If ever there was a wedding so full of smiles and belly-aching laughs I’ve yet to witness it. I could probably count on one hand the number of minutes Joanne & Karl weren’t doing either of these two things and it was completely and utterly infectious!  They’ve known each other since they were in the same class at nursery so that’s a lot of laughs over the years and I’ve no doubt there are plenty more to come.

They chose Gosfield Hall in Essex as their wedding venue and it really is a photographers gift with so many beautifully decorated rooms and lots of natural light flooding in through the tall windows which is everyone’s friend. The Rococo Suite, with its floor to ceiling mirrors and abundant space is about as grand a dressing room as any girl could hope for…and the oak-panelled ballroom with its many chandeliers (we all know I’m a bit partial to those) is pretty spectacular too.   Its in this room where Joanne was presented with a semi-naked, larger than life cardboard cut out of her new husband (that’s a wedding first for me) courtesy of the best men who brought the house down with some insightful, and at times incriminating, stories about Karl in his youth.  I won’t divulge all the details (what goes on in the dining room, stays in the dining room) but I still find myself wondering if his parents can look at their sink in the same way again!  I could have filled this post just with photos of everyone’s reactions to these most hilarious of speeches, but I’ve showed some restraint and included just a handful.

Nothing makes me happier than when my couples and their entire wedding party completely let loose on the wedding day.  Sometimes with all the nervous tension and overwhelming sense of occasion this might only happen in ernest once all the formalities are over, but Joanne and Karl’s friends and family wore their hearts on their sleeves from the get-go. Their love for the couple was evident and it was an absolute honour to capture this as they celebrated with them all day, and with wild abandon late into the night.  Here’s the highlights from their truly amazing day.