Intimate wedding Rockbeare Manor ~ Danielle & Charles

Manor house wedding in Devon

My 2020 couples are loving their intimate weddings! The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic has meant that couples are having to re-think their wedding plans. The rules can change, literally, overnight so it’s been an anxious time. ‘Micro-wedding’ is a new phrase that has appeared in the wedding industry this year as smaller, intimate weddings are now allowed under the Covid-19 wedding rules.

Danielle and Charles had originally booked me for a larger wedding earlier in the year so we kept in touch as their plans changed and I was delighted when they decided to go ahead and get married. Whilst chatting to Danielle as she got ready, she said she wasn’t sad for the parts of her wedding that she was missing, she considered herself lucky to even be having a wedding and was so happy to be getting married.

The couple decided to have a ‘first look’ and see each other before the ceremony. This was my first time shooting one so I was excited to be doing something different. Charles made his way to the walled garden tucked away in the grounds of Rockbeare Manor. His gorgeous bride appeared a few minutes later and slowly approached her groom and tapped him on the shoulder. Charles was speechless as he turned around to see Danielle looking absolutely stunning. It was such a sweet moment between the two of them and a privilege to capture it so that the newlyweds can relive the moment.

Small wedding in Devon

There were certainly lots of ‘firsts’ for me at this wedding – social distancing, bubbles, Zoom – who knew they’d become part of our everyday vocabulary? The ceremony was set up outdoors with seats arranged so that guests could sit in their household ‘bubbles’ at a safe distance. A Zoom video feed was set up too so that extended family and friends could watch the couple exchange their vows from home. The ceremony was beautiful and Danielle and Charles couldn’t stop smiling. Because of the rules, the bride and groom had to have their own pens to sign the register. Charles surprised Danielle with engraved pens that would be a keepsake of their Covid wedding! We had plenty of time afterwards for some relaxed couple photos around the grounds. Despite the fact that evening receptions weren’t allowed at the time, Charles gave his new bride a twirl as they had a ‘first dance’.

Here’s the story of their day in pictures…