the Cloisters are what Horsley are known for. The bright and airy orange corridor is a staple in a Horsley wedding album and Ruta and Joe’s time in there created some gorgeous, romantic moments together- check out the dip! 

 

Then it was on to the speeches, unveiling of the live illustration and reception where the party began with a boom with Ruta’s beautiful second dress and choreographed first dance. 

 

Traditions from home

 

Originally from Lithuania, Ruta wanted to incorporate some classic traditions into her typical English wedding. One tradition that is shown in the album below is the custom for the parents of the couple getting married to present them with some dark rye bread with salt washed down with either vodka, water or wine.

Traditionally, the dark rye bread represents wealth, health and generosity. The salt represents some challenges in life that are bound to happen but should be embraced. The water then symbolises purity and life, a fresh start, whilst the vodka is used to toast and celebrate the new marriage.

 

That confetti moment 

 

Ahead of the big day, Ruta and Joe had reached out to me to talk through their ideal vision for their confetti moment and what confetti they should be using. I was so happy we had this discussion as I recommended bright and colourful confetti that would stand out from the background and float gently through the air. Check out those photos- I think we smashed it!

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A live illustrator 

 

This was a new one for me. Aaron from Event Illustrator was already set up in the ceremony room by the time I had arrived to capture Ruta and Joe’s ceremony moment. I had never seen anything like this before. Aaron had been commissioned to complete a portrait of the moment Ruta and Joe walked back down the aisle after being married. He worked on this painting throughout the day as well as completing guests’ portraits during the cocktail reception and then presented them with the finished article just before the reception party began. I can guarantee that this would be proudly on display as it is breathtaking!

 

All together, this was such a gorgeous day for the new married couple, it was my absolute pleasure to present the full wedding album, of which a snippet is shown below- ENJOY!