Introducing the lovely Ben and Amy! A pretty gorgeous pair of humans who got their wed on at The Barn at Brynich, last summer. We absolutely loved their day and felt so honoured to have them ask us to be their wedding photographers. Owen and Ben have worked together on a few projects for Cardiff Met University , so when Ben mentioned he would like us to photograph their wedding, we blushed a little and may have fist bumped the air too!
This pair made our job a true joy. There was so much smiling, an ease to every aspect of their day and a truly special lovely level of thought detail. These guys made us feel so special too. We captured their wedding on our 11th wedding anniversary and when it came to the wedding breakfast we were blessed with our own little table, with special personalised menu and anniversary card. Thank you so so much guys, this truly blew us away. So happy to be anniversary twins!
We asked Ben and Amy to tell us a bit more about their wedding day, from their own perspective. After perusing through these photos please do have a read about their day and all that they did to make their day their own.
Ben and Amy also kindly wrote this about us and our photography at their wedding
"When we started planning our wedding we didn't even have a conversation about who our photographers would be! There was only ever one choice. Ben had admired Owen's photography when working on work projects together & we just knew that the joint work of he & Charis was perfect for the relaxed day we were hoping for. Our first meeting at the beautiful fishing village of Porthgain (a great recommendation from these guys) was like catching up with old friends as we instantly felt at ease and the afternoon became more of chatting & laughing than having our photographs taken. On our wedding day, they both seemed to seamlessly capture such perfect moments without being intrusive. Again, it was like having another couple, good friends, join us for our day. Our final album was breathtaking. We could not have asked for more. Every photo seems to capture a wonderful emotion from our loved ones. We often look back over the photos & love remembering the day. Our home has become a bit of a shrine of O & C Photos! Thank you Charis & Owen, you were the perfect addition to our day, you guys rock! "
How did you meet, how did you become engaged and for how long had you been engaged before your wedding day? What happened along the way? How did you get here?: After many failed dates & Saturday nights spent moaning to my friend Hayley & her husband Gareth, they decided I might get on well with Gareth's friend Ben & we had a first date in November 2014. It turns out they were pretty spot on! A love for travel & adventure meant we hit it off straight away! By February 2015 we were heading off on our first adventure to the Lake District which was pretty fantastic. We followed it up with trips to Rome, Paris, Kos & Berlin all in about 10 months as well as Ben moving in with me in the June! In February we jetted off to NYC & much to our delight we were upgraded to Business class, Ben couldn't have asked for a better start to the trip when a few days in, after trying to find a secluded spot in Central Park, he got down on one knee. It could not have been more perfect with Ben (on his own!) selecting the most beautiful ring which had been hidden under the bed for 6 weeks & following the proposal up with champagne in the Central Park boat house.
What made you choose your venue(s) and location(s)?: We love the Brecon Beacons & we both were keen for a rustic & relaxed barn wedding. When we stumbled across the Barn at Brynich during at internet search (thank goodness for Google!) we were fairly sure it was the place. As soon as we walked in on our first visit, we both knew. There is something quite special about it & the views of Pen-y-fan, Corn Ddu & the Beacons confirmed this was the venue for us.
We also loved that we could take control of the decorating and food. We quickly booked local caterer Purple Carrot who supplied the most delicious picnic hampers & opted not to have a wedding cake, instead we had 180 Krispy Kremes couriered to the barn on the morning to create our bespoke Donut Bar!
Another bonus was that the barn & accompanying cottages we ours for the weekend, from Friday until Monday morning. It made for a fantastic weekend in the company of our loved ones and gave us an extended celebration!
Your outfits & accessories - What made you choose your outfits? What did you love about them?: I chose to shop with just my Mum. I've always valued her honest opinion & knew she would help me make the right choice. It's true what they say, it turns out what I thought I wanted was not for me at all! We knew fairly quickly that tulle & bling style was for me & when I stepped into the Maggie Sottero Montgomery dress, I just didn't want to take it off. I took my bridesmaids back for a final opinion & was sold! Just three stores, ten dresses, job done! The ladies at the fantastic All About Eve Chepstow boutique were fantastic.
Ben on the other hand was not so simple! Tweed was the initial thought, relaxed & right for the barn, but after some hefty searching with no joy, we started looking at suits. Never quite comfortable with that idea, he spent hours scouring the internet before finally stumbling upon the Harris Tweed range in Edinburgh Woollen Mill. The outfit summed up his relaxed personality perfectly.
After failing to find the ideal bridesmaids dress in my first colour of baby blue, the bridesmaids dresses were more about luck on a visit to Coast. The choice of two colours was what I always wanted & I just loved how the green seemed to bring out the pink, they were so warm & suited the girls so well. They had all had babies in the last 10 months but looked absolutely out of this world in their dresses. My niece Ava was totally in her element shopping for her dress & the idea was always for her to have a 'mini' version of mine! She totally felt like a Princess in her Rocha John Rocha dress & I've never seen anyway twirl as much as she did!
What made you choose your decor and styling? Tell me about your flowers/florist (bouquets, centre pieces & general decorative arrangements)?: Pinterest guided us towards jam jars & pom poms (courtesy of Pom Pom Studio) which seemed to suit the barn wedding perfectly. Colours were determined by the bridesmaids. Charlotte at Hilary's Floral Design in Abergavenny did an incredible job with all the flowers. I could not have asked for more with my bouquet in particular, & I was so pleased that Charlotte was able to subtly place a sapphire ring that belonged to my Nan in there as my something old. And the milk churns she supplied were an eye catching piece that I will never regret having!
As it was our love for travel that brought us together it was only natural that formed part of our theme. Ben in particular worked tirelessly with our table plans and table places & quite a few of our guests commented on the fact the little touches summed us up!
Tell me about your Ceremony including any readings, any special moments and your vows. Did you tailor your vows?: We were both on the same page with regards to wanting a relaxed civil service. Gaynor & Sylvia, our Powys Registrars, did a fabulous job at ensuring a relaxed ceremony with a touch of humour! We were very lucky to have two very special friends share readings that were both poignant & touching. My University friend Julia read Union By Robert Fulghum & Ben's University friend Gareth read The Amber Spyglass By Phillip Pullman. The later in particular was very touching & pulled on the heart strings. I walked into Gravity by Embrace which at 35 and 37 years old seemed to sum us up perfectly with the first line stating 'It's been a long time coming'! We tried to follow this theme by walking out Phil Collins 'Can't Hurry Love!'
Do you have any comments about your photography? What was it like working with o&c? Why did you decide to book us?: As Ben has a strong interest in photography himself, it was an important part of our day. Ben had met Owen through work & always loved their style. There was no competition really, I'm just grateful you were free for our date, else it may have been a change for our wedding date! :-) I first met Owen & Charis at Porthgain for our pre-wedding shoot & I'll admit I was nervous about having a camera so focused on us. We were blown away by the beauty of Porthgain (a brilliant suggestion from you guys) & coupled with your relaxed approach, we soon forgot about the camera. To be honest, it was like hanging out with friends. This continued on the day, there was no pressure from either Owen or Charis who have a perfect eye for capturing special moments whilst being subtle! Not once did I feel like there was a camera around. We are so pleased that you were happy to share your wedding anniversary with us!
What was your first dance song and why?: Honestly, we didn't have an obvious choice! We certainly knew that we did not want four minutes of us, side stepping & slow dancing with everyone staring at us! With that in mind, I really wanted Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay. Ben wasn't keen with such a dancy song, but we settled for having this as the second song of the night! After much debate & toing and froing, when Ben suggested Take That 'Greatest Day' I wasn't going to say no! It turned out to be the perfect choice as it really was our Greatest Day (cheese!).
Did you have any entertainment (day & evening)?: We were keen for a relaxed day and evening so didn't want anything too out there. We settled with our own playlist playing during the day of our favourite songs, followed by a good old fashioned DJ for the night! You can't beat a lively dancefloor with fabulous 'choons'! A friend of the family Sam, of Get Dancing was swiftly booked & although on the day, due to personal circumstances, he was able to attend, his colleague played the perfect playlist with plenty of 80's classics coupled with modern day floor fillers!
What was your favourite part of the day and why?: Really?! It's impossible to choose! For me, the moment of walking into the barn & seeing the faces of our special ones (with my Dad by my side), all there for us was pretty special. But the day was just full of warm fuzzy moments. There just aren't any words that truly could sum our day up. I do remember a moment when we left the barn after our ceremony, when it was just the two of us for a few minutes & I felt in a perfect bubble & totally on cloud 9! Every couple needs to make sure they get some time just the two of them to really take it all in! Finishing the evening with a circle of friends blasting out Take That's Never Forgot was also pretty immense!
If you could impart any words of wisdom to a couple planning their marriage and wedding day, what would they be and is there anything you would do differently?: Our experience of planning was pretty stress free. I think that stems from it being a joint job. We did everything together & luckily had a vision that was perfectly matched. It may be easy to say, but it pays to not stress & also be careful of having expectations too high. I didn't have a perfect picture of how things would be, I took my ideas to our various vendors & let them work their magic. They're the professionals & you have to put your faith in them. Spend time looking for the vendors that capture what you want, meet them, trust them & let them do what they do best!
On the day, take regular moments to stop & look around, capture the moments, take in the emotion & treasure it.
Credits:
Dress: Maggie Sottero Montgomery, supplied by All About Eve Chepstow.
Veil: The Wedding Veil ShopHair: Michelle at La Diva Hair Studio courtesy of Braid & Blush
Bridesmaids: Coast
Flower Girl: Rocha John Rocha at John Lewis
Groom & Best Man: Harris Tweed at Edinburgh Woollen Mill
Venue: Barn at Brynich, Brecon
Caterers: Purple Carrot
Florist: Hilary's Floral Design, Abergavenny
Decor: Pom Pom Studio
Rings: Fraser Hart
Evening Disco: Get Dancing
Donuts: Krispy Kreme