Swallows Nest Barn Wedding

Tom and Ewa had a Swallows Nest Barn wedding in the summer of this year. Coming out of months of lockdown this was the ideal venue.  A rustic barn with exposed beams held the civil ceremony and wedding breakfast.  Adjacent to this, the attractive south-facing walled courtyard has mature olive trees scattered about, thus giving the guests a great backdrop to talk and interact.  Open, airy and spacious this made the venue feel Covid-compliant and safe allowing us to enjoy the main event.  

Situated in a valley, this is an idyllic location for a wedding at the best of times.  But after being in lockdown due to the pandemic,  you could sense the relief of the couple and the delight of their guests as they could finally celebrate together. 

This was my first time shooting here and I was really impressed with the venue, surroundings and staff.  The Swallow’s Nest Barn dates from the 19th Century and has some great, original features that all come together to create an intimate atmosphere as the day turns to night.  The glazed annexe used to host the drinks reception and dancefloor feels really big with its contemporary glass wall facing into the courtyard.  The courtyard, as a result, serves as an outdoor extension of the internal space and this summer wedding played into that feature perfectly.

The private farmland that houses Swallows Nest Barn is only 5 minutes from Warwick and J15 of the M40.   It is set in 350 acres of both farm and woodland.  Therefore it has seemingly endless opportunities for creative images.  I can imagine how throughout the year with the changing seasons, the transformation of the landscape affords every couple a unique experience.  The Sherbourne Brook with its kissing bridge and the surrounding fields with their bales of hay, for example, were features I made good use of.  The fact that the barn is in a valley also allowed for some great closing-out images at sunset, once we had walked up to the treeline of the woods, to catch the dying rays.

It was an excellent wedding and the photo’s below will give you a flavour of how much fun it was.  Below are some of my standout moments and the background to some of the images.

• The stories told in the dressing room while Ewa was getting ready, were hilarious!  Jane the hairdresser from Chez Titine had us all in stitches!
• Ewa getting into her dress from Wed2B and having her veil fixed in place.
• Tom’s tearful reaction to seeing his bride Ewa as she walked down the aisle towards him.
• The Maid of Honour and Mother of the Bride’s emotional contributions to the civil ceremony.
• The Sherbourne Brook and walk through the fields, were amazing and we were thrilled to find the bales of Hay, making for some great shots. (Two weeks prior to this, I had visited the location and the fields were uncut and filled with wheat stalks!)
• Tom’s tearful speech and Ewa’s touching response.
• The evening party! There was some real bugging out on the dance floor!  It was amusing to see one’s letting loose and loving it!!

Enjoy!