Cassie + Harry | The Compasses at Pattiswick wedding
Cassie and Harry’s July wedding at The Compasses in Pattiswick, was one of those weddings you never wanted to end. It had everything: An emotional ceremony, drinks and speeches outside in the glorious summer weather, confetti made of comic book pages, a sneak into the wheat to catch the sun going down, and to top it off, a silent disco!
When I photographed Cassie and Harry for their pre-wedding shoot a little earlier in the summer, I could tell their day was going to be special. They’d planned a relatively intimate day at The Compasses at Pattiswick, one of my favourite venues, just out into the countryside in between Braintree and Coggeshall. Cassie got ready in the bridal room at the venue, along with her mum and close friends, whilst Harry arrived with his best man a little closer to ceremony time. Before guests began to arrive, there’d been a bit of a hitch: a water pipe had burst up the road, and one of the main access roads to the venue had been temporarily closed. Now, I don’t know about you, but this type of issue might freak a lot of brides and grooms, but to their absolute credit, Cassie and Harry were completely unfazed. Talk about relaxed!
Once Cassie was ready and into her dress, I don’t mind telling you I had a completely unexpected little lump in the throat, which does sometimes happen to this hard-faced photographer from time to time! I’m always surprised by what gets me on a wedding day – and seeing Cassie ready to wed was obviously one of those moments. I gave myself an internalised slap around the face, and off we went for the ceremony.
It was an emotionally-charged ceremony, with both Cassie and Harry’s vows being incredibly heartfelt and articulate, but there was some light relief when the officiant noticed Harry’s best man, his brother Thom, hadn’t taken a seat once the ceremony had started, and told him “Do you want to take a seat?” that came out rather funnier than I’m sure she intended. As directed, Thom quickly sat down to avoid any further attention.
Once the important bits were over, the sun shone outside all day, and it was great to capture drinks, games and even speeches outside on a warm summer’s day. Guests were treated to some impressive magic by Nick Crown, and games that included Giant Jenga and archery.
Once all the group photos were done, we rounded things off with confetti – but this was not just any confetti. Harry had painstakingly gone through his comic book collection at home, and both he and Cassie made comic book pages into confetti for the wedding. You’ll have to believe me when I say that their confetti line was one of the most violent and hilarious confetti shots I’ve ever done!! Guests had no mercy!! Check out the photos below and you’ll see what I mean.
After dinner, Cassie and Harry showed their adventurous spirit by jumping in the car with me, and heading down the country lanes a little, so we could catch the last of the beautiful sunset before the sun went down. We ventured out into one of the wheat fields that surround The Compasses, and got some beautiful photographs in golden hour.
Finally, after guests had been enjoying dancing until late, they were surprised with a pair of glow-in-the-dark headphones each, as the new Mr and Mrs had arranged for a silent disco to round off the evening. This was particularly good, as not only did the headphones provide three different channels of music (colour-coordinated), it was absolutely hilarious watching everyone shuffle round the dancefloor in the silent darkness, with occasional out-of-tune singing punctuating the sound of foot-tapping as they danced. It was wicked!
Phew, I think I’ve included just about all the salient points, but this wedding really was one that will remain long in the memory, and I loved it.
Can we do it all again please?
