Today on the blog, beautiful Laura and Danny get married at their Rownhams House wedding in Hampshire. Hold on to your hats though – this is a wedding story that’s pure serendipity. Their original venue cancelled on them just a few weeks from their wedding date. But fear not! Enter Rownhams House, the unexpected hero that saved the day. It’s a tale that proves that sometimes, the best things come when you least expect them. Let’s dive in! 💍✨
Bridal prep in the New Forest
After their original venue cancelled on them, Laura also had to find a new place to get ready. Luckily, she found this large Air’b’n’b in the New Forest where she stayed with her bridesmaids and bridesmen for her last night as a single woman. I adored all her little details…
I was super excited about Laura and Danny’s wedding theme, which was celestial and a fun take on the premise of loving someone ‘To the moon and back’. As well as the signage and decor fitting with this, Laura had a cute moon necklace for the day ☾
I arrived to capture the last touch ups of hair and make up before Laura got into her dress. Her bridesmaids helped her into it, and at that point, she spotted a vintage car pull onto the drive. Little had Laura known, but her groom Danny had ordered it for her as a surprise. More on that later as we did lots of portraits with it!
Rownhams House wedding ceremony in the Grand Library
Rownhams House wedding venue is known for outdoor weddings, but the interior rooms are just as beautiful for a wedding. The venue hadn’t started its wedding season yet, but its owners came back from holiday early to host Laura and Danny in their time of need! It proved to be the perfect venue for them.
The Grand Library is a lovely, well lit room overlooking the gardens of the house. It was here that I arrived and found Danny waiting at the top of the aisle for his bride to arrive.
Laura’s Dad walked her down the aisle and on seeing her, Danny welled up immediately. The ceremony was touching, with several readings, including one from a member of Laura’s Brownie group which she runs, and Danny’s young nephew presenting the rings.
Majestic wedding portraits with a vintage Rolls Royce
After the ceremony, Laura and Danny took 10 minutes to let it all sink in, and for us to capture some photos with the vintage Rolls Royce. It was a beautiful car and looked so great with the georgian backdrop of Rownhams House behind it!
After we got some lush portraits, it was time for the party to get going, starting with confetti! Laura and Danny had cocktails, canapes and lawn games in the huge gardens of the house. In summer, there would normally be outdoor ceremonies here, and a marquee for wedding receptions.
Celestial themed wedding breakfast decor
During the fun and games on the lawn, the Grand Library was transformed for the wedding breakfast. I just adored all the celestial signage which Laura and Danny had DIY’ed with the help of a bridesmaid. Navy is such a pretty colour for a wedding palette!
Before dinner, we heard from lovely speeches from Laura’s Dad, the best man and both Laura and Danny themselves. I love it when a bride breaks tradition and speaks as well!
Sunset wedding portraits in the grounds of Rownham House
One thing we had discussed before the wedding was doing sunset portraits as the grounds are so extensive and the sun goes down beautifully over them. So, after dinner, we took a little bit of time out while everyone else filtered back out on to a very sunlit lawn. It had been an amazing sunny day and truly felt like summer, so everyone was soaking up the final rays.
I was also totally vibing Laura’s sunglasses, she looked so cool!
Golden hour was just starting to creep in when we did these shots along the side of the house, trying to capture the sun before it was too low under the trees.
We then took a walk down towards the lake where the bluebells were out. This is why spring is a really great time to get married – flowers are in full bloom! We were careful to find some gaps in the plants and got some really cute portraits there, before wandering further around the lakeside.
A Celestial three tiered cake, jazz and hog roast to end the day
As the last of the sun vanished, all the guests got called in to watch Laura and Danny cut their cake. Unbelievably, the design was one Laura had stumbled across on Pinterest – only to realise it was one that I had had made and photographed for a celestial styled shoot I did a few years ago! I recognised it immediately as it had always been one of my favourite cake designs. One of my favourite touches of this wedding was also their guest book. Laura and Danny had painted this gorgeous picture themselves, and got guests to sign it in gold pen.
Once they’d cut both the main cake, and their cheese cake, we got straight on the dancefloor to the sounds of The Hipcats!
So there you have it, an incredible wedding that all came together in the final few weeks! I am so impressed at Laura and Danny for going through that amount of stress and organisation, and pulling off something amazing!
If you’re having a Rownhams House wedding and would love for me to be a part of your day, fill in my enquiry form and let’s get chatting 🙂
