I met a lady a few years back at Becca and Phil’s wedding, at the time I didn’t know her name.
I remembered her fondly because she was the most excited about sparklers and the subject of one of my favourite photos. It was contagious – potentially the happiest face I’ve seen in a photograph ever. She’d been a fun and lively guest all day – but when the sparklers came out, she turned it up to 11.
Fast forward a year or so, an enquiry drops into my inbox – Lovely sounding lady called Lara, getting married to a guy called Oli in Leatherhead – she found me through Becca and Phil.
Wait, could this be?
It was.
Sparkler Lady!
Sparkler Lady, or Lara as she is actually known, wanted me to photograph her wedding. Naturally, I was very excited. Their day lived up the hype.
Lara and Oli had the most amazing day split between Beaverbrook and St Johns School.
Beaverbrook Weddings are amazing luxurious affairs, and I can’t think of a lovelier place to get ready before a wedding – so we’ll start with Lara and the girls there:
And we couldn’t finish their wedding without revisiting the photo that started it all!! Lara and her love of Sparklers is legendary!
Lara and Oli got married in Surrey, at the beautiful St Johns School in Leatherhead. It’s a little bit away from our usual Sussex territory, but we love travelling all over the country for weddings.
Beaverbrook Weddings
Lara got ready at the nearby Beaverbrook hotel, surrounded by her family – who are all equally as fun as Lara. Beaverbrook is the most incredible hotel in Surrey and made for a wonderful place to start the celebrations. It was also a total pleasure to work with (former Faz bride) Becca – who did Lara and the girl’s makeup to absolute perfection (She’s a star! If you need a makeup artist, book her, you wont regret it.)
Wedding Venue Leatherhead : St Johns School
Once everyone was looking amazing they headed over St Johns Chapel for the overwhelmingly emotional ceremony.
St Johns isn’t a traditional wedding venue, in fact, its a school, and not just any school – it’s the school Young Oli went to.
I’ve noticed schools are becoming quite popular wedding venues now – places like Hampton Court House are hosting incredible weddings, and it’s wonderful to see St John’s getting in on the action – it’s a beautiful place, and one that obviously meant a lot to Lara and Oli.
Natural Wedding Photography
Lara and Oli are brilliantly fun people and clearly incredibly popular – effortlessly filling the school with hundreds of their nearest and dearest. Lara has an impeccable eye for detail and had clearly spent a long time dreaming about how the day would look – bringing together some of the finest vendors and combining beautiful up lighters with the most wonderful table decorations to create the most sophisticated reception. A wedding this late in the year (it took place in October) had the potential to be cold, but this day was anything but. Officially, it was freezing. But emotionally – it was one of the warmest days we’ve had the pleasure of capturing.
And, of course, there were sparklers…
Huge Thanks to Lara and Oli for having us along (we made a film of the day too!) and for everyone else that made the day so special.
Hotel: Beaverbrook
Venue: St Johns School
Makeup: Becca Gray
Hair: Roxy Farrier
Dress: Alan Hannah
Bridesmaids Dresses: Jenny Packham
Music: Epsom Male Voice Choir
Music: Don Cook Jazz trio
Flowers: Elaine – Town and County Flowers