Timeless Wedding at The Reading Room, Norfolk.

I haven’t blogged a full wedding in such a long time, so I wanted to make sure I was starting again with an absolute beauty. I have chosen to share the stunning wedding of Jonny & Becky, who got married on July 17th 2021 at The Reading Room in Norfolk, after Covid ruined their original date.

Rob was due to be second shooting with me, but as our diaries had been turned upside down, he had to go & film another one of his weddings which had also moved. As Norfolk is nearly a 4 hour drive from us, I knew I was staying over, so wanted to take someone with me I could trust - & share a bed with! I felt like the luckiest girl in the world when one of my best friends Alishia Love agreed to come with me. Alishia is an amazing photographer but stopped doing weddings a few years ago, so I thought she would decline, however I think the idea of an old school sleepover with me won her over!

We settled into our B&B & had an early night ahead of what was predicted to be a scorching hot day for the wedding!

It was a very early start for us on the day. I think Alishia & I were eating bananas outside a deli at 7AM - all part of the story guys! I then dropped Alishia to Jonny & the boys, who were at Jonny’s parents home getting ready. Then I joined the girls at a gorgeous barn, The Gunton Arms for Bridal prep. As soon as I walked in the room (already sweating), I knew we were going to have the best day. We had a lovely relaxing morning, popping champagne in the sun, capturing details, present swapping & plenty of hugs, before heading off to the church, which conveniently was in the same grounds as the venue! Photographers DREAM when this happens!

The next ‘dream’ was discovering the inside walls of the church were white, again photographers will understand the pure satisfaction of this. After a beautiful ceremony, we went outside for some confetti in the blazing sunshine. I knew the confetti was one of the most important photos for Becky, so I didn’t want to capture them walking out of the church squinting into harsh sun. Instead I made everyone cheat, just so we could get ‘that image’. I asked Becky & Jonny to walk through the aisle of their guests to the gate & walk back towards us that way through the confetti. This way the sun was behind them & their faces were lit perfectly.

I then had another bonus moment by getting to travel in the front of their wedding car, with the roof down, to a field down the road where they wanted some couple portraits. Alishia walked back to the venue with the guests capturing the beginning of the drinks reception. The photographs were hugely important to Becky & Jonny so I knew they wouldn’t mind spending this time getting plenty of portraits. By giving me this time, it meant I could capture a variety of images for them. So we went into the field, then back to the grounds of the venue, still giving them plenty of time to spend with their guests. I just remember feeling one happy photographer for the majority of the day. This was helped by everyone treating myself & Alishia like wedding guests. We really felt part of the crowd which helped us get lots of fun images!

After the speeches & the wedding breakfast, I had one of my excitable breakdowns about the light - which was now gorgeous & soft. So we took a stroll back to the church so we could capture Becky & Jonny in front of their stunning flower arch, without the harsh light we had earlier. The more weddings you shoot, the more you will feel comfortable with making executive decisions on getting the best imagery, rather than panicking in the moment. I briefly mentioned to Becky after the ceremony that the light was very harsh on the flowers, & she very happily told me that we could go back later to get the photos then. Again - dream for us photographers, but communication is key. Don’t be afraid to tell your clients what would work best. You’re the expert & they are trusting you!

Myself & Alishia then watched everyone getting progressively more merry as the dancing started, before we grabbed a slice of pizza & left them to party hard.

As we left this wedding on such high spirits, we planned to drink G&T once back at our B&B…instead we crashed, which proves why photographers definitely couldn’t handle staying on to party after shooting a wedding!

The following day, I did the big drive home, dropping Alishia back to The Cotswolds first. I was full of excitement after being a part of such a beautiful day, & finally feeling like things were getting back to normal - I got home & edited 100 preview photos for them! Becky thought it was all their images so was delighted when they finally received another 800!

This is what Becky said on receiving their previews:

“Oh Jess!! (And Alishia!) you are so damn talented. We’ve just looked through the pictures & cried at how absolutely beautiful they are. Seriously, you have surpassed every expectation - we’re speeches! We just LOVE them. I can’t believe there are more to come, we’re so lucky to have had you photograph our day.”

Now, I’ll let the photos do the talking…

Venue: The Reading Room

Photographer: Jessica Raphael

Bride dress: Emma Beaumont Atelier

Bridesmaid dresses: TH&TH

Groom tux: Whitfield & Ward

Hair: Christies Hairdressing

Makeup: Kerri Moralee

Cake: Love Wedding Cakes by Amber Briggs

Florist: Lavenders Blue

Film: James Kilcoin