@Lisaandneil

A black and white photograph of the frontage of Hengrave Hall in Suffolk. This wedding portrait shows a bride in white lace dress with a long veil, stood in the grand carved stone entrance to the hall. In the foreground her new husband has run into the frame on the right and made a spectacular jump. He is shown mid air in a crazy dynamic pose. The bride is laughing at him.

Hengrave Hall wedding with Joe and Alex

We’ve always enjoyed a good Hengrave Hall wedding, it’s a great venue nestled on the outskirts of our old hometown in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. They always strike the balance between classy and friendly in a way few other venues manage. Hengrave has been in our Top 10 Wedding venue list for ages! Here’s the gorgeous October wedding of Alex and Joe, our photos, and their words.

How did you meet?

We met at work but didn’t get together until Joe left and moved to Toronto. Alex flew from London to Toronto for a weekend date!

A bride is getting ready for her wedding but she is still in her dressing gown and drinking wine while wearing her tiara! She is standing behind a richly decorated sofa in a wood panelled elizabethan room and her wedding dress is hanging from a four poster bed behind her.
Black and white photo of a groom before he is ready for his wedding as he checks out the large elizabethan window of his room to see what the weather is doing.
Mother of the bride has a happy proud smile as she sees her daughter dressed for the first time. The mother is being hugged by a bridesmaid as they look on together.
A Brides Mum sees her Daughter in her wedding dress for the first time at Hengrave Hall. The Brides Mother is smiling in sharp focus whilst we see her Daughter laughing in the foreground and having her veil fitted. To the rear are Bridesmaids looking on.
A groom and his grooms man getting ready for the wedding in a blue wallpapered room at hengrave hall in Suffolk UK
A Black and White photograph from a Hengrave Hall wedding. We see the Bride in the last moments of getting ready. She is in her wedding dress and veil whilst holding her bouquet. The Bride is looking over her shoulder and smiling to camera and her dress and face are lit by sunlit coming from the window to the photos right.
Bridesmaid smile excitedly to see the bride in her dress for the first time. The bride is visible smiling but out of focus in the foreground.
A sunny morning and a Groom looks down to check a list of details for his wedding day. To his left and right, in the front of the frame are his best man and usher who are also discussing details of the day. They all look a little concerned and occupied!
early morning light shines through a window onto the veil of a bride as she gets ready for her wedding. The light hits the lace and voile design with spectral highlights of blue gold and purple.

Tell us about the proposal.

We were trying to get to the top of the Angel’s Peak in the Cairngorms but got caught in a white-out, so Joe proposed on another nearby mini-peak. A Typhoon flew past us on the way down which was obviously a good omen (and the most exciting part of the day for Joe).

A Father of the Bride hugs his Daughter hard having seen her in her wedding dress for the first time. The Black and White photograph records an Elizabethan panelled room and we see some of the face of the elederly Father and just the back and white veil of his Daughter.
A father cries happy tears on seeing his daughter all ready for her wedding in her white dress.
A Father escorts his Daughter at her Hengrave Hall wedding day on the way to the ceremony. This Black and White photo shows the elederly Father supporting his Daughter by taking her arm as they descend the stairs. The Bride is talking to her father and also holding her bouquet.
Looking up this elizabethan staircase we see a father turning to his daughter to escort her into her wedding ceremony.

What was your vision for your Hengrave Hall wedding day?

We wanted everyone to have the best day, especially after everything we’ve all been through in the pandemic.

A groom looks up the aisle as his bride arrives to their wedding ceremony escorted by her father.
An elderly couple turn to see a bride enter the ceremony room for her wedding. The couples faces reflect their deep emotions and the lady places her hand to her face.
A Bride is escorted down the aisle by her father at her wedding. She is smiling at her groom (not shown) as she moves through the congregation of family and friends who are all smiling at her as she passes.
Sunlight streams from high elizabethan leaded windows on the right of a wood panelled room where a bride and groom are being married amid a crowd of seated family and friends.
A black and white photo from a wedding in Suffolk at Hengrave hall. We see a Bride and Groom holding hands and smiling at one another just before the kiss. The Groom wears a black traditional tuxedo and the Bride is in a white lace full length dress with cathedral veil. The wood panelling of the great room is in the background and a floral arrangement is to the left of screen.
A bride and groom kiss as their wedding ceremony comes to an end in a sunlight wood panelled elizabethan room at hengrave hall in suffolk
A grooms man and the grooms father play guitar for the guests at a wedding in hengrave ahh suffolk
A bride and groom kiss at the end of their wedding ceremony. behind them we see their family and friiends who are smiling and applauding. The scene is backlit by two large eleizabethan windows in a wood panelled room at hengrave hall.
A newly married couple hold arms as their guests clap to congratulate them of the marriage at hengrave hall in suffolk

When did you start planning your Hengrave Hall wedding and how long did the process take?

We started planning as soon as we got engaged in August 2019. The original wedding date was September 2020 but Covid meant we didn’t get married until October 2021.

As the wedding ceremony ends a bride and groom link arms as they walk up the aisle past all their family and firends who are applauding them. The couple have enormous smiles and are wearing a lace white dress with veil and tuxedo respectively.
Guests excitedly prepare to throw confetti over the newly married couple at a wedding in suffolk
A couple are overwhelmed by confetti thrown by their guests at their wedding at hengrave hall. We see the front door and associated stonework of hengrave hall in the background.
A bride and groom are pictured walking through two lines of guests at their wedding. The guests are throwing confetti and we see the couples faces smiling but being a little overwhelmed by the quantity of confetti! Their guests are laughing and having fun.

So what was your planning process?

First thing we did was wrote our guest list and talked about what kind of venue we wanted. Numbers and things like wanting accommodation for the grandparents focused our venue search. Our decision was for a hengrave hall wedding! Once we had the venue booked we looked for local photographers (of course!), hair and beauty, florist etc. Joe’s Dad is in a band so we delegated finding the band to him! We tried to think about every part of the day from every guest’s perspective to make sure we thought of everything.

wedding portrait at hengrave hall in suffolk. The couple face each other while holding hands in the courtyard. The brides veil is caught by the wind and swirls behind her.
A wedding portrait taken at a hengrave hall wedding in suffolk. The bride and groom chest to chest with the bride leaning back as they kiss in a hollywood style. The brides veil is extended towards the camera and fills the bottom half of the pictures fraiming and extends to the left and right in a hazy white mist.
A wedding portrait taken at a hengrave hall wedding in suffolk. The bride and groom chest to chest as they kiss. The brides veil is extended towards the camera in a hazy white mist.
A very large group shot of the family and guests at a wedding . Taken in sunshine at the front aspect of hengrave hall in suffolk.

Any funny planning blunders?

One of the groomsmen didn’t try his suit on until the night before the wedding, and somehow the armhole had been sewn up. Luckily Joe’s mum and one of the guests are good seamstresses so were able to fix it!

wedding guests enjoying a drinks reception in october sunshine on the west terrace at hengrave hall in suffolk
A guest at a wedding is playing Jenga during the afternoon drinks reception. We see the Jenga stack in the foreground and the face of the guest pondering his next move in the midground, focussed on the right. The background is the west terrace of hengrave hall outside bury st edmunds in suffolk.
a bride shows her grandmother her wedding dress on the west terrace at hengrave hall in suffolk whilst her groom looks on
A groom on his wedding day, surrounded by his friends. Everyone is striking a funny pose and all are laughing.
guests enjoying autumn sunshine of the west terrace at hengrave hall in suffolk at a wedding.
guests have fun by pulling a funny face to the photographer

What made you laugh on the day?

Alex: All the drunken shenanigans. People really let loose after all the lockdowns! Joe: All of the speeches.

bride and groom wait to enter the dining room for their wedding breakfast
bride and groom enter the dining room for their wedding breakfast
bride and groom enter the dining room for their wedding breakfast at hengrave hall in suffolk
grandma leans over to speak to her granddaughter during the granddaughters wedding breakfast
grandma laughs with her granddaughter during the granddaughters wedding breakfast
wedding guests having fun during speeches at hengrave hall in suffolk
bride gives speech after dinner at her wedding breakfast
mother and father of the bride laugh during the brides speech at her wedding breakfast
a groom smiles to applause given during his speech after his wedding breakfast
a guests grabs his own face whilst laughing at the grooms after dinner speech

What was the most memorable moment of the wedding?

Alex: The ceremony. Joe always wound me up that I wanted every guest there for the legal bit rather than splitting them into day and evening guests. But saying those vows to Joe in front of all our friends and family was the most important and memorable moment for me.
Joe: The bit up to the ceremony was a blur, so as soon as we stepped outside and were married, it was the first time we’d been together on our own as a married couple.

A bride and groom perfrom their first dance at their wedding. They are holding hands and in a dramatic pose. The couple are backlit by flash light and surrounded by their family and firnds who are smiling. The dance floor is covered in black and white tiles like a chess board.

What made you cry?

Alex’s Dad breaking down when he saw her before walking her down the aisle. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room!

Dancing at a wedding, the groom is lifting the bride up in the air and the bride is punching in the air in excitement. Around the couple are their family and friends dancing and having fun too.
guests dance around the bride and groom on the dancefloor at a Hengrave hall wedding in suffolk. the dancefloor is black and white tiles and contrasts with the colourful dresses of the guests under backlit flashlight

What’s your favourite photo from your Hengrave Hall wedding?

Ahhh so difficult to choose! We love how you captured how the day felt as well as what it looked like. The photos are like re-living the day. The one of us in front of the big wooden door, and the big group one which is like Where’s Wally.

a bride and groom dance surrounded by all their friends at their hengrave hall wedding
Hengrave Hall Suffolk - A bride and groom portrait taken at night on the west terrace at hengrave. The couple are chest to chest and kiss with backlit flash illuminating them. The building is also partly lit by the flash but also from the internal lights seen through the windows. The grass and climbing plants are radiant and sparkly.

Our thanks to Alex and Joe for having us at their excellent wedding and contributing to this blog. If you’re planning your Hengrave Hall wedding, give us a shout, we’d love to be there.

Here’s the official Hengrave Hall website for further info.

Here’s another Hengrave Hall wedding if you’re wanting more photo goodness!

Let's chat.

We'd love to hear all about you and your wedding day! Meet us over zoom for an informal chat and a bit of a giggle. We'll get to know you both, find out how your plans are shaping up and explain how we work.