Heartwarming Happy Valley wedding with Nathan and Caitlin

We photographed Nathan and Caitlin’s Happy valley wedding (an awesome wedding venue in Norfolk) back on the 27th of August last year. The couple describe their wedding in their initial email to us as “Family, woodland, relaxed”. They nailed it, we couldn’t describe it any better.

Happy Valley weddings kinda tune into a pattern we feel is really successful for relaxed but fun events. Being ‘all on one site’ certainly makes things more logistically comfy but also the venue include accommodation in their offering. In the woods you’ll find Bell tents, shepherd huts and luxurious glamping cabins for you and your guests. These are the nicest we’ve come across and with most couples booking two nights and three days – the atmosphere is an extended unhurried party for the weekend. They even accommodate guests own tents and campers!

When we arrived in the morning it felt like we were on a film set (Neil just asked me how and I can’t really explain it – it just has a ‘vibe’).

In the car, me and Neil often listen and sing along to “If I had a million dollars”. When Caitlin got to the dancefloor with her Dad for the cutest father and daughter dance, our faces lit up when that was their song. Easiest our fave part of the wedding.

We’re super proud of the pictures we took during their wedding. Particularly with the photos we took at the very end of the day. Caitlin gave us the heads up she’d be changing into a more relaxed dress and cowgirl boots.

Here are their photos of the day, with extra details from Nathan and Caitlin in their own words.

Tell us a little about yourselves

We’re both English teachers in different secondary schools and spend far too much of our time binging Netflix. We both love reading (duh) but Nathan’s go-to is trashy Sci-Fi and Caitlin’s go-to is trashy romance. Ha – we have very elevated tastes!

We met at university whilst both part of the fencing club and it was love at first sword fight!

Tell us about your proposal

Nathan made an elaborate picnic and got really stressed about being in the way of dog walkers and families enjoying the woods. It was only once he got down on one knee that I realised why. We celebrated by eating the awesome picnic and drinking secret champagne that he’d smuggled along.

Tell us about your ceremony

We got married on Happy Valley island surrounded by willow trees. Caitlin managed to make it across the bridge to the island in a wedding dress mostly without falling over. We were married by the registrar whilst our family and friends watched us trying not to blub our eyes out or giggle inappropriately. Our readings were from Caitlin’s grandmothers. We’d almost forgot that the wedding rings we’d so perfectly picked out existed! Finishing the ceremony with confetti made for some of our most memorable and funny pictures.

When did you start planning your Happy Valley wedding and how long did the process take?

We’re teachers so we got engaged in a half-term holiday and booked about six venue viewings. Things spiralled from there and suddenly we had nine months to plan a wedding. Apparently, in wedding terms, this is not a long time.

Tell us a little bit about the planning process

The first thing to find, after the venue, was a wedding dress, as they can take up to nine months to arrive and that’s exactly how long we had! Then we focused on food, flowers and photographers, the three ffphs! We wanted to hire vendors we clicked with and we were so glad we found the perfect people who understood what we wanted even when we weren’t sure ourselves. They made our day perfect. We were lucky that we agreed on pretty much everything. Booking our wedding cake the most tricky.

What was your most memorable moment of your Happy Valley wedding?

For Nathan it was the moment he first saw Caitlin, we found out quickly that his tear ducts are in fact functional. It was an ugly cry. He is an ugly crier. For Caitlin it was being surrounded by all of our family and friends in the moments of down time across the day and realising how many people truly love and care about us.

What made you cry on the day?

All of the wonderful speeches and the love from all our family and friends. For Nathan it was just looking at Caitlin, something you have to do quite a bit whilst marrying someone…

What’s your favourite photo from your Happy Valley wedding day and why?

Impossible to choose! The confetti photos. Golden hour. Veil shots. Maybe the stunning, backlit, long-distance shots across the lake in the evening? The photos were just incredible.

If you’re having a Happy Valley wedding, then we’d love to hear from you! Contact us here.