Jen and Dan’s colourful Voewood wedding in Norfolk

What was it like to work with me as your Voewood wedding photographer?

It was bloody amazing to work with you! You’re funny, care-free and, most importantly, you’re a frigging amazing photographer! We felt so at ease having our pictures taken and, when we went outside to do our couples photographs, it felt as though we were going for a little break and a chat with our friend rather than posing awkwardly for photos! There were no awkward poses to be seen!

From a planning point of view, you were flexible, and, whilst retaining your own inimitable style, adapted yourself to us, and our wedding’s vibe, and listened to our thoughts and suggestions throughout.

Dog at wedding ceremony Voewood wedding

How did you get started planning your Voewood wedding

It basically started on Pinterest – where I think most wedding planning starts these days! Then I found Rock and Roll Bride and the planning started to get more serious! I wanted to get married before I was thirty, so that meant that, between getting engaged and the wedding, we had only 14 months to plan everything. So things got real pretty fast!

Thankfully, both of us were on the same page with the vast majority of things, so there were no awkward questions. One of us would have an idea, we’d sit down and talk about it, and then, for the most part, then integrate some form of it into the wedding.

Voewood wedding father of bride seeing bride for first time

What was it like planning your Voewood wedding?

There were a whole mixture of emotions during planning. The multitude of things you need to remember is quite overwhelming, and Jen would regularly wake up from a stressful dream only to add something else to the already massive ‘To Do’ list!
We also had a conflict of projects because Daniel was writing and designing a book that documented our Mongol Rally adventure and it was especially important that he finished it before the wedding because he wanted to gift it to his best man who completed the rally with him.

Bride and groom having their first dance Voewood wedding

In part, the planning wasn’t as easy as people had told us it would be. People were telling us, “Oh, enjoy the planning process because the day goes by so quickly,” but Jen in particularly felt totally overwhelmed at times – despite being incredibly organised.

Groomotorial note: Jen had all the major stuff planned and organised months in advance, and did an absolutely incredible job. Our planning was complicated slightly by the fact we were essentially hosting 40-ish people at our venue, over the course of a weekend. As such, we had to think a wealth of other things to consider – such as additional catering. Whilst the bulk of the actual wedding day planning was completed relatively early on, we both struggled to achieve a sense of closure on the planning front before the wedding, because of the sheer number of little things we also wanted to plan on the side. We were conscious however that, with these small things, the big day wouldn’t have been affected if we hadn’t had time to complete them. Dog being dressed for wedding Voewood wedding

How did you bring your individual personalities and values to the day?

We wanted a wedding that people would say, “Oh, that’s so you!” and that’s certainly what we achieved! We wanted dinosaurs, so we had dinosaurs. We didn’t want traditional florals, so we didn’t have traditional florals. Our favourite food is pizza so, of course, we had pizza for our meal! The venue itself was super quirky and arty which reflected our personalities anyway so that was a great starting point!

The whole time we were planning our wedding we wanted to incorporate things that we loved without worrying about what others might think of it. It doesn’t matter what someone else thinks about your wedding – you’re not doing it for them – you’re doing it for both of you!

Again – and very thankfully – we were both very much on the same page for most of the planning (although there was a lot of aeroplane stuff that Daniel wanted that somehow mysteriously didn’t make the cut…). We have the same sort of design style, and so we were lucky in that all the ideas we both had were well received by the other. Voewood wedding birde having dress fastened Bride and groom being showered by colourful confetti Voewood wedding

Why did you choose Voewood House for your wedding venue?

We chose Voewood House in Norfolk because it’s bloody beautiful. It’s a Grade 2 listed ‘Arts and Crafts’ house. As soon as we saw it we knew this would be the one! The house is completely unique and was styled by a variety of artists.

We also loved the fact that it was a venue you hired for the whole weekend. Everybody had told us that our wedding day would fly by in the blink of an eye. We really wanted to spend as much time with the people we wanted at our wedding – many of whom we’d not seen in a long time. Hiring a country house meant we had the day before to spend time with our friends and family. Emotional moment between bride and bridesmaid Voewood wedding

What is your advice to other couples getting married?

Ideally we’d have saved up a little more before getting married (because it’s going to cost more than you think!!!). In the year preceding our engagement, we bought our first house, drove from London to Mongolia, and got a puppy. So not only were we rushed off our feet, but our bank balance had already taken a bit of a battering. Having slightly more funds available to us would definitely have eased the stress enormously.

We’d also say that you should only invite people you really, truly want there on your special day. Forget distant cousins that you don’t remember, and people your mum insists you know (but don’t!). Be ruthless with your guest list because it’ll quickly snowball. Focus on spending quality time with the lovely people that make your life what it is! Bride and groom cutting cake Voewood wedding

How did you manage your wedding budget?

Our budget ended up being more than expected but, thankfully, our financial situation was flexible. We were warned not to get ourselves into debt for the sake of our wedding. Careful consideration was given to things we definitely needed, and what things would just be a nice addition.

At the start, we set a rough limit for each of the main things like clothing, rings, venue, food etc. Just so that we did know roughly how much we’d end up spending.

Bride and groom smiling and hugging Voewood wedding

Voewood Wedding Suppliers

Venue – Voewood
Props, bar and event management by Dottie Events and Hire
Bouquets, buttons holes, floral decoration and succulent favours – Romeo & Succulent

Brides dress – The Couture Company
Cape Veil – Crown and Glory
Bridal high heeled shoes – Vivienne Westwood x Melissa
Bridal rainbow sparkly boots – Dolls KIll

Grooms suit – Tailor Me
Cufflinks – Posh Totty
Grooms shoes – Irregular Choice

Bridesmaid outfits – Curious Coco
Hair and make up – Amanda Steed
Cake – Claire Owen Cakes
Pizza caterers – The Pizza Project
Wedding band – Popmania
Wedding Stationery – Poppet & Moose
Videographer – Papertwin Weddings