Hannah and Freddies wedding at Mulberry House
Date – 30th September 2016
hannah and freddies beautiful wedding at mulberry house ongar essex
Ceremony and Reception – Mulberry House Cedar Room and Marquee
Bride –Hannah Watson
Groom – Freddie Bellenger
Bridesmaids – Emily, Alice and Abigail
Flowergirls – Maisie, Hope and Isla
Pageboys – Henry, Oliver and Liam
Best Men – Brad L and Brad C
Ushers – Alec, Sam, Rick Matthew, Georgie and Dan
Hen – Milan
Stag – Las Vegas
Filmed by – Spotlight Weddings
Hannah and Freddies beautiful wedding at mulberry house ongar essex
The Preshoot. I took this picture of Freddie and Hannah on Monday 8th August 2016 on location at Fanhams Hall. They were both so natural and fun with each other. I realised that the wedding photos would be easy for me as they are both so relaxed and fun with each other.
The Wedding Venue. I’ve worked at Mulberry House on many occasions it has now become a very popular venue for weddings. The beautiful 22-acres of landscaped grounds are great to photograph in, there are so many beautiful places to use for the pictures. On the day I used the areas at the front of the mansion house, the side terrace, some of the main gardens, the old walls and arches as well as the lake and bridge. Lots of lovely areas to use for the Reportage and Classical pictures… which really is my photographing style.
The Wedding Day. I have been looking at the weather all week and when I saw that it was forecast sun and cloud I was so pleased, this really is perfect shooting conditions for a wedding. I made the half hour drive over to Ongar. I knew today was going to be brilliant – I had a great couple to work with, two great best men, lots of ushers and bridesmaids. This was also my mates cousin too and she’s a stunner and Freddies a good-looking guy so I was ready for it.
I arrived at 11.15 am and met up with David from Spotlight weddings.. great video company and the only ones that I personally would recommend to anybody. Hannah is Anthony from Spotlights cousin in law so he was there with his wife Jane and his two children Luke and Emily who was a bridesmaid. Freddie and Hannah were both getting ready at Mulberry House.
11.30 am The Photos started with me going to see Freddie, his best men and ushers all getting ready in the room with him. The music was loud, the grey goose was in the ice bucket. Mark the father of the bride (great guy) was in there with them all. The shirts were on, the waist coats were going on and the boys were up for it. I did some pics of them all getting ready. Freddie put his brown Laboutin shoes on and I left them to finish off getting ready.
12.00. Went in to see Hannah getting ready, she was sitting down having her hair done and was with her adult bridesmaids Alice and Abigail also Emily and her mum Susie.. (not Sue..personal joke there). Hannah looked amazing, her make up was done she was drinking a glass of champagne the room was very relaxed. Her beautiful wedding dress was hanging up and her Christian Laboutin shoes were out with the dress. I took the opportunity to use an area of the room to hang the dresses in. With the help of Alice we arranged the dresses and had them all looking amazing in a beautiful little spot in the room. The girls were all in matching pyjamas, I took some nice shots of them with their dresses hanging up in this area that I had created. Little Emily McCutcheon the smallest of the three bridesmaids then got into her dress, I took some lovely pictures of her by the mirror. It was at this point that the 3 flower girls came in and saw Hannah. They were all such little cuties and after some little talks by Alice and Emily the little ones came over and had some pictures taken. Hannah was now ready to get into her dress so I took this as good opportunity to shoot downstairs and see Freddie and the boys before they went in for the ceremony.
The boys were all in the bar having a beer, they all came out to the front of the beautiful house and did some reportage walking and fun shots. They then headed in to The Cedar Room for the ceremony. Freddies mum Jackie had made the most beautiful arch out of roses and put it up over the entrance to the ceremony building… she used to be a florist and you could tell because this “”looked AMAZING”.
1.45 pm. I went back up to see Hannah, she was in her beautiful wedding dress looking fabulous. Her mum was just finish doing the back up… it was at this point that Mark the father of the bride came in and saw his daughter. You could see that he was a very proud dad. I took some pictures of them all in the spot that I used earlier. I then took some shots of Hannah on her own.
2.00 pm. All the little bridesmaids and page boys made their way in to the ceremony .. there were rose petals on the floor, the atmosphere was beautiful. Hannah then came in with her dad and saw Freddie… his smile was a picture on its own. The ceremony was fairly short with no readings but it was beautifully done and there was a lot of tears and laughter… this was a great wedding and I could tell the pictures would be fun.
After the ceremony the couple had drinks with their guests in the gardens. There was a classical singer singing whilst the guests had their drinks. After the couple had seen everyone I took them to the front of the beautiful house and did some pictures of them on their own before heading to the side and taking the shots of them by the walled garden. This is an area that I personally think is an unspoilt original part of this fantastic estate.
The guests were all gathered by Ted Prior toastmaster at the side of the house and I went up into one of the rooms to get a shot of them all together. I then shot the family and friend pictures before taking the couple off to the lake for some classical shots together. Time was ticking and the pressure was on to get the shots done as the meal was shortly to be served. So I got on and finished the pictures we needed the couple then got into the receiving line. Once everyone had been greeted by the bride and their parents Hannah and Freddie made their entrance into the marquee and sat for the meal.
After the meal we had 3 brilliant speeches. Ted prior announced them all and the father of the bride started with a beautiful speech, Freddie then followed and thanked everyone for everything they’d done including myself and Anthony (Spotlight) which was very kind of him, he then gave out all the gifts. Then the two best men spoke “The 2 Brads”.. two great speeches worthy of very close and great mates, they both touched on Freddies dress sense which is very cool. One also mentioned how they need to have a baby girl so Freddies mum can pass her handbags and matching shoes on haha.. “brilliant boys really was” great speeches.
The Marquee was then turned around for the evenings dancing. The evening guests were all arriving and Hannah and Freddie went to see everyone. The photo booth was very busy and everyone was in there getting their shots done. I took the bride and groom off to do a few pictures at the front of the mansion. I used off camera flash and lit the couple beautifully to create a really dramatic finishing image which we will use as the closing image to the Storybook.
The Marquee was now ready, the dance floor was down, the dj and singers were ready. The guests were all called in and gathered round the dance floor. Hannah and Freddie then cut their wedding cake and went straight into their first dance which was sung live by the singers. The dance floor then erupted and everyone joined in. I got some great drunken dancing shots and then said my goodbyes and left the couple to enjoy the rest of their wedding.
Message to Hannah and Freddie
I am so glad that the sun came out for you and the weather stayed dry. Where the present table was there was quite a few framed pictures of loved ones who have passed on. These people were all looking down on you and made sure that the weather was good. When it did rain it soon stopped and when it clouded over it soon brightened up. You’re a great couple and it was an honour for me to be there and take the photos. See you soon for the viewing. JP
Here is a selection of pictures that I have selected from the day. JP 
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