“We chose Hannah because we liked the bystander style of her photographs, which seemed to capture the emotions of the day rather than being “Insta” styled.”

I absolutely adore shooting morning prep at my couples’ family homes; I love that they are full of old family photos, nicknacks from their youths and loads of nostalgia… That magic only continues when they celebrate their weddings at home too, and while planning a wedding at Caroline’s family home in Essex made the logistics of planning a wedding in the UK while living in Norway easier, it made for the perfect quintessential Four Weddings and a Funeral that Marcus, who is Swedish, really wanted! They got married in the village church in Great Chesterford before walking back to Caroline’s family home to celebrate their wedding in a Papakata Sperry Tent.

How did you meet?

We met through a mutual friend in a pub in Piraeus, Greece. Marcus was sitting at the bar dissecting a hamburger with a knife and fork, he then quoted the opening line of Pride and Prejudice, which piqued my interest and we just got chatting.

Tell me your proposal story:

Marcus proposed to me with a hug and a whisper in a car park in Barolo, Italy, after copious amounts of red wine.

Why did you choose the venues you chose for your wedding and why did you choose a papakata sperry tent for your wedding reception?

We had the reception at Caroline’s family home in a Papakata Sperry Tent and got married in the village church.

We live in Norway but neither us are from there, so didn’t have an affinity to get married there.  Great Chesterford was a familiar environment and convenient for guests to travel too. Home turf also helped with the wedding planning from afar!

What was it you loved about your outfits and accessories that made you choose them?

Marcus was aiming for a Roger Moore look with his blue waistcoat and morning suit.  He enjoys Scotland and whiskey, hence the thistle in his button hole.

The first item I bought was my electric blue shoes, I just loved the shade of blue and after that I didn’t really mind what else I wore!  I was frankly very intimidated by the whole wedding dress concept, I chose the first one I tried on I think, because it was comfortable, I could move in it and it didn’t cost the earth (v unromantic I know).

Tell me about the vision you had for your wedding including your theme/colour scheme/styling/flowers:

Marcus wanted a wedding straight out of Four Weddings and a Funeral, so that was perhaps a starting point in so far as we had our reception in a Papakata Sperry Tent with a live band.

Truth be told we didn’t have a theme, we just chose stationary colours and made decisions with our suppliers based on whimsy and what we liked as we went along!

What was your first dance and why did you choose it?

We chose ‘La Mer’ by Charles Trenet, although the version we chose was sung by Julio Iglesias.  

Marcus’ family are Swedish and his father particularly likes Julio, it is also the song in the credits of Marcus’ favourite movie “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”:  An easy tune to sway to!

What were the most wonderful parts of the day for you?

Just seeing all of our family and friends from different countries and different stages of our lives coming together, meeting each other and having great fun.  We particularly enjoyed the Aquavit fuelled singing at the Reception and 29 Fingers (the band) were brilliant.

Why did you choose Hannah Hall Photography as your photographer, and what was your experience of your photography on the day?

We were torn because we wanted to just enjoy our wedding care free of what it looked like, but at the same time we knew we wanted to preserve the memories of the day somehow.  

We chose Hannah because we liked the bystander style of her photographs, which seemed to capture the emotions of the day rather than being “Insta” styled or airbrushed.  Hannah was great on the day, she arrived on time and just got stuck in with a smile.  Getting ready is a bit of a blur but I think she may even have put my veil on for me in the end!  Several friends commented on how lovely she was and part of the party.

What would be your best bit of advice to other couples planning their wedding?

 Don’t worry if you don’t have a vision of what you want, things can evolve as you go along and perhaps not having a vision avoids becoming stressed when things don’t pan out how you 100% planned.   

A few days before the wedding my mother and I were debating what to do about water for the tables, because the supermarket couldn’t supply the same brand of both still and sparkling, so the labels and sizes wouldn’t match.  We suddenly realised how ridiculous the the ‘problem’ was and just started laughing.  The small details are icing on the cake but nothing to worry about, you won’t notice on the day, that’s for sure!

Choose the best suppliers you can afford, because you get what you pay for – it shows in the quality of the work, lessens the stress for you and they are more likely to be able to help you if something goes wrong on the day.

Caroline Marcus’ Papakata Sperry Tent wedding happened with the help of the following wonderful suppliers…

Hair: Maria Sharp // Make up: Aesthetica Beauty Studio // Flowers: Halo Blossom // Cake: Reeds Cakes

Dress Designer: Rebecca Ingram // Dress supplier: Fleur des Lys Bridal // Caterer: The Cambridge Dining Company

Band: 29Fingers // Tent: Papakata

Planning your own back garden wedding? Drop me a line!