Louisa & Billy: A Summer Wedding at The Great Barn, Aynho

Louisa and Billy got married on a bright summer’s day, the kind where everyone is glad of a stone barn with walls two feet thick.

The ceremony was in the village church, and the rest of the day was at The Great Barn at Aynho, out on the edge of Oxfordshire where it meets Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. A short walk, a lot of confetti, and a dance floor that didn’t empty until the very end.

The morning

The flowers were the first thing I photographed and the thing I kept coming back to all day: big, warm, coral and pink, nothing remotely restrained about them. They suited the day.

Billy got ready with his groomsmen and a lot of help with the buttonholes. Louisa got ready with her bridesmaids in dusty blue, and laughed her way through most of it.

The church

The church is old honey-coloured stone with a square tower, and inside it has the kind of carved wooden screen and stained glass that make you lower your voice without being asked. It was packed. Every pew, people standing at the back, and that hum a full church makes before the music starts.

Louisa came in on her dad’s arm. Billy, waiting at the front, held it together well.

They came out into bright sunshine and straight into a line of guests with confetti, down the path and out through the churchyard. It’s the bit of a wedding where nobody is in charge, which is exactly why it photographs so well.

The Great Barn

The Great Barn is an eighteenth-century stone barn on a 250-acre estate, with walls about two feet thick, exposed beams and narrow arrow-slit windows. It’s been used for weddings since the 1980s, and it shows in the good way: the place knows exactly what it’s doing.

Inside, the tables were long and wooden, with mismatched glass vases and more of those coral flowers. Thick walls are a blessing on a hot day. It was noticeably cooler inside than out, and nobody was in a hurry to leave.

Outside, we found a few minutes for portraits in the garden. Louisa’s main contribution to the posing was a double peace sign, which I fully support.

Speeches beneath the beams

The speeches had the whole barn on its feet at one point, glasses up. Louisa gave one herself, which I always like: it changes the room when the bride stands up, and it was one of the funniest of the lot.

When evening took over

Cake, cut over an old barrel. Then the first dance, in front of the stone fireplace, slow for about thirty seconds before the music changed and everyone else piled in.

After that it was just the dance floor. Aunties, school friends, a man in a red tie who barely left the floor. Evening receptions are where I switch to flash and get in close, and this crowd made that very easy.

If you’re getting married at The Great Barn

It stays cool: Those thick stone walls do a lot of work in summer. Inside is a good escape on a hot day, and a good backdrop for photographs when the sun outside is harsh.

Use the grounds: The estate has gardens, woodland and lakes. Leave twenty minutes for portraits outside, ideally later in the afternoon when the light softens.

Plan for a dark dance floor: Once the lights go down, the barn is all stone and warm light. I bring flash for the evening, so there’s no need to keep the room bright for my sake.

Think about numbers: The barn seats around 144 for dinner and holds about 175 for the evening, so it suits a big, busy guest list.

There’s more about my work across the county on my Oxfordshire wedding photographer page, and the Lookbook has what I charge and what’s included.

A full church, a cool barn, and a dance floor that nobody wanted to leave.