
I was thrilled when I was asked by Trudi and Ashley to be their Bashall Barn wedding photographer. This multi-award winning wedding venue near Clitheroe is a working farm that offers exclusive hire for all bride and grooms. It has a bar open until 12:30 am for those party animals out there and all the food is produced on site. Situated in the gorgeous Ribble Valley, this venue is a fantastic scenic location in which to tie the knot.
Bashall Barn can provide wedding breakfasts for up to 130 guests and this number increases to 250 for the evening reception. They keep these extra guests fed with hog roasts, wood fired pizzas, and a buffet. Even wedding planning is easy with dedicated staff to take care of every couples’ specific needs. A wedding at Bashall Barn will be a party to remember!
As soon as I arrived at Trudi’s house for bridal prep, it was clear today’s bride was loved very much by her parents. Some really great pictures of her childhood and teenage years adorned the walls of her family home. I thought it only fitting to start her wedding photographs off with the doorway to her bridal prep room framed by two of these pictures.
Before Trudi put on her beautiful wedding dress, there was time for the mother of the bride to get a photo of her and her bridesmaids using her laptop. Family taking photos is a part of your day so why not capture it? Both the father of the bride and her mum helped Trudi put her dress on and there were no concerns about first looks! As we went outside for some photos in the back garden, some friendly neighbours came over to give their well-wishes and marvel at the dress. Trudi’s bridesmaids couldn’t resist photobombing a couple of the photos. We took some serious ones too so don’t worry about that!
The sun had come out by the time I arrived at Bashall Barn, and I noticed the flowers were in full bloom. The wedding guests began arriving and there was plenty of hugging. Everyone soon moved into the ceremony room but one little flower girl was briefly left behind which made for a novel photo. Trudi arrived in her vintage wedding car and gave a thumbs up to some straggling guests.
As we waited for the ceremony to begin, Ashley came over, giving me a friendly handshake. He was super relaxed, taking everything in his stride. A guest took some photos of the impressive ceremony room while another provided some accompaniment on the classic piano. Trudi welled up as she walked down the aisle, followed by her flower girls. There was plenty of laughter throughout the reading of vows and there was a little moment of ‘we did it’ just before the first kiss.
Everyone went outside and greeted the newlyweds with plenty of hugs. We soon took a stroll to get a few couply photos in the countryside just a few minutes walk away. Trudi passed a police van and got a friendly wave from a police officer. The picturesque scenes provide a great backdrop to some awesome couple portraits! And what would a wedding at Bashall Barn be like without a trip to see the cows! I was very impressed that Trudi was willing to stand in the cow shed without worry too much about getting her dress dirty!
The speeches were hilarious and everyone had an absolute riot. When it came time for Ashley’s best men to humiliate the groom, nothing but a quiz over his antics would do. But it didn’t end there! In homage to Ashley’s childhood nickname, he was presented with a pet ferret as a ‘temporary’ gift. This was amazing for me as a photographer, what a great idea!
As we waited for the evening party to begin guests relaxed on the barn’s lovely balcony overlooking the hill nearby. The sun was beginning to set which made for some great light. This was another great opportunity for me to cruise around capturing some natural interactions.
The first dance was very nice indeed and it was clear that Trudi and Ashley were very much in love. The dance floor was soon packed with guests. As usual I got on the dance floor myself. It’s the best way to capture those dance moves! Ashley’s best man deftly pulled off the worm and it’s one of my personal favourite photos! (Perhaps you recognise it from my home page).
With one last shot of the venue to close the story I said my goodbyes. Huge congratulations to Trudi and Ashley!!