Alex & Dilys | A Magical Woodland Wedding at Scraptoft Hill Farm
Woodland wedding photography · Leicestershire · East Midlands
“Clare’s style was exactly what we were looking for - candid, intimate and relaxed. The photographs far exceeded our expectations. Our family will enjoy these photographs forever.”
Some couples just get it. They know exactly who they are, they know the kind of day they want, and then they go and build it from scratch, in a wood, with fairy dust and Sylvanian families on the cake. Yes, really.
Alex and Dilys, meet the internet. Internet, meet this absolute dream of a family.
Their day at Scraptoft Hill Farm in Leicestershire was one of those weddings that felt less like an event and more like stepping into a storybook. Midsummer Night's Dream meets Lord of the Rings meets the most love-filled, joyful, creative celebration you can imagine. Oh and it also doubled as a naming ceremony for their gorgeous nine-month-old son, Magnus. Because why do one magical thing when you can do two?
Scraptoft Hill Farm is a true blank canvas - a beautiful woodland chapel (a sun-dappled clearing in the trees) for the ceremony, and an adjacent meadow for the marquee. There are no facilities at all, which means every single detail had to be planned, sourced, and brought in. And Dilys, who is a former event manager absolutely ran with that. Lanterns hung from trees. Bunting everywhere. Vintage sweetie buffets. A real-life fairy making candyfloss and balloon hats. Bottles of fairy dust. I mean…
Dilys wore the most beautiful Anna Sorrano gown, strapless and romantic, paired with a feather bolero for the ceremony and a stunning handmade beaded lace necklace for the reception. Instead of a veil, she wore her hair in a gorgeous halo braid woven with flowers and butterflies. And quietly, beautifully, she wore her mum's diamond and sapphire earrings and bracelet, her mum passed away eleven years before the wedding, and those small details carry so much weight. That's the kind of story that I feel privileged to photograph.
Alex went for a grey-blue Marc Darcy checked suit with blue suede shoes, and little Magnus, on his dad's shoulders for most of the ceremony, wore a tiny flat cap gifted by a two-year-old friend. Honestly one of the most adorable things I've ever seen at a wedding.
The flowers were wild and natural, lavender, corn, poppy heads, roses by the brilliant Michelle Goldie at Knighton Flowers, with watering can arrangements in the woodland and gorgeous vintage glass vases on every table. The cake was a three-tier naked beauty of lemon drizzle, red velvet and carrot all topped with a Sylvanian rabbit family, complete with a miniature wedding dress Dilys made herself to match her own.
The ceremony itself was something else. Live music, Lord of the Rings readings, everyone singing All You Need Is Love, dried lavender thrown as confetti. And then just as they were about to walk down the aisle the grey clouds parted and actual sunshine poured through the leaves. Followed later by a rainbow. The woodland was absolutely doing its thing that day.
This is exactly the kind of wedding I live for. Creative, personal, completely them and full of the sort of details that take months to plan and seconds to happen, but last a lifetime in photographs.
Venue:Scraptoft Hill Farm, Leicestershire
Dress: Anna Sorrano via Wed2b Nottingham
Groom: Marc Darcy
Flowers: Michelle Goldie, Knighton Flowers
Cake:The Tiny Bakery
Celebrant: Jo Clarke, My Perfect Ceremony
Band:Govannen
If you're dreaming of a relaxed, creative, outdoor wedding in Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire or anywhere across the East Midlands and you want a photographer who loves a bit of fairy dust and a Sylvanian cake topper as much as you do - let's have a chat.