Eloise & Charlie | Mulberry House
Well well well, what have we got here then? Well if you like weddings that involve a first look, a wedding cake table complete with ceremonial ribbon-cutting, couple shots in a bathtub and a massive slice of general hilarity then this is definitely for you.
Eloise and Charlie booked me several years ago (!) as they got mega-organised for their summer wedding at Mulberry House, in Ongar, Essex. I’m always a fan of Mulberry House because (boring factoid alert:) I used to work there as a teenager. I’m a High Ongar gal y’see so it was like going back to my old stomping ground.
Fast forward finally to August 2021, and although C*vid had given us a bit of a rollercoaster as to whether weddings would be going ahead, everyone was delighted that their Mulberry House wedding would be taking place in all its pomp and glory. You’ll see what I mean shortly.
Eloise and Charlie were planning on having a ‘first look’ before their ceremony; you may be familiar with these at weddings outside of the UK but they’re not quite as common here. I personally love a first look, it’s a great opportunity to get some fab photos of just the two of you before you say your vows, and it’s a gorgeous private moment between the two of you if you’re not keen on the whole ‘seeing them on the aisle for the first time’ like it might be a bit overwhelming.
The tears had already started flowing up in the bridal suite just thanks to the enormity of the day starting to sink in, but the floodgates well and truly burst when E+C finally saw each other just before the ceremony. Check out those fab first look pics between the two of them, and if you’re not moved then frankly, you have a cold heart.
After their ceremony, everyone enjoyed casino tables alongside plenty of canapes and booze, including beer, fizz and Pimms, plus a cocktail bar where I enjoyed a cheeky Pina Colada! OK, I chose a non-alcoholic one, because I am a consummate professional.
This was one of those weddings where the speeches were just off the chart! Charlie paid tribute to Eloise’s organising skills and how proud he was of her vocational achievements among others. The groomsmen donned some giant ears for their fab group speech, and special mention to Eloise’s lifelong friend Anna who delivered an absolute piss-your-pants funny speech, which detailed how they probably spent far too much time together growing up. I loved it.
DJ Terry Lewis presided over some brilliant games that got everyone ready to party, and after the ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the cake table, the guests were let loose on the dancefloor, and I imagine the party was pretty wild into the wee small hours. I particularly enjoyed Eloise’s message the following day letting me know she and Charlie had been locked out of the House because they were still raving at 5.00am. Hardcore.
What they said:
“We booked Sally before we had even confirmed our wedding venue. We wanted to make sure we chose the right person to capture our day in a way we could remember it, for the day it was, for the rest of our married lives. A lot of research went into finding the right person and when we stumbled upon Sally's photos we knew she was the one for us.
We are a couple who cringe at having photos taken and were dreading having to pose awkwardly on our wedding day. Sally's candid photography style eliminates those staged looking shots, she manages to captures the essence of a moment in a photo which is exactly what we wanted for our day.
We first met her at our pre-wedding photo shoot. We weren't sure about a location but fortunately she had lots of ideas for us and was happy to make suggestions. We ended up in a gorgeous setting and she somehow knew all the little nooks and crannies that we would never have known existed and that looked amazing in our photos.
We were so nervous about the photo shoot and, as we drove to meet Sally, we were discussing how we couldn't wait to get it over and done with! When we met her, Sally put us at ease right away. She had us laughing the entire time and knew exactly the right things to say to get us feeling natural and relaxed. We ended up loving it! The photos looked incredible and we knew we had absolutely made the right choice choosing her for our wedding day.
On the day, Sally arrived and chatted briefly to me and my bridal party, explaining what the day would entail and reassuring us that she was going to work as unobtrusively as possible and that we likely wouldn't even know she was there most of the day! This turned out to be true - in fact, for most of the day we didn't even notice she was there. Sally worked in a way that let the day flow naturally around her, with no interruptions to ours our our guests' experience.
At times during the day, emotions were very high. I was really anxious about walking up the aisle and Sally knew exactly what to say to put me at ease - I was so grateful for that. Sally felt like more than a photographer in moments like that, she was a friend. There were also times where she confidently took charge and guided us through aspects of the day we truly had no idea about. She was calm and in control and had the answers to everything. She is clearly a woman who lives and breathes weddings and this is exactly what you need on a day when so much is going on and there are so many people to organise.
I have to mention one moment that stands our for me and Charlie on our wedding day. After our wedding breakfast, Sally suggest we go and try something a bit wacky and we went and had some photos in the sunken bathtub at our venue. It had us hysterically laughing, just the three of us, and it was the perfect break from the intensity of the busy wedding day.
We can't say enough good things about Sally. She's a pro at what she does and she is an absolute gem of a person to be around. If you're considering Sally for your wedding, just do it! You will not regret it.
Sally, you're awesome!”
