stratton court barn wedding, Tarryn & Phil

I love a Stratton Court Barn wedding, It's such a beautiful place to get married and provides a great backdrop for the photos.Tarryn & Phil Finally got to tie the knot after many postponements due to covid restrictions.  The wedding was fantastic, especially as the couple had to wait so long.  It was great being their photographer and capturing all the raw emotions.

Here's what Tarryn had to say about their wedding

What was your favourite part of the wedding?After such a long wait (4 rescheduled dates!) due to covid, it was so wonderful to have our friends and family with us and the day would not have been the same without them. Everything about our day was amazing but those we had there were what really made it special. We had friends and family travel from all over - including Germany and the US and had so much support from those there in the run up to the day.

Please let me know about any personal or DIY touches you added to make the day a little more ‘you’.We are both quite creative and enjoyed making as many decorations as we could. We have been growing succulents for the last year or so in order to use them as place settings on the day. We also made our centre pieces which were terrariums with more succulents. Tarryn is part of a group called 'The Oxford Drunken Knitwits' so knew she wanted to incorporate knit/crochet items on the day. She made crochet cake toppers - a mini bride and groom. These were her favourite make of the day and she has since had a commision from another couple who came to the reception. Phil also made our pallet sign for the order of service, the arrow for 'Spencer Wedding' and the frame for our table plan (which was then later used for photos).

Why did you choose your venue?We wanted to have our ceremony and reception all in 1 place. We looked at registered wedding venues in Oxfordshire and focused on barns. We viewed a few venues and this one felt like a really good fit to us. It is a little smaller than some other barns (which we preferred) but it felt more intimate and the right fit for the number of guests we wanted. It had excellent reviews online and after meeting Karin (who coordinates the weddings there), we knew it was the right choice. The venue hire price included her support and she was excellent throughout the planning process.

How did you find using Lee Dann Photography, were there any particular things about my approach that you liked, and how did you feel about the photos once you received them?Phil found Lee on Instagram. We liked the idea of candid shots / reportage photography and loved the shots he had shared online. All of the weddings he had covered looked so fun and his photos were different and interesting. We knew that this is how we hoped our own wedding would be and when we saw that he had also won an award recently, we knew it was the right choice. His approach was great and it really showed that he had prepped for the day and we knew he would get some excellent photos. He had some interesting approaches when it came to the shots of just the 2 of us and everyone has commented that these are among some of their favourites for the day. Lee kindly shared a few photos on Instagram in the lead up to them all being ready and that was so fun to see whilst we waited for the final edit. We have been on such a high from the day and seeing these snippets kept that alive for us (as well as our guests who were just as eagerly awaiting the final photos!)

If you were doing it all again what would be the one bit of advice you’d give yourself at the start of the planning process?Had we known at the start that we were attempting to marry during a pandemic - it would be to expect last minute changes! We certainly became experts on our 4th attempt of how to reschedule everything. This did however highlight what was most important to us when the day eventually came around. We would say that drawing on the skills of your family and friends can really help with the planning process though. Many will be keen to help in whatever way they can and this can really take the pressure off having too much to do yourself. Friends and family can also provide great recommendations and we used this to find smaller, local businesses to provide supplies on the day.

A small collection of images of Tarryn & Phil's Stratton Court Wedding

Wedding Photography at Stratton Court Barn

I have photographed many weddings in Oxfordshire's Barns and I always totally see why couples choose to get married at venues such as Stratton Court Barn. They are brimming with character and history.  If it's that rustic charm you are looking for, this really is the place.  The photo opportunities are endless and it is a dream venue for a photographer, with so many fantastic options available.I really loved working with Tarryn & Phil, It was such an intimate, heartwarming day.I hope you enjoy the photos and if you are planning a wedding I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for looking.

Suppliers

The Flower Ladies (Kidlington)Something Borrowed Event Hire (supplier for festoon lights). www.sbeh.co.ukEmma Goodwin Hair and Make UpS&J Cuisine (caterers)