Beautiful Sopley Mill, nestled on the banks of the river Avon in Dorset, has it all as a wedding venue, and I have to say I loved every minute photographing Caroline & Darryl's wedding there in the early Autumn sunshine. With its ceremony room, reception spaces, bar and bridal prep room spread across its several floors, interesting features, extensive grounds and magnificent views, it's entirely self-contained and perfectly set-up for exclusive use for the day. Ideal from a photographer's point of view - less time travelling between venues means more time taking photos! And there was certainly no shortage of things to photograph at this one, with such a fantastic couple and so much going on...
Sopley Mill venueVenue exterior and grounds
Sopley Mill wedding photography floral detailsFlower arrangements and details
Sopley Mill wedding photographyDress and shoes
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography interior detailsFloral displays
Sopley Mill wedding photographyHair and make-up prep at Sopley Mill
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography portraitBridesmaids at Sopley Mill
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography flower girlBride and flower girl in Sopley Mill dressing room
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography bride and bridesmaidsBride and bridesmaids together
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyOutside Sopley mill
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography guests Candid photos of wedding guests
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography groomPortrait of groom at Sopley Mill
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography groom and best manGroom and best man relaxing
While Caroline was getting ready - and managing to stay more or less hidden from the guests as they started to arrive - in the huge dressing room on the first floor, Darryl was downstairs (looking appropriately calm and composed) to greet them all, and we were able to grab a few moments to nip into the building for a few portraits with his best man, taking advantage of the fantastic and very atmospheric old workings of the mill - all wheels and cogs and ancient timbers - before heading on up to the ceremony room. Meanwhile, everyone was enjoying the glorious sunshine and exploring the grounds, taking in the gorgeous views across the river Avon and the water meadows beyond. Eventually however, they were all assembled upstairs and ready for Caroline to make her entrance...
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyDetails shots with groom
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyGroom before ceremony
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyMother of the bride portrait
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography start of ceremonyFlower girl and bridesmaids
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography bride arrivesBride makes her entrance
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyBride and groom
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography ceremonyWedding ceremony at Sopley Mill Dorset
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyBlack and white marriage photos
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyBride portrait
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography exchange of ringsExchange of rings at Sopley Mill wedding
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography flower girlCandid photo of flower girl
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography signing the registerBride and groom at table to sign register at Soppley Mill
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography bouquet and photosFloral details and guest at Sopley Mill
Sopley Mill Dorest wedding photography ceremony roomView from back of ceremony room
Sopley Mill wedding photography ceremonyBride and groom walk down aisle
Immediately after the ceremony it was downstairs and into the sunshine for drinks served on the terrace, with the bridge spanning the Avon rushing below. Bags of space for people to spread out here, with seating dotted around the gardens and little hidden corners to explore. Also, plenty of options for group photos which is great news for me, including the holy grail of a fantastic vantage point at height, up on the fire escape, for the big group photo with the river and the Dorset countryside stretching out into the distance beyond.
Before heading up to the reception room for afternoon tea (another big tick - a whole separate floor for this meaning no need for a quick turnaround of the ceremony room) I nipped up to capture some of the details, and these were details well worth capturing: afternoon tea turned up to 11! Along with the beautifully coordinated crockery, tying in perfectly with the country feel of the day, there were cakes in abundance. The bride's mother had taken it upon herself to bake the cakes herself and had, well, approached this task with enthusiasm. I've never seen so many cakes in my life; there must have been at least half a cake per guest, or every shape and flavour, and these are ll, proper sized cakes we're talking about here, not fairy cakes and cupcakes. Along with the scones, sandwiches, scotch eggs and all the rest the tables (and, I suspect, quite a few of the guests!) were positively groaning! An absolutely incredible spread.
Sopley Mill wedding photography venue exteriorVenue exterior after ceremony
Sopley Mill wedding photography guestsCandid shots of guests
Sopley Mill wedding photography group photoGroup photo of all wedding guests
Sopley Mill wedding photography guests in black and whiteCandid photos of guests
Sopley Mill wedding photography guests 2Candid colour photos of wedding guests
Sopley Mill wedding photography bride and bridesmaidsBride and bridesmaids in gardens
Sopley Mill wedding photography bride and bridesmaids 2Portraits of bride with bridesmaids
Sopley Mill wedding photography reception set-upDetails of wedding reception room
Sopley Mill wedding venue reception cakesWedding cakes
Sopley Mill wedding venue reception cutting cakeBride and groom cut the wedding cake
Sopley Mill wedding venue reception afternoon teaGuests enjoying afternoon tea at Sopley Mill wedding
Sopley Mill wedding venue reception candid photos of guestsGuests at reception
Sopley Mill wedding venue receptionFlower girl during wedding reception
Sopley Mill wedding venue reception bride and groom with guestsBride and groom with guests
Sopley Mill wedding venue reception guests during speechesGuests watch the speeches
Sopley Mill wedding venue reception speechFather of the bride speech
Sopley Mill wedding venue receptionGuest reactions during speeches
Sopley Mill wedding venue receptionGuest reactions
Sopley Mill wedding venue receptionGroom's speech
Sopley Mill wedding venue reception speechesWedding reception
As the sun drew towards the horizon over the water meadows the light reach that wonderful stage - the golden hour - when, if your bride and groom are willing you can capture some truly lovely portraits in the soft evening sunshine. Joy of joys - for Caroline & Darryl's wedding we had the most perfect spell of sunshine, capped off with the most incredible sunshine, and they were more than up for heading off into the countryside for a few photos together before returning to their guests for the start of the evening party. Plenty of time for some more relaxed photos with family and friends, before heading back upstairs for the start of the evening party, kicked off with the first dance. And as the band kicked in the the guests hit the floor it was time to discretely slip away for the long, dark journey back to Winchester (and a huge pig pile of photos to edit!
Sopley Mill wedding photography couple portraitsBlack and white portraits
Sopley Mill wedding photography couple portraitsCouple in countryside
Sopley Mill wedding photography couple portraits outdoorsCouple in countryside
Sopley Mill wedding photography couple portraits evening lightCouple together in water meadows in evening light
Sopley Mill wedding photography couple portraits evening Sun setting over water meadows
Sopley Mill wedding photography couple portraits bridgeCouple together on the bridge over the river next to Sopley Mill
Sopley Mill wedding photography groom and ushersGroom and ushers by wall
Sopley Mill wedding photography groom portraitBlack and white photo of groom
Sopley Mill wedding photography first danceCouple's first dance at Sopley Mill
Sopley Mill wedding photography evening partyBride and guests dancing
Sopley Mill wedding photography dancingGuests dancing
Sopley Mill wedding photography sunsetBride and groom sunset portrait
Sopley Mill wedding photography sunset silhouetteBride and groom silhouette