Wedding at The Gardens in Yalding // Hannah and James

Hannah and James’s wedding at The Gardens in Yalding was easily one of the wettest I’ve had the pleasure of photographing. But even with the rain pouring down, these guys just had so much fun and it was an honour to be a part of their day. Check out their amazing day below!

First names: Hannah & James
Ages: 28
Wedding date: 10th June 2019
Venue: The Gardens, Yalding, Kent.

How did you guys meet, tell me all?
When I started a new school for 6th form I knew only one person; James’s best friend Adam. A few months down the line I finally met James amongst a lot of other new friends whilst out in Maidstone one night. I didn’t really pay much attention, to be honest; I remember waking up the next morning & going through photos from the night before & asking my friend ‘who is this person?!’ (I couldn’t even remember his name; OOPS!)
Me & James soon started talking a lot & really got on well; everyone (friends & family) kept hinting that there was something between us but at that time he was my best friend & James agreed. Fast forward a few months I started to wonder what we would be like together as a couple & I took the plunge to tell James my thoughts & he then told me that he had felt that way since day one but just didn’t have the guts to tell me!

How did you get engaged, is there a cool story?
Now James will tell you that I pressured him into proposing, and he’s probably right (haha). I just wanted our relationship to be that one bit more special; it’s more of a commitment to be engaged, isn’t it! So I was constantly talking about getting engaged & when he thought it would happen & his answer was always ‘soon, it’ll happen soon’
To be honest there’s no cool story but more embarrassing! James had told me of his plans to go to the ‘cinema & dinner’ one evening so I packed my clothes according to those plans. I arrived at his house & went upstairs to get ready & walked in to find a cute little set up of flowers & gifts; amongst that was a sign asking ‘will you marry me?’ I stood at the entrance to his room crying (I cry at everything), he moved me forwards & then got down on one knee to ask me properly; to which I obviously said YES!
Now, for the reason why I say this whole thing was embarrassing. James has actually planned to take me to a beautiful fine dining restaurant to celebrate our engagement! Which was so lovely but I hadn’t dressed for the occasion & I arrived sticking out like a sore thumb!

What made you choose your wedding venue, did you look at many?
Our venue was the second place we viewed & we knew it was going to be ‘the one’ before we even got there I think. We hadn’t seen many photos as it was quite a new wedding venue then, but what we had seen was very ‘us’.
We arrived, had a look around & fell in love with ‘The Gardens’. At the end of the tour, we sat down with a member of staff who talked to us about packages they offer & gave us a brochure to take home & have a look at but we just looked at each other & said ‘let’s just book it!’ We didn’t need to go home & think, it was the venue for us without a doubt.

What was the inspiration/theme of your wedding?
At first, I was a little stuck for ideas of my bridal bouquet & found myself steering towards the usual pink roses but James then asked why I didn’t go for sunflowers as they’ve always been my favourite flower. We then tied everything in around the sunflower feel & it also matched the rustic vibe of the Teepee’s at our wedding venue too. We’re both really laid back and want the day to be enjoyed by everyone so we’ve tried to inject a little fun into the day by including some outdoor games too; they’re meant to be for the kids but most adults are big kids deep down aren’t they!

What is your first song and why?
Our first song is a cover of the well known ‘Stand by me – Ben E. King’ our cover version sung by Matt Johnson. There’s no real story behind why we chose this song; it’s just a song that we both love & the lyrics are about being able to do anything as long as we’re together. We had a song planned for our first dance for a very long time but with 1 month to go before the wedding, we changed our mind! This was always one of James’s favourite songs & had said about it before but the original just didn’t fit for us & luckily stumbled across this lovely cover version. We had a practice dance to the song in our living room which was very funny & we very quickly realised that we didn’t know how to dance slowly & sensibly but the song was perfect!

What would be your number one tip to other couples planning their wedding?
It’s your day, do exactly what you want to do! Don’t be swayed by the ‘norm’ stay true to you & you’ll have the most amazing day. We’ve had help from family & friends along the way which made things a lot easier; my sister spent 4 hours straight making our confetti for us. She walked away with 2 very bruised thumbs but was happy to help!
We shopped around a lot for anything we wanted to decorated the venue with & I actually made a lot of things myself or found other small businesses with great employees they manage with paystub creator to make them for me rather than going to a typical high-street shop.
We started with wedding planning 18months before our wedding date & I’m so glad we did. Time flies by & it’s crazy how long the smallest of things take; Hannah is a bit of a perfectionist! But starting early meant we could enjoy the build-up & left us with the last couple of weeks to enjoy catching up with friends & family before the big day!

Check out Hannah and James’s Wedding at The Gardens in Yalding below.

You can follow my Instagram here.

Feel free to pin any image you love on your Pinterest boards.

The photography: All images captured with two Fujifilm X-T3 cameras.
Lenses:
Fujinon XF 16mm f1.4 R WR, Fujinon XF 23mm f1.4 R, Fujinon XF 35mm f1.4 R and Fujinon XF 56mm f1.2.

Other awesome suppliers who helped during Hannah and James’s Wedding at The Gardens in Yalding

Hair stylist: Caroline Monger
Website: N/A

Make up artist: Nikita Fuller
Website: Nikitamua (Instagram)

Brides dress: The wild heart bridal, Rochester kent
Website: http://www.thewildheartbridal.co.uk

Bridesmaids dresses: Quiz
Website: http://www.quiz.co.uk

Suits: Next
Website: http://www.Next.co.uk

Florist: Jo Wilkinson
Website: http://www.Jwfloristry.com

Cake: Rebecca Scullard
Website: http://www.rebakerscakes.com

Caterer: The Gardens
Website: https://www.thegardensyalding.co.uk/

Stationary: Laura Guy & Emma Davison
Website: LLG Designs (facebook) & Little Leo Prints Wedding Stationary

Videographer: Callum Shaw
Website: https://www.allfocusvisuals.com/

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.

 

Wedding at The Gardens in Yalding | Kent Wedding Photography | Kent wedding photographer | https://rosshurley.com | Copyright Ross Hurley Photography 2019

Share this post