“OH MY GOD!!!  THEY ARE AMAZING!  THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!  YOU HAVE DONE AN AMAZING JOB AT OUR COGGES MANOR FARM WEDDING, WE CAN’T WAIT TO SHARE THESE.” 

Carly & Jonny had a Humanist celebration at Cogges Manor Farm in Witney. Farm weddings are always great fun and each time are completely different. The Humanist style meant it wouldn’t be legally recognised so they went to the registry office a couple of days later to do the formal bits. Rather than getting an official Humanist celebrant,a family friend performed the duties. This worked really well and he did an amazing job. It made the day even more personal for Carly & Jonny as they were able to write the ceremony themselves. It also meant that when Carly was an hour late he didn’t mind waiting!

You can find these guy’s pre-wedding shoot over on the blog. They weren’t keen at all on doing one, thinking it would be really awkward. However, afterwards Carly said it meant on the day itself they knew how I8 work and what to expect! I also got to know them a bit better and heard the interesting story of Jonny’s proposal. Travelling through South America, on Carly’s birthday, they had been trekking into the second deepest canyon in the world in south Peru. Jonny proposed when they had got to the top and Carly said yes, despite being all sweaty, red and out of breath!

Why choose Cogges Manor Farm as your wedding venue?

A Cogges Manor farm wedding is often individualised to the couple. The decor is left to the couple’s imagination and in truth anything is possible. Couples aren’t tied into anything and can do everything themselves. Keeping everything DIY was important to Carly & Jonny; wanting the day to be as sustainable as possible so they didn’t buy loads of brand new things that might only get used once. Cogges Manor Farm weddings are held in a beautiful old barn which is a charity run heritage farm. The charity has also done conservation work on the River Windrush – something which remains close to Carly’s heart as she works in freshwater ecology.

They kept everything home-made and second hand wherever possible and spent a good eighteen months trawling the car boots and charity shops for vintage bargains. Carly made over 200 ft of bunting from scratch and Jonny made a variety of pickles and chutneys for wedding favours. Parents grew wild flowers in their gardens which were used to decorate the tables.  Jonny’s sister, Rosie,  made beautiful wedding bands from recycled silver. A great touch in my eyes was inviting guests to take part in a baking competition. Not only was this a creative way of getting lots of desserts to feed everyone it was a really good conversation starter for guests who didn’t know each other. Jonny is a chef so he did a lot of the day food; a big buffet of bowls of salads and dips, cured salmon, all alongside a pig roast! What a guy!

I love to ask my couple’s a few post-wedding questions. I like to think couples who are planning to get married may be reading these posts and are after a few tips about their own big day! The first question has to be:

Do you have any advice to those planning a wedding now?

Carly: Pinterest became one of my best friends during the preparation stages to help build on existing ideas. The best charity shops in my opinion are the ones in small towns with no students (or hipsters) – you will usually find the best bargains here and the most unusual vintage goods! Jonny: Keeping lunch casual by using communal tables and not having a formal meal structure made everything more relaxing and avoided the over-priced, poor quality typical wedding food!

Were you nervous?

Carly: Even though our bus was 35 minutes late and then we got stuck in terrible traffic I wasn’t nervous. Though a wave of emotion hit me as soon as I linked arms with my Dad outside the barn and heard the music. Jonny: I wasn’t nervous, after all you’ve got all your friends, lots of booze, good food and music all in one place, and I was about to marry my beautiful gal, so no need to be nervous!

Biggest surprise on the day? The weather was so nice, we didn’t realize how hot it was gonna be! And the amazing effort that all our guests went to for the cake competition, they really took it seriously and went all out! Another surprise was how fast the day goes, before you know it it’s coming to the end!

What did you want from your Cogges Manor Farm Wedding Photos?

We really liked how enthusiastic about everything you were, it really put us at ease as neither of us really feel comfortable getting photographed! Lots of our friends commented on how friendly you were and some even thought you were a guest at our wedding! There are so many photos that we have looked at and said to one another “when on earth did Jonny take that?! – I don’t even remember him being there at that moment” so we were really impressed at how you managed to blend into the background and be completely unobtrusive!

SHOUT OUT TO THE COGGES MANOR FARM WEDDING SUPPLIERS

Jonny’s Best man’s band – King Soloman, a ten piece British reggae band
Evening food – Pizza of Dreams, cool pizza set up with vintage van www.pizzadreams.co.uk
Day food – Pig roast from www.lazypig.co.uk

Thinking of getting married at Cogges Manor Farm?  If you like the look of these Cogges Manor Farm wedding photos then please get in touch with Jonny – I’d love to hear more about you, your wedding day plans and what you want from your documentary wedding photographer.