A Red and Black Summer Wedding at Maidens Barn, Essex
I’d met Jack and Victoria a few months earlier, out among the fields near Abbots Langley for their engagement shoot — one of my favourite spots to bring couples in late spring, when the countryside is at its most alive and the evening light stretches on for hours.
From Engagement Shoot to Wedding Day
It’s an easy, unhurried way to get to know each other properly before the big day, and by the time Maidens Barn came around, Jack and Victoria were completely at ease in front of the camera — that early evening together out in the wheat fields, meant we already had a rhythm going long before the wedding itself.
A Wedding Full of Style at Maidens Barn
The morning began quietly at Pleshey — Victoria surrounded by her bridesmaids, the kind of unhurried preparation that makes for the best photographs, before a white Rolls-Royce carried her the short distance to the church on The Street, arriving in proper style. Jack and the groomsmen cut a dapper figure in black tie, waiting at the front as Victoria walked down the aisle looking every bit as stunning as the day deserved. Confetti fell as the newly married couple stepped out onto the path, before the wedding car carried Jack and Victoria on to Maidens Barn. It was good to see Royal Wedding Films as the videographer and we worked together seemlessly.
Red, Black and Golden Hour at Maidens Barn
Under the arbor, in the shade, a guest sang as everyone gathered for drinks — Pimms, Maidens lager, and a magician working the crowd with quiet sleight of hand. Inside the oak barn, eleven round tables gathered around a top table of eight. Red ran through the bridal party, but it was the black woven into every reception detail — table settings, styling, the finer touches — that gave the evening its edge of real luxury, the flowers from the church standing either side of the newlyweds at the top table.
Bill, a close friend of the couple, announced the wedding party in to their entrance song, and the speeches followed before the wedding breakfast — Victoria’s father and Jack sharing the first words, three more to follow before dessert. As the evening guests arrived, the cake was cut just before eight — one of my favourite shots of the whole day, guests gathered close around Jack and Victoria, cheering as the knife went in, everyone caught up in the moment together.
There’s a particular kind of light that falls over Essex in mid-August, and it found Jack and Victoria at exactly the right moment — the cake cut timed perfectly with golden hour, just as their engagement shoot out at Abbots Langley had been all those months before.
Dancing the Night Away
Jack and Victoria then took to the floor for their first dance. Ozzy & Stix kept the night moving, the dancefloor filling as the light dropped over the barn, and as the evening drew to a close Jack and Victoria stepped outside for one last shot — champagne sprayed between them, caught mid-air, the perfect send-off to a day that had been a very long time in the planning.
Work hard, play a little harder — and Jack and Victoria certainly did both.
“Throughout the wedding Pele helped the day run smoothly and for large parts we forgot he was even there snapping away.” — Jack
Suppliers: Venue: Maidens Barn · Florist: Minoux Flowers · Videographer: Royal Wedding Films · Music: Ozzy & Stix · Hair: Lesley Capon · Make-up: Elaine Marie · Cake: Cakedays · Event hire: EVO Event Hire · Magician: Robert Fox · 2nd Photographer Katie Kishun Photography
Looking For a Maidens Barn Wedding Photographer?
If you’re planning your wedding at Maidens Barn, Essex, and you’re looking for a photographer who combines a calm, organised approach with natural storytelling and a little creative energy when the moment calls for it, I’d love to hear about your plans. Get in touch to check availability for your wedding date.
Looking for more inspiration? See more Essex wedding photography.
