Just outside Honiton near Exeter, Deer Park Country House is a stunning venue set in 80 acres of grounds. As an experienced Deer Park Country House wedding photographer, I’ve captured beautiful weddings here in every season, the changing landscape throughout the year gives me something new and interesting to use as a backdrop every single time I visit.

The imaginative décor provides a dreamy backdrop for all styles of celebration, from timeless vintage glamour and elegant outdoor ceremonies to classic and decadent celebrations in their Georgian Orangery.

Anais and Joe – Deer Park Country House wedding photography

Even though their initial viewing was in terrible weather, Anais and Joe knew it would be a magical place to get married. I joined them as their Deer Park Country House wedding photographer to capture their gorgeous outdoor wedding ceremony and absolutely OFF THE SCALE party! Hang on to your hats (and shirts… and drinks… this one got WILD!)

We love Rich’s artistic and unique approach and that he is passionate about what he does. We wanted photos that were creative, captured emotions and a little unique. Thank you Rich, for providing us with some fantastic memories and photographs.

Anais & Joe – Deer park wedding

Exclusive venue hire – Deer Park weddings

Anais and Joe extended their Deer Park Country House wedding by hiring the whole venue for two days. This gave them an entire country estate to enjoy as their own, to spend time with their families, and to relax with their wedding party. They’d scheduled some pre-wedding activities the day before, so the boys went clay pigeon shooting while the girls had afternoon tea. In the evening they had pre-dinner drinks in the sunshine in the walled garden and a BBQ in the orchard. Everyone was relaxed and ready for the big day, and of course, already staying on site so no one needed to worry about being late!

The day started with getting ready, and Anais’ and her bridal party chatted in the bridal suite as the team from Bridal Beauty Bible worked on their hair and make-up. Anais had gone for a real Hollywood glamour look, with bouncy curls and striking red lipstick.

The bouquets from Fleur Amour Wedding Florist were chilling in the shower, and the Deer Park weddings team were busily making sure everything was ready, tidying up the final details in the Orangery and ensuring every place setting was perfect ahead of the wedding breakfast.

Anais’ Martina Liana wedding dress, from Pure Couture was incredible too, and she’d chosen the figure-hugging silhouette to surprise Joe, and really show off her curves.

Meanwhile, Joe was getting ready with his groomsmen, in his bespoke suit from Healy & Son. The boys gathered around to help him with the finishing touches… well, I say help, they took the opportunity to give his beard a playful tug too!

The groomsmen wore tailored Moss Bros suits and looked great alongside Joe as they all headed to the terrace in front of The Summer House ready for the outdoor ceremony.

Outdoor wedding at Deer Park Country House

Anais’ bridesmaids began the walk down the aisle, through the wisteria walkway ahead of Anais on her mum’s arm. The floral arrangements and bouquets had been created by Fleur Amour Wedding Florist in keeping with their Romeo and Juliet inspired white, pink, and red colour scheme. This included the huge pillars of luxurious flowers and foliage at the top of the aisle, framing their emotional ceremony.

I really love this photo of their celebration after saying I do!

Amazing violinist, Hollie Chapman played as they signed the register in the Summer House, before getting showered in confetti as they walked back down the aisle, and then along the driveway with their guests and wedding party following eagerly behind them.

We captured some group photos indoors, out of the glare of the sun and then played with some brightly coloured smoke bombs with their wedding party – it’s amazing what you can do with some fun colour smoke in the breeze!

Then I headed off for a quick photoshoot with Anais and Joe as newlyweds while their guests were entertained by an acoustic set from Lydia. One of the things I love about working as a Deer Park Country House wedding photographer is having the gardens and grounds to explore, so we wandered through the woodland and gardens, stopping for a quick snuggle in the greenhouse in the beautiful walled garden along the way.

Rich strives to always get the best shot – even if this means running around the fields of Deer Park!

Anais & Joe

Deer Park wedding photos

As Anais and Joe were announced in for their wedding breakfast they were met with plenty of cheers and applause. The Orangery is amazing for Deer Park Country House wedding photography as it’s flooded with light and there’s plenty of space to move around. It was a pleasure to capture some funny and emotional moments during the speeches. Anais’ sister impressed everyone with a lovely speech that she had learned completely off by heart (I don’t see that very often!).

There were lots of loving and thoughtful touches throughout the day, including the couple’s choice to make donations to The Brain Tumour Charity as wedding favours, it is a charity close to their hearts as they helped Joe and his family through the loss of his Mum.

After their wedding breakfast, I snuck away with Anais and Joe for a couple of beautifully lit indoor portraits next to the windows, including the details of the venue in their Deer Park Country House wedding photography to frame their silhouette.

Signature cocktails

We returned to join everyone playing garden games and sampling the couple’s signature cocktail, the ‘Jammatini’. It was originally mixed for the launch party of ‘Jamma’, a platform Joe co-founded for independent musicians to find gigs and connect with other musicians. After tasting the drink the Deer Park Country House weddings team loved it so much that they added it to the cocktail menu!

Music was a really important part of their day, and they’d chosen Lydia and Sam, two Jamma artists to play on their wedding day, as well as Hollie the violinist, and the unbelievable all-female party band PYT for the evening (more on that in a moment!). Sam ‘Split the Dealer’ accompanied cocktail hour as the Jammatinis were being passed around happily on the terrace.

Anais and Joe also cut their wedding cake with the same knife his mum and dad had used to cut theirs – which was a really personal and touching tribute. Their towering cake was created by Faye Hodgson from The Natural Cake Company, and their bespoke wedding stationery was from Design by Emily.

The team at Deer Park Country House really knows how to host a wedding, from the pre-wedding fun to the elegance of the wedding ceremony, right through to the party survivors at the end of the night – Every detail had been taken care of and was expertly coordinated by Beth and the Deer Park Weddings team. Whenever I’m working as a Deer Park wedding photographer, I know they’ve got everything covered, and the couple can just enjoy their amazing day.

First dance to kick off the evening

After a romantic first dance to ‘Kissing you’ (another nod to Baz Luhrman’s Romeo and Juliet… and the song that was playing when Joe proposed!), they welcomed their friends and family to the dance floor to join them.

FIREWORKS and partying harder!

Anais changed into a shorter party dress for the evening and we all went outside for a brilliant display from Sonic fireworks. I think that was the moment the party really stepped up a level!

One thing that I will always remember about joining Anais and Joe as their Deer Park Country House wedding photographer is the absolutely EPIC level of partying with their guests in the evening. It went OFF!!

PYT Band

A MASSIVE shoutout to the brilliant all-female party band, PYT. They are experts in getting people up and dancing, and this crowd needed no extra encouragement! The phenomenal Ibiza-interactive party experience they created was off the charts in terms of atmosphere, and everyone had such a brilliant time, piling onto the dancefloor, lost in the music, and celebrating Anais and Joe’s wedding in epic style!

I think this photo of one of the groomsmen straight arming a beer (and his resulting soaking!) is amongst my maddest photos from this year!

The party only slightly calmed down when the boys headed outside for some celebratory cigars, then it was back to the dance to party the night away!

There were still a pretty awesome, hardcore collection of ravers left standing (and still dancing) at the end of the night!

Congratulations Anais and Joe!

The energy and emotion throughout the day were all thanks to this brilliant pair, they’d planned their day to ensure everyone had the best possible time – as you can see from the photos, they really achieved that goal! Congratulations to you both, here’s to a lifetime of great music, Jammatinis, and dancing like your life depends on it! LEGENDS!! xx Rich xx

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Looking for your Deer Park Country House wedding photographer?

If you are looking for a Deer Park Country House wedding photographer, I would love to hear more about your plans! Whether you are getting married in the height of summer or snuggling up by the fire in the winter, I’d love to capture your day. Just get in touch with my Amazing PA, Rhian, to check my availability and we can start planning!

You might also want to check out some more of my recent work at venues across the UK, including as a Jewish wedding photographer (another brilliant party!), and this wedding at the Crazy Bear in Stadhampton. There’s loads of inspiration available over on my wedding adventures page, so grab a cuppa (or something bubbly) and enjoy!