Outdoor humanist wedding at Rococo Garden, Painswick.

Groom lifting his bride up at Painswick gardens

Painswick Rococo Garden humanist Wedding.

The wedding of Kat and Ben was my first outdoor humanist ceremony and it took place at the stunning Rococo Garden in the beautiful Cotswolds. This is the country’s sole surviving complete rococo garden and was designed in the 1740’s as a flamboyant pleasure garden to entertain guests and host decadent garden parties.

Hand-fasting ceremony.

On May 28th Kat and Ben’s family and friends joined them in the sun, to witness their very personal wedding, which included a hand fasting, traditional ring exchange and vows that they had written themselves.
In fact I would go as far to say that this was one of the most personal weddings that I have had the pleasure of being asked to photograph and I even got chance to attend the wedding rehearsal the day before. – Also happening the day before was lots of hard work by both of their families, setting up the Painswick Centre (which to use Kat’s words, ‘it’s like a posh village hall’) ready for after the wedding. Set up included stringing fairy lights and bunting (all of the bunting was made by Kat’s Mum, with one set using colours inspired by four years Ben spent in Africa. There was also another set made from individual triangles that were put in with the invites to guests, which they then decorated) across the ceiling, decorating all the tables with wood slices cut by Ben himself, which he assures me is far more difficult that it sounds, empty cider bottles filled with flowers and little packets of seeds for each person to grow as a reminder of the day.

All of the flowers, including the bouquets and button holes, came from a social enterprise project called Organic Blooms, which is run for people with learning difficulties and mental health problems.

Pretty impressive wedding cakes.

Just before I get to the photos I have to mention the cakes and cake stand. All four cakes were made by Ben’s parents and his Dad crafted the stand they were on and lot’s of the wooden details. The base of the stand was actually made from bits of an old desk that once belonged to Ben and included things like two bicycles, a wooden kingfisher, a black cat (Zappa), wooden mushrooms and a figure fishing that were all personal to Ben and Kat.

I think you will see the effort everyone went to in the photos……..plus you have got to love a wedding that involves a game of skittles!!

All travel is included in my package prices so there’s nothing to stop you asking me along to photography your wedding! Get in touch.