Sue & Ben

Sue and Ben's wedding weekend has put a huge smile on my face. I always love weddings where the couple's children are a part of the big day and I must admit the image of Ben with his little girl made my heart well and truly melt. The couple chose magical Welsh wedding venue Fforest to hold their celebrations, where they took over the place for several days and just enjoyed time with family and friends. I always think this is such a gorgeous way to do a wedding as it means that everyone can really switch off for a whole weekend. The relaxed, happy feeling just pours from Richard Skins stunning images.

The Couple

Richard The Photographer: Sue and Ben celebrated 3 children and 10 years of togetherness by tying the knot! When they first visited Fforest in the beautiful Cardigan, Wales they knew they wanted to share it with everyone they love. They have been spending half terms and holidays there for the past few years and it has become a special place for the family. The simplicity, the beauty, the nature. Time seems to stand still there, the food is unreal and the natural beauty of the Welsh countryside is second to none. The venue was chosen long before the wedding planning began.

Our Wedding

From The Couple: We wanted to bring out the values that are most important to us in every part of the day. Being together, having fun, dancing and celebrating. It felt like a long time coming! We were so glad we waited and included the kids. They needed to be there - they were so proud. Sue wanted to wear a simple, elegant dress mixed with a bit of boho chic. Nothing to traditional but not too far out either. Jenny Packham felt just right. Lots of sparkle with beads and embroidery in a relaxed fit that was comfortable for day and night.

The Venue

There is so much natural beauty at Fforest, we wanted to highlight the simplicity. We had green along the rafters of the ceiling in the dinning hall to give it some colour and texture, and centre pieces on the head table. Jill Watson at Designer Blooms did such a beautiful job of the flowers. I asked for light pink, white, green, wild and free. She created exactly what I had envisioned. On the day I wasn't thinking about how beautiful the flowers would look in the photos at all. I remember just wanting to put the bouquet down! In hindsight I am so happy that I had them for the shots that I did. I wish I had them in more.

The Entertainment

Ben comes from a very musical family. When we first got together his relatives asked me what I played rather then what I did - because they are all musicians! Ben's sister and brother in law form half of the Cardicci Quartet and our best mates are the talented Naomi from This is Meta and Sam Swallow. Naomi sang us down the aisle to 'Higher Love' with Sam on the piano and Emma and Matt on strings. It gave me chills to hear the start of the song from the back of the tipi. They also played John Legend 'All Of Me' for our first dance. I'm so happy we have a video to rewatch the music. It was beautiful. Rosie is my most favourite DJ ever. She mixes all the best songs to the best beats and ALWAYS get the party started. The dancing did not disappoint.

The Food

Food is really important to us - it was a big focus. One of the main reasons we fell in love with Fforest was the food. They grow the vegetables right there. It has that intense flavour that only exists when it grows 20feet from the table. Fforest provide breakfast, lunch and dinner on the day of the wedding. Everyone gets to eat all the meals together so it creates a full day event. Lots of time that isn't ceremony focused to ensure everyone gets to know each other before the big event. Our cake was made by Annie Tanko - our amazing nanny.

The Photography

The day after the wedding when Richard sent us a few taster photos everyone who saw them asked how we found him. I said online. Everyone thought he captured the the day brilliantly. My sister pulled me up on it "you didn't just find him online! You searched relentlessly for a year. It's no accident that you found exactly the photographer you were looking for." I found looking for a photographer really difficult. It's hard to get a sense of someone's work online, especially when you are looking at so many options. You only get one shot and for me the photos really mattered. I'm so happy we found Richard. I think he captured the day brilliantly and it felt effortless.