A Colourful Spring Wedding at Dean’s Court, Dorset

Documentary Wedding PhotographerCheshire Wedding PhotographerUK wedding photographer

28 May

Dean’s Court is a hidden gem Wedding Venue.

When I say hidden, I really mean it! Driving through the town centre you’d never know there was an enormous walled estate, encompassing meadows, cottages, a vast lake and a stately home - and it makes a perfect wedding venue. The large lawn is perfect for ceremonies. The many nooks and crannies are amazing for photo opportunities. The wooded area near the marquee is filled with wild garlic that makes the foodie in me feel both hungry and happy. This is old world charm with modern sensibilities. The best part is, you can kind of do what you like here. No two weddings will look the same.

a photograph of a wedding ceremony about to happen outside on the lawn at Dean's Court in Wimborne

Anna and Mike

Anna and Mike chose to get married there in a thoroughly non-traditional way, with rainbows everywhere to remember Mike’s late sibling, a leisurely approach to getting ready and doing the thing, a celebrant-led ceremony that spoke to their lives and relationship, and a novel approach to group photos that saw Anna recreate a photo from her babyhood. It was a colour-filled, Guinness-infused, mad celebration of two people whose lives have been intertwined for eighteen years. Oh and I should add, there’s a rather significant height difference between these two.

Getting Ready

Most of the getting ready portion of the day was spent with Anna and her faves in the gatehouse. I popped in and out to find various other people, meet up with Mike and his people at the cottages, and find my way around the venue. I prefer to take a steady approach to getting ready, and soak up all the excitement before go time, because it helps me get better photos later on in the day. Plus there are just so many lovely moments that happen in the lead up to the ceremony. I had plenty of time this morning, and was able to spend quite a while talking to the celebrant about what was about to unfold, which brings us on to…

“Go Find Mum and Dad”

I’ve photographed roughly 200 weddings, and I’ve never seen a ceremony quite like Anna and Mike’s. When I bumped into Marcus, their celebrant, in the grounds of Dean’s Court, we decided to a brief run through of what was to come. It took us 20 minutes, and that was without anyone else involved. This prep was absolutely necessary though, because it was the most intricate ceremony I’ve ever photographed.

Anna and Mike’s children were walked up the aisle by their grandparents, then told to “go find Mum and Dad”. They disappeared to either side of the large house, and retrieved their parents, who didn’t walk up the aisle but met in the middle of the pergola. They hugged. The each poured their drink into a glass in the style of a Love Cup or Quaich. So prosecco met guinness. Apparently this is called a Black Velvet? After this, Marcus gave us a comprehensive history of their lives together, interspersed with stories from 3 guests, including a special mention of Mike’s sibling, April, who designed their stationery and was commemorated in all the lovely colourful touches they decorated the venue with. Rainbow streamers blew in the breeze, the children wore rainbow shoes, the dress code was bold colour. April was with them all day.

At the end of the ceremony, Mike and Anna jumped the (rainbow painted) broom and walked through their confetti tunnel with their children, and the party started.

The Other Bits

The ceremony was followed by a short reception, group photos, and a quick round of couple portraits, then it was straight into a meal and speeches. The venue was sensitive to Anna and Mike’s relaxed approach, so the day progressed without ever feeling stressful or rushed. The speeches were funny and emotional in equal measure.

My favourite touch was having a massive stack of cookies to plough into before the first dance started (can confirm, the dark chocolate and cherry one was delicious). The second half of the day was relatively unstructured, which left plenty of time for shenanigans (always something to be encouraged, in my opinion).