The Ashes Barns in Staffordshire is a wedding venue sought after by couples for its rustic appeal and 50 acres of beautiful surroundings.  I live only a few miles away from the wedding venue in Leek and have shot a good number of weddings there through all seasons.  It’s a stunning converted barn wedding venue that offers so much in the way of wedding photography.

Wedding at The Ashes Barns Staffordshire

On this occasion I was booked by Sian & Matt to photograph their wedding in April, just when the gardens at The Ashes Barns were starting to burst into life as spring took hold.  From speaking with Sian and Matt during their wedding consultation they had some great ideas for their wedding and I was excited to be the photographer to document their day.

As with all weddings at The Ashes, I was allowed on site at 10:30 am to start photographing Sian and Matt’s wedding.  I popped my head into the dressing room to say hello, where Sian was having her make-up applied. Everyone was enjoying the build-up to the wedding and was in high spirits.  There were plenty of little moments to photograph between the bridal party having hair and make-up applied and Sian handing gifts out, which really encapsulated the atmosphere.

I noticed Matt had arrived alongside his best man. I took this opportunity to get some nice shots of the two of them away from the bridal party – no peeking!  We used the lawn in front of the Ashes Hall which always works really well as the sunlight falls perfectly in the morning.  After some nice shots of the boys attaching their corsages, I left them to meet guests arriving and get familiar with the layout of The Ashes.

Making your wedding Unique At The Ashes Barns

One of the features that I was really excited about for Sian and Matt’s wedding was the use of a red classic MG convertible.  This was brought to the wedding by Sian’s dad, who is a keen car enthusiast.  One of the picture requests was to include the car in some photos. I was all over this car when it arrived before the ceremony.  It was stunning and I had so many great ideas for it in their portrait session.  After taking a few photos of the some of the younger guests pretending to drive the car, I set about taking all the details dotted around the venue that Sian and Matt had made.  They had plenty of photographs of themselves in frames at a  very young age.  One photo that couldn’t go unnoticed in the reception barn was of Sian and Matt’s ultrasound scan announcing they were having twins, a girl and a boy – how amazing!!  

It’s stuff like this that makes every wedding unique – you can use the same wedding venue but with different people and it’s a totally different wedding every time. It’s this that I love about my job 🙂

From the number of guests arriving it was clear that the ceremony was soon.  I spent some time photographing family members and friends meeting in the courtyard.  And soon after, The Ashes’ event manager Francesca was ushering people inside the ceremony barn.

The Ashes Barns In Staffordshire

One of the biggest features of The Ashes Barns in Endon is the beautiful converted barns you get married in.  They always photograph so well, boasting rustic character – perfect for different-styled weddings.  From looking at my watch I knew it was time to head back to Sian and her bridal party to photograph them leaving the dressing room.  Sian and her dad looked like they have such a lovely relationship, the two of them joking and laughing before walking across the courtyard.  And it wasn’t long before I was documenting the ceremony of Sian and Matt.  As always at The Ashes Barns the ceremony was lovely and felt intimate in the lovely barn space.  After photographing the happy couple’s exit I captured all the happy moments and allowed everyone to grab a drink before taking the large group photo.  I was having to keep an eye on the weather as we had showers forecast but thankfully it wasn’t too bad so we could get a lovely confetti shot in.  This picture bagged me an editor’s choice award on the international wedding photographers community MYWED – nice!!! You can see this image below with the MYWED watermark logo.  After all the formals it was time for me, Sian and Matt to head off for their portrait session.  

Couple Portraits At The Ashes Barns

I was keen to get pictures taken with the open-top MG sports car just in case the weather changed.  Matt happily took the steering wheel and drove himself and Sian just down The Ashes’ drive and back.  This gave me just enough time to get some shots of the car with them in situ – these turned out great!  Like something out of a film 🙂

After having fun with the car we went for a walk towards the pond near the house where it was nice and shaded, perfect for portraits, and took a few pictures among the daffodils.  On the way back we had some more pictures near the archway before the courtyard and then onto a mock-up: cake cutting.  I only stayed with Sian and Matt for half a day so after they were announced into the dining room and had sat down, I said my farewells and left them to enjoy the rest of their wedding.