Lara & Sam's Wedding at Kin House, Wiltshire

5 days ago
6 min read

An elegant, modern country house wedding at Kin House, Wiltshire. Handmade signs, a walled garden, cigars on the lawn, and one of the most relaxed, joyful celebrations we've ever had the pleasure of shooting.

ELEGANT, JOYFUL, RELAXED: LARA & SAM'S COUNTRY HOUSE WEDDING AT KIN HOUSE, WILTSHIRE

When Lara and Sam told us they wanted three words to sum up their day, they gave us "elegant, joyful, relaxed". And honestly, that's exactly what Kin House delivered. A country house wedding that felt timeless and grown-up but never stuffy, a couple who were ridiculously in love and somehow completely chilled about the whole thing, and 68 of their favourite people gathered in one of Wiltshire's most beautiful spots to watch them tie the knot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppnkk9up1s8

No religious elements, no stiff formality, no pressure. Just two people who clearly adore each other, surrounded by family and friends who feel the same. And a lot of handmade signs, because Lara is apparently a one-woman stationery studio.

"Lara and Sam had this really clear vision from the start. Elegant but modern, joyful but relaxed. And the thing about working with couples who know what they want is that you can just get on with capturing it. They made our job easy, honestly." — Dominic & Ruby

THE MORNING: KIN HOUSE BEAUTY ROOM

Lara's bridal prep kicked off at 9am in Kin House's Beauty Room, and within about ten minutes of us walking in we were completely at home. Three makeup artists from Timeless Secrets working their way through the bridal party, the younger girls going first (smart move, gives everyone time to settle), and Lara herself into the makeup chair at 10am sharp.

The bridal party was honestly something else. Hannah as Maid of Honour keeping everything on track, and the bridesmaids Charlize, Esme, Ellie Carter, and Ellie Palmer bringing proper energy from the moment we arrived. Esme and Charlize both with that sisters-of-the-bride glow. You could feel how much this moment mattered to all of them.

And then there was Lara getting into her Timeless Elegance Bridal gown. These are the moments we live for, truthfully. Everything goes a bit quiet, someone's mum is welling up, someone's sister is clutching her hand, and the bride just... exhales. Lara looked absolutely incredible. Not just beautiful, which she obviously was, but properly herself. Calm, glowing, ready.

Sam's prep over in the Barber's Room was a completely different kind of energy but equally lovely. Boys arriving from 11am, Sam kicking off around the same time, and with Ollie Pugsley (Pugs to his mates) as Best Man and the groomsmen Tim, Joel, Alec, Ollie Ryan, Josh, and Jonny... let's just say nobody was particularly worried about keeping to schedule. Which is exactly how groom prep should be.

"There's something about splitting the morning between two rooms in the same house that we love. You get the whole getting-ready story in one place, everyone running into each other in the hallway, dads popping in to check on their daughters, that sort of thing. Kin House made the whole morning feel like one big family gathering rather than two separate shoots." — Ruby

THE CEREMONY: I DO'S AT KIN HOUSE

Guests started arriving from 12:30, drinks flowing, everyone buzzing in that lovely pre-ceremony way, and at 13:30 Lara made her entrance. Thirty minutes of vows, laughter, and a few happy tears from both sides. And Jade Lamey's voice. Absolutely stunning. If you've not come across Jade yet, take note, because she is properly special.

The ceremony itself was warm and personal in a way that non-religious ceremonies so often are when you let them be. No going-through-the-motions, just Lara and Sam saying what they actually meant to each other, with Kin House providing the kind of backdrop that doesn't need any dressing up.

That first kiss, right after the glass shattered. We're not going to pretend we weren't emotional behind our cameras. Sea had specifically asked us to make sure we caught this exact moment, and honestly it was impossible to miss — the whole crowd was on their feet, the cheering was incredible, and those two were just completely lost in each other.

"Sam's face when Lara came in. Honestly, that's the shot. That's the one. You can plan a wedding down to the last detail and nothing prepares either of you for that moment. We've shot hundreds of ceremonies and that look never gets old." —Dominic

CONFETTI IN THE WALLED GARDEN

And then the Walled Garden. Oh, the Walled Garden.

Confetti time is one of our favourite bits of any wedding and Kin House's Walled Garden was made for it. The light, the greenery, that gorgeous sense of being tucked into your own little world, and Lara and Sam walking through a proper storm of petals and cheers. We got some of our favourite shots of the whole day right there.

"Walled gardens do something magical with light in the early afternoon. You've got this gorgeous diffused glow, the sound of everyone cheering bounces off the walls, and the couple is just glowing from the ceremony they've literally just had. It's one of those moments where we barely need to think, we just shoot." — Dominic & Ruby

PORTRAITS & THE GROUNDS

This was our window for portraits too, and Boxted Hall delivered. The moat, the walled garden with the River Glem running through it, the sweeping tree-lined drive, the parkland — every direction you turned there was something beautiful. Sea looked absolutely incredible in her Elyse Bridal Design gown with her Lace & Favour shoes, and Luke in his Hawes & Curtis black tie... these two were made for this.

WEDDING BREAKFAST & SPEECHES

Wedding breakfast at 4pm, served beautifully by Kin House's in-house team, and the room looked absolutely stunning. Florals by Honeysuckle Flower Co doing proper heavy lifting, Lara's handmade signs popping up everywhere, and that relaxed elegance the couple had talked about from day one finally in full swing.

"You can always tell when a couple have put their own hands into their wedding. It shows up in the photos. There's this extra layer of soul in the day, a sense that every detail was considered by someone who actually cares about it. Lara's signs gave the whole venue this personal, lived-in feeling that you just can't buy." — Ruby

Speeches kicked off at 6:30pm and with both Lara and Sam having divorced parents (hence the truly impressive number of parental formal photos, which we loved by the way, bring on the family variations), the day had already had so many meaningful moments for the different sides of the family. By speech time everyone was ready for it.

Dads went first, followed by Sam, and then Pugs brought the house down as Best Man. And look, we've heard a lot of best man speeches in our time. Pugs delivered. That's all we'll say.

CIGARS, FIRST DANCE & TURNING PAGES

As the afternoon rolled into evening, the groomsmen gathered outside for cigars. And honestly, that was such a lovely touch. All the lads together, a proper moment between Sam and his best friends, the Wiltshire light doing its golden hour thing in the background. These are the images Sam will treasure in twenty years.

"Turning Pages were incredible. You can always tell the bands who really read the room, and these guys had everyone from Lara's grandparents to the youngest cousins on the floor. Some bands play at a wedding, the best bands play a wedding. They played this one." — Dominic & Ruby