Gloucestershire Wedding Photographer – Joey and Jenessa

Where do I start with the lovely Joey and Jenessa? Since I first met them in January 2020 at Bristol Wedding Show, I knew I would love working with them as their Gloucestershire wedding photographer. A florist and an animator with the most smiley, and colourful outlook on life – these two are sunshine in human form!

Being an award winning wedding photographer is all well and good – but being part of people’s lives, part of their story… that’s what really gives me LIFE! As a team, this one goes down in the ‘totes emosh’ category for happiness, love and #relationshipgoals!

With the chaos of 2020, Joey and Jenessa had to rearrange their wedding date several times and we’ve done everything to make sure I could still join them to capture their wedding in Gloucestershire. It’s been a team effort, between Joey, Jenessa and my Amazing PA (official title) Rhian, everything was rearranged (and rearranged again) with minimal stress. Joining them on their wedding day was an absolute pleasure, a gorgeous day for the most incredible couple.

Here’s the story of their day and some highlights of their wedding. This is not the first time I’ve been a Kingscote Barn Wedding Photographer and the venue looked just as spectacular as ever, with a dash of J&J’s colourful creativity to make it extra special.

Gloucestershire Wedding Photographer

I arrived in Gloucestershire on a beautiful sunny day and joined Jenessa, her mum and her bridesmaids as they got ready in the bridal suite, a calming environment with high ceilings decorated in soft pastel shades. Jenessa was having her make up done by Amy Rose Makeup (who I actually saw a few times that week at different weddings in Gloucestershire). The bridal suite has a really nice open area for make up and hair teams to work, they even have a little kitchen area for those essential wedding munchies!

The final decorative touches were being perfected by Kirsten Butler, ‘The Little Wedding Helper’ , who was busy sorting everything for the day ahead. The atmosphere was great amongst the suppliers, all really happy to finally be back at a wedding after the madness of 2020. 100% good vibes as we all smiled and chatted about the plans for the day.

Barn Wedding in Gloucestershire

Jenessa’s dress was by Madi Lane Bridal from Wild Flora Bridal – East Sussex, a stunning fitted lace dress in a boho wedding style perfect for the day. Her bridesmaids in coral dresses from We are Rewritten in a variety of styles that looked so beautiful in the Gloucestershire Countryside.

Special mention to Merlin the Labradoodle who joined the bridal party wearing his very dapper ‘Best Dog Suit’ from Mutts and Marriage. I LOVE dogs at weddings, and Merlin did his job beautifully (more about that later!)

Joey was getting ready in the Oak room, toasting whiskey with his brother Jacob, and his friend Steve with his fiancée Emma. The boys wore matching suits and waistcoats chosen with the assistance of Darren from Stumper and Fielding, they combined rustic style and a pop of colour that was really important to this colourful and creative couple. They also had bow ties and pocket squares made to include their favourite colour yellow, from The Belfast Bow Company.

An hour before leaving for the wedding, Joey (who is an incredibly talented stop motion animator, check out his work!) put together an adorable short animation using Lego mini-figures they had made of themselves six years earlier – you can watch it on Instagram, how cute is this?!

Barn Wedding in Gloucestershire

Before the ceremony, I took some final shots of the details of the day that had been so lovingly thought of, from the table plans to the vibrant lanterns hanging from the ceiling of the barn.

Let’s just talk about the flowers, ALL the flowers. Jenessa is a florist and that was very clear from the unbelievable florals on display. The couple sourced as many English grown blooms as possible for their bold wildflower/meadowscape theme. Jenessa’s former colleague Emma Norton produced the mind blowing arrangements and installations around the barn using stock from Pipley Flowers. Jenessa put together bouquets for herself and her bridesmaids and I think you’ll agree the overall effect on the day was totally WOW!

As the guests began to arrive, wearing the now standard face masks, you could still see the smiles and their eyes lighting up as they saw the beautifully decorated wedding barn. We managed to do a lot of things outside the barn so masks could be removed, so it was perfect timing for the British summer to arrive!

Gloucestershire Wedding Photography

Jenessa and Joey finally got to say their vows and had written wonderful personalised messages to each other. Afterwards, myself, the guests and other suppliers agreed that we would happily have married Joey too! Jenessa was worried how she would follow such beautiful words from Joey, but she did so exquisitely. We all cheered and cried as they became Mr and Mrs Hawks!

The Oak Linhay at the side of the main barn had been filled with flowers cascading from the oak beams. We captured some portraits there and a cheeky Boomerang Gif with the bridal party that is all over social media now! The couple and their friends and family were so natural and relaxed, perfect for a Gloucestershire Wedding Photographer to capture against the backdrop of beautiful countryside and their vibrant floral arrangements.

Barn Wedding – Afternoon Tea and Lawn Games

Their wedding breakfast was another nod to the couple’s story, with a colourful and relaxed afternoon tea (Joey and Jenessa are the King and Queen of afternoon teas!), their menu was created and customised by Cleverchefs. I was kindly provided with my own afternoon tea, the same as the guests, which I enjoyed on the mezzanine over looking the main barn, snapping a few shots from overhead without having to disturb them as they enjoyed their meal.

The soundtrack of the day was a collection of string quartet cover versions of different film and television scores, again representing the couple and their own origin story!

Afternoon tea was followed by lawn games in the sunshine, there was a real family festival vibe as everyone laughed and played Connect 4, Giant Jenga, Boules and a VERY competitive ‘Wedminton’ tournament!

Merlin the dog enjoyed some off the lead freedom, racing around and getting cuddles and belly rubs from the adoring guests. I will say it again, I love dogs at weddings, they are a huge part of your family so it’s only right they should join you on your big day.

Outdoor Wedding in Gloucestershire

We asked the venue if it would be ok to take the cake outside to cut it, and with the assistance of Michael from the catering company we carefully moved the cake (made by Jenessa’s very talented sister) out into the sunshine. While we were on a roll with the outdoor activities, Jenessa and Joey also had their first dance outside as the sun set and the clouds parted. It was for a lovely evening spent as a Gloucestershire wedding photographer, overlooking the beautiful countryside views that I love at Kingscote Barn.

I captured some lovely low light portraits with off camera flash and then was invited to stay on and sit around the fire pit; toasting marshmallows, sharing stories, and laughing with Joey and Jenessa and their guests. One of my final shots of the day was of the three of them (Baby ‘Sbub’ Hawks included) cuddled up together by the fire.

Joey and Jenessa – We’re invested in this story now….

I am genuinely honoured to have been able to capture this gorgeous day and to get to know two beautiful souls. I can’t wait to welcome their little one to the world when she arrives later in the year, with parents so in love and so happy and creative she’s bound to be another little force of nature!

Thank you so much J&J for welcoming me to your day, for feeding me, making me laugh and cry and genuinely becoming such great friends to us – here’s to the future!