Summer Wedding at The Wellbeing Farm – Katie & Cat

There are some weddings where you arrive knowing there’s going to be plenty going on. Katie and Cat’s summer wedding at The Wellbeing Farm was definitely one of them.

Cat and Katie sharing a hug on their gorgeous wedding day.

Set up at Wheatsheaf Hill Farm in Edgworth, The Wellbeing Farm is a brilliant setting for a relaxed, family-friendly wedding. Add in a gorgeous dog called Suzzie, a few llamas, some sheep, a surprise dance performance and a first dance with your gran, and you’ve got a pretty cracking day.

Katie and Cat were married by Lisa, their celebrant, who also happened to be Katie’s former teacher. Having someone who already knew Katie made the ceremony feel particularly personal, and it was lovely to see their connection brought into such an important part of the day.

Once the formalities were over, it was time to get outside and enjoy the farm. There were plenty of opportunities for photographs without disappearing from the party for ages. We made the most of the surroundings, including a portrait session with some of the farm's four-legged residents.

Yes, there are llamas.

And sheep.

And, of course, Suzzie.

I’m always a fan of giving couples something a little different to look back on, and having a couple of llamas wandering into your wedding photographs certainly does that. Katie and Cat were able to have some fun with it before getting back to their guests.

That’s pretty much how I like to approach wedding photography. I’m not interested in taking you away from your wedding for hours to pose in front of a camera. You’ve invited all these brilliant people to celebrate with you, so you should actually get to spend some time with them.

We did the important family photographs, including the ones with the people you absolutely want on the wall, and then moved on. When it came to portraits of Katie and Cat, we took a short wander and made some beautiful images of the two of them without turning it into a full-blown photoshoot.

Back with their guests, it was time for the speeches.

Katie’s father and Cat’s mother both gave beautiful speeches, sharing stories and memories with everyone in the room. There was plenty for the guests to enjoy, and plenty of emotion too.

Then Katie’s dance friends took things up a notch with a special performance. It was one of those moments that makes you realise just how many different parts of someone’s life come together on a wedding day. Friends, family, old connections and new ones all sharing the same room.

And then came one of my favourite moments of the day.

Katie’s first dance wasn’t the traditional newlywed first dance. Instead, she shared it with her gran.

It was such a lovely moment, and exactly the sort of thing I love about weddings. There’s no rule saying you have to do things a certain way. Your wedding can be about the people who matter to you, whether that means dancing with your new wife, your dad, your gran, or dragging your best mate onto the dancefloor because they’ve had one too many drinks.

Katie and Cat’s wedding had all the things I love about photographing weddings: a great family, brilliant friends, plenty of personality and lots of moments that happened naturally rather than because someone had asked them to.

And, naturally, a few photographs involving llamas.

I’ll take that.