I was super excited to be visiting Vaulty Manor for the first time as an Essex wedding photographer. You’ll find this rural wedding venue located at Goldhanger near Maldon in Essex & once found, it makes quite the impression. You’re greeted with a custom white gate displaying the venues name upon arrival. This opens up to a stunning gravel pathway and a stereotypical English country cottage at the end. The perfect setting for a wedding day.
The main feature at Vaulty Manor is the historic 17th century Baronial barn. This can comfortably house weddings up to 200 guests & in my humble opinion should be on the shortlist of every engaged couple looking for wedding venues in Essex.
VAULTY MANOR FEATURED WEDDING
I love the fact that everything is in one place at this gorgeous wedding venue. The bride (Keeleigh) had a full-on cottage to get ready in that backs onto an outdoor swimming pool (it’s ok for some huh). The groom (Lee) got ready in a room with an on-suite bathroom just outside the gates of where Keeleigh was staying. This made it easy to go back and forth between the two to get the coverage they wanted.
The groom’s coverage never really takes too long and before you knew it, the suits were on and out came the whisky. I’ll often capture the scene as it unfolds and then return to the bride until the start of the ceremony.
There will almost certainly be more action in the bride’s quarters and Keeleigh did not disappoint. We had an emotional first look with dad, gorgeous flower girl portraits, special family moments & of course the unveiling of the Louboutin wedding shoes.
Keeleigh and Lee opted to get married outside in the glorious Essex sunshine. It’s a stunning location in the grounds behind the white cottage. We had happy tears and laughter throughout the ceremony which ended smoothly and without a single hiccup.
Once you’ve tied the knot, everyone heads back towards the cottage and round to the other side where the barn is located. On the other side of the barn is where you’ll be greeted with drinks and canapes.
You’ll see a huge wheat field as you walk out of the doors to the barn, which for me, sparked a lightbulb moment. I used these golden fields throughout the day as it’s not something you come across all the time at wedding venues. I took the couple to various locations around Vaulty Manor and eventually ended up back to where the wedding guests were mingling.
Not all guests were mingling mind you. Take exhibit A below. He used a chaise longue in the wheat field (because why not?), after telling us he had a good session the night before. We wished him well with the recovery and cracked on with the rest of the celebrations.
The historic barn lays on a wonderful breakfast reception with great service & the speeches were particularly well received by the guests, which is always a good thing for wedding photographers 🙂
The good thing about summer weddings is the fact that you get plenty of sunshine. The wedding party enjoyed the rays for an hour or two after their meal and before the evening celebrations started.
In the evening, you have plenty of room to dance the night away. In between the party my couple even hired a traditional pizza company to keep everyone well fed. A great choice!
They were a lively bunch so the guests couldn’t wait to party. We had the cutting of the cake right before the first dance and then everyone joined in.
My coverage ended in style – with a firework display that was pretty impressive I have to say.
VAULTY MANOR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
If you loved this post and are currently looking into booking Vaulty Manor for your big day, feel free to drop me a message to check my availability for you. I’d certainly love to come back here after my first experience at Keeleigh and Lee’s wedding. Here’s the link for quick access in contacting me: https://chriswoodmanphotography.co.uk/contact/
If you haven’t looked at Vaulty Manor as an option for your wedding venue just yet but would like to enquire now you’ve seen how a full wedding day looks here, you can get in touch with them here: https://www.vaultymanor.co.uk/contact
Thanks for reading guys.
P.S – I have more full day weddings on my blog page if you wanted some extra wedding inspiration.
Until next time
Take care & stay safe
~ Chris
Add a Comment