Sopley Mill Dorset Wedding Photography - Caroline & Darryl

October 27, 2014  •  Leave a Comment

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...

View of Sopley Mill and surrounding countrysideSopley Mill venueVenue exterior and grounds Floral decorations at the entrance to the millSopley Mill wedding photography floral detailsFlower arrangements and details Wedding dress and bride's shoes arranged in one of the ground-floor roomsSopley Mill wedding photographyDress and shoes Colourful flowers at Sopley MillSopley Mill Dorest wedding photography interior detailsFloral displays

Black and white images of bride and bridesmaid working on hair and make-up in front of mirrors in the bridal dressing room.Sopley Mill wedding photographyHair and make-up prep at Sopley Mill Bridesmaids getting ready in front of mirror in the dressing roomSopley Mill Dorest wedding photography portraitBridesmaids at Sopley Mill Black and white photo of bride and flower girl before ceremonySopley Mill Dorest wedding photography flower girlBride and flower girl in Sopley Mill dressing room Black and white photo of bride and bridesmaids before ceremony in venue dressing roomSopley Mill Dorest wedding photography bride and bridesmaidsBride and bridesmaids together Flower girl looks out of a window as guests arrive at Sopley Mill for the wedding ceremonySopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyOutside Sopley mill Wedding guests arriving at Sopley mill before the start of the ceremonySopley Mill Dorest wedding photography guests Candid photos of wedding guests The Groom seated by the old workings of the water mill on the ground floor of the venueSopley Mill Dorest wedding photography groomPortrait of groom at Sopley Mill Groom with his best man in one of the smaller reception rooms on the ground floor of the millSopley 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...

Detail shots of rings and botton-hole at Sopley Mill wedding venueSopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyDetails shots with groom Groom waiting for bride to arrive in Sopley Mill wedding ceremony roomSopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyGroom before ceremony Black and white photos in Sopley Mill ceremony room before weddingSopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyMother of the bride portrait Flower girl and bridesmaids walk down the aisle at the start of the wedding ceremonySopley Mill Dorest wedding photography start of ceremonyFlower girl and bridesmaids Bride arrives at the start of the wedding ceremonySopley Mill Dorest wedding photography bride arrivesBride makes her entrance Bride and groom together in the ceremony room for the start of the marriageSopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyBride and groom Documentary photography or marriage ceremonySopley Mill Dorest wedding photography ceremonyWedding ceremony at Sopley Mill Dorset The wedding ceremony at Sopley MillSopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyBlack and white marriage photos Portrait of bride with guests in the background during the wedding ceremony at Sopley MillSopley Mill Dorest wedding photographyBride portrait Colour photos of ring exchange during Sopley Mill wedding ceremonySopley Mill Dorest wedding photography exchange of ringsExchange of rings at Sopley Mill wedding Flower girl during wedding at Sopley MillSopley Mill Dorest wedding photography flower girlCandid photo of flower girl Bride and groom relax at the table after making their vows and before signing the registerSopley Mill Dorest wedding photography signing the registerBride and groom at table to sign register at Soppley Mill Detail of bride's bouquet and guests taking photos during wedding ceremonySopley Mill Dorest wedding photography bouquet and photosFloral details and guest at Sopley Mill Bride and groom in sun-lit wedding ceremony room at Sopley MillSopley Mill Dorest wedding photography ceremony roomView from back of ceremony room Black and white photo of bride and groom walking down the aisleSopley 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.

Guests enjoying the grounds of the venueSopley Mill wedding photography venue exteriorVenue exterior after ceremony Guests in the grounds of Sopley Mill after the wedding ceremonySopley Mill wedding photography guestsCandid shots of guests Photo of wedding guests with river Azon and countryside in the backgroundSopley Mill wedding photography group photoGroup photo of all wedding guests Natural photos of guests during post-ceremony drinks reception at Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding photography guests in black and whiteCandid photos of guests Guests in the outdoor space at Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding photography guests 2Candid colour photos of wedding guests Colour photo of bride and bridesmaids sat on a bench in the gardens of Sopley Mill by the riverSopley Mill wedding photography bride and bridesmaidsBride and bridesmaids in gardens Natural light photos of bride portraits with bridesmaids at Sopley Mill in DorsetSopley Mill wedding photography bride and bridesmaids 2Portraits of bride with bridesmaids Tables set up for afternoon tea at Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding photography reception set-upDetails of wedding reception room Cakes and flowersSopley Mill wedding venue reception cakesWedding cakes Cutting of the cake at Sopley Mill weddingSopley Mill wedding venue reception cutting cakeBride and groom cut the wedding cake Afternoon tea in the top-floor reception roomSopley Mill wedding venue reception afternoon teaGuests enjoying afternoon tea at Sopley Mill wedding Documentary photos of guests at wedding receptionSopley Mill wedding venue reception candid photos of guestsGuests at reception Keeping the children entertained during Sopley Mill wedding receptionSopley Mill wedding venue receptionFlower girl during wedding reception Bride and groom spending time with wedding guests during afternoon tea reception at Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding venue reception bride and groom with guestsBride and groom with guests Black and white photos of guests watching at the start of the wedding speechesSopley Mill wedding venue reception guests during speechesGuests watch the speeches Bride reaction during father of the bride wedding speech at Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding venue reception speechFather of the bride speech Wedding guests at Sopley Mill smiling during the speechesSopley Mill wedding venue receptionGuest reactions during speeches Black and white photos of wedding guests at Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding venue receptionGuest reactions Colour photos of groom's wedding speech at Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding venue receptionGroom's speech Speeches during Sopley Mill wedding speechesSopley 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!

Natural light photos of couple inside millSopley Mill wedding photography couple portraitsBlack and white portraits Black and white photo of couple walking along country track near Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding photography couple portraitsCouple in countryside Colour photos of couple together in countryside near Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding photography couple portraits outdoorsCouple in countryside Golden hour sunshine photo of couple together near Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding photography couple portraits evening lightCouple together in water meadows in evening light Soft evening light over the water meadows by Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding photography couple portraits evening Sun setting over water meadows Colour photo of couple on bridgeSopley Mill wedding photography couple portraits bridgeCouple together on the bridge over the river next to Sopley Mill Black and white photo of groom and ushersSopley Mill wedding photography groom and ushersGroom and ushers by wall Black and white groom portrait with ushers in backgroundSopley Mill wedding photography groom portraitBlack and white photo of groom Bride and groom on the dance floorSopley Mill wedding photography first danceCouple's first dance at Sopley Mill Bride and guests on the dance floor at Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding photography evening partyBride and guests dancing Guests dancing during wedding reception at Sopley MillSopley Mill wedding photography dancingGuests dancing Bride and groom in front of colourful sunsetSopley Mill wedding photography sunsetBride and groom sunset portrait Bride and groom sunset silhouette at Sopley Mill DorsetSopley Mill wedding photography sunset silhouetteBride and groom silhouette


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