Relaxed Monmouthshire Barn Wedding | Emma & James

James and Emma’s relaxed barn wedding in beautiful Monmouthshire was one of my favourites of the year. At this point I should probably clarify that I do not have favourite weddings, they are all equally awesome and enjoyable but this one was special for a few reasons. The location was amazing because it was so unique- more on that later – and the countryside setting in the hills of Monmouthshire was obviously stunning. I also love it, when I get to photograph a wedding where I already know the family and have met at least half of the guests before. A few years earlier, James had been best man at his brother George’s wedding at Hauser & Wirth in Somerset (Laura and George’s wedding is still the most popular portfolio gallery on my website!) and it was very lovely indeed to be back and see the gang again, now with a few little ones in tow.

Barn weddings can be anything from rustic to elegant but Emma and James managed to hit it out of the park. Day to day, Jamie’s farm is a working farm (and a great youth charity) but for their wedding, the pig barn was cleared, literally, of pigs and their…erm…droppings and with a little help from their family and friends they decorated everything with paper lanterns, copious greenery and home grown wedding flowers, and in an incredible feat of wedding planning they also managed to grow swathes of white cosmos in DIY containers on wheels, which flowered exactly on time. This wedding photographer and part-time flower farmer was impressed!

An outdoor ceremony overlooking the Monmouthshire hills complete with roaming chickens was followed by a mid-afternoon drinks reception and a delicious grazing table laden with local cheeses, meats and fruit. Dinner was served in the barn and after dinner entertainment was provided by a ten piece brass band playing all the hits. Raucous is how I would describe that part of the evening! The next morning I woke up to yet another glorious sunset and on the way home I was thinking to myself how lucky I am. Also, I really want pet chickens now.

If you liked this relaxed Monmouthshire barn wedding, you should check out Camilla and Dan’s barn wedding in the Cotswolds