Brickhouse Vineyard Wedding - Alicia and Ashley
Brickhouse Vineyard is a bespoke wedding venue tucked below the Haldon Hills near Exeter in Devon. It is nicely off the beaten track and has a wonderful secluded feel to it. Brickhouse Vineyard is ideally suited to smaller and intimate weddings and elopements. This meant it was absolutely perfect for Alicia and Ashley who had invited some of their nearest and dearest family and friends to join them for their wedding day.
The start of the Wedding Day
I first met Alicia when I photographed her sister Sophie’s wedding a few years before. It was therefore absolutely lovely to be asked to document her wedding day. On the day of their wedding at Brickhouse Vineyard the weather gods did not appear to be wanting to play nicely. The forecast was for the type of torrential rain that only rural Devon seems to deliver. I went to meet Alicia at a local hotel with the rest of her wedding party. It was a relaxed start to the day and I had a chance to catch up on their families news.
Off to the Brickhouse Vineyard Wedding
With the rain now starting to poor I headed off to Brickhouse Vineyard to meet up with Ashley. The wedding venue is based around an 18th Century Barn and Roundhouse which has views out across the surrounding vineyards to the hills around. It has an absolutely unique feel to it. Somehow both very Devonian but whilst also like you are on the continent in rural France. I met up with Ashley as he was arriving and we dashed into the Roundhouse where the wedding ceremony was due to take place. The wedding guests also started to arrive, shielding from the rain under umbrellas.
We were now set waiting for Alicia to arrive. Working as a wedding photographer in Devon I have spent a fair few hours over the years waiting for brides to arrive. Alicia and the bridal party were travelling in a vintage VW Camper Van. It was fingers crossed that they had managed to get through the tricky conditions on the roads. Luckily they had managed to get through ok and they headed up the lane towards Brickhouse Vineyard. The rain had just started to back off a tiny bit. Alicia peered out from inside of the camper van. Each of the bridesmaids then made the dash into the Roundhouse. We were then left with Alicia who managed to join them without any drama.
The Wedding Ceremony in the Roundhouse
We were now set for the wedding ceremony. One of the things that can make being a wedding photographer tricky is the direction of ambient light in a wedding venue. You really don’t want to be using flash photography during a wedding ceremony. In fact, you and your cameras should be absolutely silent (mirrorless systems have at last done away with the ‘click’). Care has to be taken when shooting a wedding ceremony in the Roundhouse at Brickhouse Vineyard as the most of the light is coming through the large glass windows behind the bride and groom. Just a technical consideration, but one that keeps you on your toes.
A pause in the storm for Bride and Groom Photos.
Despite the storm raging outside, the wedding ceremony went without a hitch and the wedding party was soon in the attached barn. As Alicia and Ashley had opted for a more intimate wedding, there was a lovely feeling to this part of the day. We now had the dilemma of bride and groom photos and the monsoon outside. I had been keeping an eye on the weather and it looked as if rain was temporarily backing off. Not much, but just enough. We rushed outside to see if there was the weather window that we needed. I reckon I had about 4 minutes shooting before the heavens really opened up again. Somehow I managed to get the shots that I wanted – it’s amazing what you can do when really pressed. We ran back inside to the warm and dry barn.
First Dance and the Wedding Party hits the dance floor.
It wasn’t long before the wedding party had taken its seats and the speeches had begun. As always, it was nice to get to know more about the back story to a couples relationship. With speeches over the party was really set to begin. The bride and groom were taking their friends off for an after party at a nearby pub, so they were all set to leave Brickhouse Vineyard by 8pm. With this in the mind they had decided to hit the dance floor early (and they certainly did not disappoint). Alicia and Ashley managed to fit in a first dance before they the rest of the wedding party hit the dance floor. Plenty of shapes were thrown and there was 100 per cent participation.
Sparklers in the Rain, the end of the Brickhouse Vineyard Wedding Day
Just before the wedding party were due to leave, we asked outside again to get some sparkler shots. Once again it was a case of working really fast. The rain hadn’t backed off, but as a few beers had been drunk by this point everyone seemed pretty oblivious to it. Just like that the day my wedding day was over. Alica and Ashely bundled themselves into their waiting VW Camper Van and trundled off down the lane. As if wishing them a fond farewell, there was a tremendous crack of thunder. A fitting end to a stormy, but fun Devon Wedding. Brickhouse Vineyard is one of those wedding venues that makes being a wedding photographer in Devon so fun. Rain or shine, it is a wonderful place and well worth a visit if you are looking for a smaller intimate wedding venue to get married in.
