Ellie and Jonty’s Campsite wedding in the Peak District

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11 Sept

Written By Caroline Goosey Photography

Have you ever been to a wedding on a campsite?

Have you ever been to a wedding with a surprise brass band?

No?

You’re in luck.

On Saturday, on a big old hill just outside of Sheffield, a stone cottage buzzed with a quiet excitement. Make up everywhere as Ellie got ready with 6 bridesmaids and her mum. Ellie’s dad, Chris, asking me with an air of genuine concern if I was sure that the extremely elegant, minimalist Charlie Brear dress on a posh hanger wasn’t actually just an under-slip thingy. Ellie’s mum, Alison, trying to fatten everyone up with quiche and lemon drizzle. I’d say this was a ten out of ten start to a wedding day.

I hopped over to the chapel in Sheffield to find Jonty greeting guests arriving for the ceremony. Ellie arrived in her brother’s campervan, and they got started. I’d never photographed a Unitarian wedding ceremony before, and I really liked seeing how it differed from other church services. What I especially loved was how Ellie and Matt faced their guests throughout, even when they were exchanging vows and rings. It felt super welcoming and inclusive. At the end, a choir sang One Day Like This by Elbow. Everyone cried. Including me.

And then it was time to head to Cotton Star Camping, where there would be an abundance of flowers, coloured ribbon, roast pork and stained glass leaf favours, handmade by Alison. Ellie’s parents’ dog came too, and I got a good dose of doggy scruffles - important when I’m away from my own doggo for more than a day or two. At one point a group of what Chris decided were ‘local yobbos’ were found loitering by the cars and sent them packing, only to be shocked when they returned an hour or so later, wielding brass instruments and insisting everyone dance.

Ellie and Matt’s wedding was something all weddings should be - a statement of love, a declaration to one another, their little boy, and everyone who shared in their day. All the bits and bobs that furnished it were a perfect expression of the things they enjoy, with a nod to understanding that a wedding is nothing without the people who come along. It will stay in my memory as a beautiful moment in time.