Emma and Gee’s rustic November wedding at Cooling Castle Barn was just gorgeous! With autumnal colours, mist in the air and temperatures dropping, this wedding had a warm, cozy and extremely fun vibe. Emma and Gee are two of the nicest people you’re ever likely to meet and I wish them so much luck for the future. Check out their amazing day below.
First names: Emma and Gee
Ages: 32 and 34
Wedding date: Friday 16th November 2018
Venue: Cooling Castle Barn, Rochester, Kent.
How did you guys meet, tell me all?
We met at a wedding of a mutual friend 6 years ago (who is one of Gee’s best men for our wedding). Gee was an usher and I was there on my own and didn’t really know many people. By the end of the night we were cutting shapes on the dance floor having the best time but didn’t think any more of it. Gee asked me to let him know when I got home, which I did and we spent the next few days sending stupidly long messages to each other and soon realised that we really liked each other! Ironically before I left that wedding, Gee told the bride that I was ‘alright’ and asked if she would be our bridesmaid at our wedding and told me ‘we’ll talk about this later!’. Little did we know that would actually turn out to be true!
How did you get engaged, is there a cool story?
We were in New York, on the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building overlooking Central Park. I was so excited to be finally visiting New York after years of wanting to go and we had a Jam packed 5 days there in December last year. I didn’t realise that Gee had been prepping me in the morning with talk about our future and I had no idea he was getting ready to propose. I asked him if he was joking when he got down on one knee! We had a boat trip already booked that afternoon that went from the west to the east side of Manhattan and back again. We got to see the best sunset which finished the day off perfectly!
What made you choose your wedding venue, did you look at many?
We decided we wanted a rustic feel to our wedding so were aiming for barn style venues. We checked out High Rocks in Tonbridge first but the barn was just too big for our guest list. In the meantime we had researched Cooling castle and every venue we looked at, we ended up comparing it to Cooling. We had to wait a few weeks before we could view it, so we checked out Crondon Park in Essex and it was a close contender. But as soon as we looked round Cooling we knew it was the venue for us, even if it meant waiting 2 years. Luckily they had a cancellation for this year so we took it!
What was the inspiration/theme of your wedding?
We were aiming for a rustic feel while incorporating autumn colours
What is your first song and why?
‘God only knows’ by the Beach Boys. We both love the film Love Actually and for the first year or so of our relationship, Gee’s mum wasn’t very well and lived in Northern Cyprus. So, Gee would fly to Cyprus every 2-3 months to visit his family over there and I used to take him to the airport. It was quite an emotional time and it always reminded me of the airport scene of Love Actually and soon that song came to represent those times. We really wanted to incorporate the song somewhere in the wedding and it eventually became our first dance!
What would be your number one tip to other couples planning their wedding?
Keep it simple! We tried to plan the wedding as a guest and the main things we notice as a guest is the venue, the food and the entertainment. All the extras are fab if you can afford them or have time to make them but they aren’t essential. It about spending time with the people you love and sharing your day with them.
Check out Emma and Gee’s November wedding at Cooling Castle Barn below.
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The photography: All images captured with two Fujifilm X-Pro 2’s.
Lenses: Fujinon XF 16mm f1.4 R WR, Fujinon XF 23mm f1.4 R, Fujinon XF 56mm f1.2
Other awesome suppliers who helped during Emma and Gee’s November wedding at Cooling Castle Barn
Hair stylist: Zara Rose
Website: http://www.hairandmakeupbyzara.co.uk
Make up artist: Zara Rose (for the bride) and Emma’s friend Averil Johnson for the bridesmaids
Website: http://www.hairandmakeupbyzara.co.uk
Brides dress: Wed2b Bromley
Website: http://www.wed2b.co.uk
Bridesmaids dresses: John Lewis
Website: http://www.johnlewis.com
Suits: M&S
Website: http://www.marksandspencer.com
Florist: Julie Smith (family friend)
Website: N/A
Cake: Kent cakes
Website: http://www.kentcakes.org.uk
Caterer: Cooling castle Barn
Website: http://www.coolingcastlebarn.com
Band/DJ: Cooling supplied DJ and Fully FunKtional
Website: http://www.fullyfunktional.rocks
Stationary: Homemade by Emma
Website: N/A
Videographer: Anneka Ireland
Website: http://www.annekairelandvideography.co.uk
Fairy lights in ceremony room and main Barn supplied by Floral Explosion
Website: http://www.floral-explosion.co.uk
Big vintage letters on balcony- Light it up UK
Website: http://www.lightitupuk.co.uk
Are you looking for a wedding photographer? Would you like someone who photographs it in an alternative, fun and natural way? Fancy seeing your wedding pictures on my Instagram and on other cool wedding blogs? Get in touch and let me know all about your day! I need to know the date, ceremony and reception details and most importantly all the ideas you have!
Let’s chat about your day!
I am a Kent wedding photographer who has been featured within Your Kent Wedding Magazine, Rock n Roll Bride and Your Sussex Wedding Magazine, with images also published in the The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Independent, The News Of The World and many other large newspapers and magazines.
November wedding at Cooling Castle Barn | Kent Wedding Photographer | https://rosshurley.com | Ross Hurley Photography
