James and Emily – Shuttleworth House Wedding

If I could bottle a wedding, to let everyone know how perfect they can be, this would be the wedding for the job!

A classy and elegant day in the hidden grounds of Shuttleworth, Bedfordshire, with so many opportunities for photos, I was quite literally falling over myself to capture everything.

Emily and James met over 14 years ago, when her sister convinced her to go to a Halloween party at a nightclub in Bedford. James’ band were playing in the club that night, and that is where their story began.

On Christmas Day during lockdown (remember that?!), James told Emily that he had one more present to prepare and that she needed to make herself scarce for a bit. When she came back downstairs, he had prepared a rose petal walk way, leading to himself and a heart made from rose petals too! Their song was playing in the background, and he asked that all important question. What a dream!

Now before this had even happened, they had visited Shuttleworth House with their families, and Emily had fallen in love with the stunning Swiss Gardens, the atmosphere and the peacocks! She just knew it was the place that she wanted to get married.

So of course once James had proposed, there was no doubt as to where they would be tying the knot.

Emily and James found me via my lovely friend and wedding business buddy Jodie Gearing Bespoke Jewellery Design. Jodie had designed Emily’s stunning engagement ring and luckily for me, Jodie referred them to the house next door, where I live, to discuss all things photography!

I fell in love with their sweet nature immediately and just knew that we were going to be a good match. I only had to wait a few hours, because Emily dropped me a message and confirmed that she wanted to have me as their wedding photographer. I honestly believe these things are meant to be!

“Nicola was absolutely amazing from start to finish, she is exactly what you need on your special day, you can tell she has a real passion for what she does and really loves her work”

The wedding day started with lovely, girly bridal prep in the Pink Room at Shuttleworth House. All of the girly photos happened with myself, and then my lovely colleague Carieanne went to shoot all of the guys getting ready.

Emily had given me a few ideas for some shots in bridal prep, and it was so lovely to recreate these for her. We had lovely shots of her mum getting her into her dress, and then a tearful first look with Dad too.

The ceremony was so sweet and emotional, and it was such a pleasure to watch these guys finally tie the knot.

We did some group photos outside the front of the house and then the adorable White Rose bus which is unique to Shuttleworth, transported guests to the Swiss Gardens for a browse and of course for photos.

The gardens here are stunning! With little bridges, an abundance of flowers, a grotto and roaming peacocks, you honestly couldn’t ask for more of a picturesque area for photos.

“Nicola went above and beyond to make sure everything ran smoothly on our day and she actually felt like part of the bridal party”.

With a brilliant bridal party, who were up for a giggle and so helpful with all things on the day, the photo session was a breeze.

My favourite part of the day is always bride and groom portraits! Emily and James were absolute naturals at posing together. You can’t even call it posing, they just blended together, interacted so naturally, and we could just capture what was in front of us. A true dream.

Of course as Emily is all about the peacocks, we had to go for a little stroll to find for a little photo opportunity!

Some quirky wedding photos on the bus, and then back to the main house for speeches and the wedding breakfast. The reception room was full of blossom trees and they looked so wonderful in front of the dark wooden panelling of the room.

With a gaming bus, cigars and so much dancing, the evening reception was just as brilliant to capture as the rest of the day!

It was such a joy to capture these guys, and I honestly smile every time I look back at their photos!

Get in touch if you would like to talk about the photography for your wedding day.