Ishbel and Chris' intimate, simple and special micro wedding on the cliff tops of Barton-on-sea, Hampshire

I really loved this wedding, for SO many reasons, once of which being that it took place in my favourite restaurant! The restaurant is The Cliff House, and it sits, as the name suggests, perched on the cliff top, overlooking Barton-on-sea's pebbly beach. I've never photographed a wedding there before, and I might not get the chance to again! You see, the Cliff House is not licensed for weddings. This particular, gorgeous couple have been legally married for a while now, and have been waiting patiently, like so many other couples, for lockdown to end, covid to ease up and the chance to celebrate in style with friends and family.

The gorgeous Ishbel and Chris have been together for 11 years. They got engaged when Chris surprised Ishbel with a romantic (child-free!) trip to Bath. They went for a decadent 7 course meal at The Gainsborough Restaurant, and half way through, Chris got down on one knee and proposed. Very brave, in a room full of people - a sure sign that he knew the woman he loves and the mother of his children would say 'yes!'

There were just 25 of their closest friends and family at the beautiful seaside venue, and they had chosen a very classy beach theme for their decor, with guests names on beautiful shells at each table, and candle holders full of sand. Even their stunning cake had beautiful golden shells and seahorses on it.

Pink, white and gold were the colours of the day, with beautiful bouquets of pale pink roses, and two gorgeous bridesmaids dressed in long, pink dresses in different styles. Chris, and their two cute boys had pink ties - one did a lovely reading during the ceremony, and one was 'ring security' for the day.

The lovely Vicky Wesley was the celebrant for the day, and she perfectly captured the relaxed, simple elegant vibes of the day.

My favourite parts of the day are numerous! Anyone who reads my blog knows that I absolutely love the intimate, relaxed and friendly nature of a micro wedding. It's amazing that before lockdown, the idea of just inviting a select few to celebrate your special day would have seemed a strange thing to do, and now it has massively caught on. I say let's keep this trend going! I just love how chatty and friendly everyone is when there is only a small group. There is so much less pressure when you only have 10 family formal photos to get through, rather than 50, and when I know I can get a lovely candid shot of every single guest.

I also loved taking the details photos. I enjoy this side of the 'bridal prep' anyway, and I have built up quite the store of accessories and ribbons and keys and stamps and wax seals and ring boxes to get real impact in the photos of your rings, flowers, shoes, and accessories. Beautiful stationary in particular makes my heart sing, and Ishbel and Chris had some truly stunning stationary that perfectly matched their colour scheme!

I also love that the bride and groom had tried to use as many local vendors as possible. I certainly enjoyed working just a few minutes drive from my house, and at my local beach, which I love so much.

Another part of the day I loved was the bride and groom portraits. We had done an engagement 'practice' photo shoot together in January, so Ishbel and Chris knew what to expect from the poses and my prompts. We got some gorgeous photos on the cliff top in the sunshine, and then, joy of all joys, I found a simply stunning cherry blossom tree, just a few metres down the road from the restaurant, in full bloom, in someone's front garden! Thank you, whoever lives there for letting us use your fabulous tree to capture some of my favourite photos of the day. I get a feeling when i'm doing bride and groom photos of what looks nice, what looks great and what looks completely amazing. I get a tingle of excitement, and I just know that this will be my favourite photo and will be the one that gets printed and put up on the wall - my photo-tingle has never yet been wrong!

The whole day was beautiful and special and I was so thrilled to be a part of it. Take a look below to see some of my absolute favourite photos from the day.

VENDORS:

Dress: Anna McDonald Bridal Gallery

Hair and Make Up: KB Hair and Make Up

Flowers: Flower Vogue, New Milton

Cake: Chillas Cakes

Cake Topper: Etsy Pelmele

Invites: Etsy Beau and Bella Weddings

Table Numbers: Etsy Wish Upon a Calligraphy

Decor: Diamond Lush Events

Celebrant: Vicky Wesley

Venue: The Cliff House, Barton-on-sea