A beautiful outdoor wedding at south farm in hertfordshire.

Lucy and Brad said:

" We would like to capture a few group photos,

but mostly candid/fun group photos.

We are planning on having our ceremony outside,

with live musicians and a very chilled vibe".

As the months ticked by, I loved hearing their plans evolve and grow.

So let's get into their wedding day story.

In September 2025, I arrived at South Farm. I have shot at this venue a few times, so knew the layout and most of the team and was so glad to be back. I met Lucy in the prep space and was greeted by her very excited bridesmaids and lovely mum, all being glammed by the lovely Beth Mills MUA and The Hummingbird Salon.

Lucy's mum helped her get dressed and then her dad, brothers and sister in law came upstairs to see her.

Their reactions were so special - especially her sister in law, who screamed and then immediately cried.

The bridesmaids all waited at the bottom of the stairs to see their best friend for the first time, fully ready to marry her best friend. This bridesmaids first look was not faffy. I didn't direct other than advise where they should stand, then we just let the moment unfold. Tears of joy all round.

brad's morning

To ensure we could cover both partners prep fully, Lucy and Brad added on a second photographer, so I was joined by my lovely friend Sophie Ruck Photography. The boys arrived at the venue around 12 o'clock to finish getting ready in the drawing room. Plenty of time for some formal shots of them outside before chilling with a whiskey.

styling

Fresh flowers beautifully styled by Violets and Velvet in pinks, peach and orange.

Pink roses were attached to the end seats of the aisle.

Inside the barn single stems in bud vases on the tables with tapered candles.

On each table was the love stories of their parents and grandparents. This is such a beautiful way to honour their stories.

ceremony

A perfect summer outdoor wedding ceremony, overlooking the lake. South Farm is perfect for couples looking for that outdoor, country vibe and really has a chateau feel to the venue and grounds.

The weather was perfect. Lucy walked down the gardens to meet Brad and they

walked together to the lake house to get married.

confetti

Warning!

If you have an amazing beard like Brad's - petal confetti will get stuck in it.

They opted for sustainable and biodegradable confetti made of red and pink petals which was a nice contrast against the iconic blue and yellow venue.

private Prosecco tower

Lucy had planned a really intimate moment for her closest girlfriends.

She and Brad had a Prosecco tower set up in the Barn and after confetti and a bit of mingling time, they all sneaked off. Her friends had no idea what was going to happen and they just thought they were watching their fave couple enjoy the tower. But Lucy had planned a lovely surprise. She read out the sweetest and most heart warming speech, thanking her girls for helping get her to where she was today. There wasn't a dry eye around [including mine and Chloe's - the content creator].

Once the speech was finished and everyone was sobbing, the coordinator Hayley played their song, Friends by Ella Henderson. The girls [and Brad] danced, hugged and drank the prosecco. It was very fun and emotional.

This was such a lovely way for Lucy to honour her closest friends on their day - making them feel really special.

couples portriats

There are so many beautiful spots for portraits at South Farm. The front of the venue are the most iconic shots we all see. They also have some beautiful gardens that are in bloom all year round but in summer, look particularly stunning.

An epic photo dash

Lucy and Brad wanted to do a photo dash.

We had discussed this during their planning and talked a lot about how it would work best.

They decided to do this right before dinner and outside. The Best Man explained to everyone how it worked and asked everyone to queue up in their family groups or couples.

Lucy and Brad stood on the lawn and each group ran over for their shot, then went straight in to find their seat in the barn.

This is the best I have seen a photo dash work at a wedding. Some were silly and some were sensible.

As people ran over they shouted things like "let's pout" or "arms in the air".

We got 47 photos in about 8 minutes - meaning they had a photo with every single guest.

the entrance

Lucy and Brad burst into their reception to Shotgun by George Ezra.

All of the guests brought with the best energy, waving napkins and singing and dancing.

the wedding party

As it was summer and we had light until about 9pm, we left the wedding party photos until after dinner.

As standard we did some formal, sensible shots and then I had them moving around, walking and gave some easy prompts to create some more natural but candid style photos.

These took about 15 minutes so I didn't keep them away from the party for too long.