An outdoor humanist ceremony with a relaxed vibe and a tipi reception


Sarah & Eleanor chose to celebrate their marriage with all their favourite people at the hidden jewel that is The Swan Inn. Nestled away in the depths of the Suffolk countryside in Lawshall, The Swan has a flipping massive double tipi round the back which they use for weddings and events under the name of Swan Tipis. If you’ve not had the pleasure of a Tipi Wedding yet you need to start peer pressuring anyone you know who’s engaged into booking one because they give a really unique connection to the outdoors that needs to be experienced in person. Speaking of the outdoors, we were toyed with a little by some fairly indecisive weather but ultimately it only really posed a challenge for my Second Shooter Harry & I given the light was prone to change wildly from one minute to the next. Overall though, as every outdoor wedding seems to go, things held out for a perfect day at all the important times.

Exterior photograph of the front of The Swan Inn, Lawshall, Suffolk with leaves in the foreground
A red carpeted footpath lined with festoons leads towards a two peak tipi tent at Swan Tipis in Lawshall, Suffolk
A hand painted sunflower on A5 card sits propped up against a vase with an orange flower and a peach table runner
A ring of evergreen foliage hanging over a gas burner on which glasses of water have been placed.
A wide exterior of a large two peaked tipi at Swan Tipis, located at the back of The Swan Inn in Lawshall

Sarah and her Best Mates put the finishing touches to their immeasurably stylish suits and boutonnieres in Inn whilst the guests arrived and Eleanor followed shortly with her equally impeccably dressed entourage.  

I really enjoyed the double processional with both partners choosing to enter with their respective partners.

A bride dressed in a suit has her boutonnière of dried yellow flowers and wheat fastened by her best woman
A bride dressed in a suit and brown suede/leather shoes has her shoelaces tied by her best woman.
A hexagonal wooden frame adorned by dried flowers sits in a field with lens flares and bokeh lights in the foreground
A bride dressed in black suit walks arm in arm with her father down an aisle in front of a tipi as she blows a kiss
A bride a white wedding dress walks arm in arm with her father down an aisle in front of a tipi
The congregation of an outdoor ceremony sit on benches in a sunny field facing a celebrant who is stood at the front.

This was actually my first humanist ceremony - conducted by the frankly rather excellent Katharine Ellis - which was a really refreshing experience. Every wedding is slightly different, but when you go to two or three weddings a week over the summer there is a degree of predictability which develops, so when a couple goes for something which is a little less run of the mill, as a wedding professional it certainly makes things a little interesting. We finished things off with bordering on the most confetti I’ve ever seen. 

Two brides lean in towards each other with their heads touching as they look off into the distance.
Two brides stand hand in hand at the front of their wedding as they look behind them and smile at the congregation
A bride laughing with an open mouth at her bride during an outdoor ceremony at Swan Tipis in Suffolk
Two newlywed brides share their first kiss at an outdoor ceremony at Swan Tipis in Suffolk
Two newlywed brides celebrate their marriage with their hands held high above their heads
Two newlywed brides celebrate their marriage with their hands held high above their heads
Two brides are showered with confetti from both sides as they walk hand in hand towards the camera
Two brides are showered with confetti from both sides as they walk hand in hand towards the camera
Two brides are showered with confetti from both sides as they walk hand in hand towards the camera

I just want to take a moment to really highlight just how cool a BBQ Swan Tipis have. I’ve never seen anything quite like it and it was a real show stopper to watch them cook the food right there. In amongst the guests with a wood fire. I can’t imagine it was easy to cook on at all but it tasted absolutely incredible and was easily one of the best BBQs I had all season. 

A bride wearing black glasses laughs as she talks to a man standing with his back turned to us.
A chef cooks chicken and vegetable kebabs on a circular BBQ using tongs.
A young man laughs in conversation with three other wedding guests in the foreground
Rain falling onto a circular BBQ evaporates into steam, in front of a large tipi

A quick downpour during lunch turned the BBQ into a vapour diffuser. Nothing to do with weddings and definitely not the best photo of the day but actually my favourite just on sheer interest factor.

I ditched a really phenomenal burger for this, please act more impressed than you currently are...

The father of a bride gives a speech at his daughters wedding in a tipi with guests looking on in the foreground
A small brown envelope which reads Hello Sunshine with a drawing of a sunflower sits on a table at a wedding.
A wedding guest laughs as she listens to the speech of the father of the bride at a weddding
Three people laughing during a wedding speech in a tipi in Suffolk
The father of a bride gives a speech at his daughters wedding in a tipi with guests looking on in the foreground
A young woman leans on her arm in a wicker chair as she smiles at someone off-camera.
A middle-aged couple sit beside each other at a wedding on a picnic bench with their backs to us.
A black and white image of a bride lined up with her best friends, all wearing black suits with white shirts

Probably the only really downside to The Swan from a photographer’s perspective was a shortage of more private outdoor space to do some really nice portraits with the couple. We overcame this pretty easily however by sneaking through a little gap at the end of the garden and out into a large harvested field where the sunset was really on form. We were lucky enough to be blessed with a truly magnificent sky. I actually really like when something like this is an option though because it often means that there’s the opportunity to really break away from what other photographers have done at a particular venue. 

Two brides standing in the lower right corner of a large harvested field watching the sunset
Two brides standing in the centre of a large harvested field watching the sunset
Two brides walking away from the camera holding hands across a large harvested field watching the sunset
Two brides walk hand in hand towards the camera in a harvested field at sunset as they laugh and look at each other

The night ended with a cèilidh dance, something I’ve not witnessed in a LONG time so it was yet another really welcome treat. I cannot put into words however how hard it was to photograph though. I’d grown very accustomed to photographing modern slightly drunken dancing with bright lights. A large number of people charging around at high speed and frequently changing direction lit solely by festoon and fairy lights REALLY challenged me. 

A wedding party dances in at night in a dimly lit tipi tent at Swan Tipis in Lawshall
A close up of image of a man playing an accordion supported by his right leg
A ring of wedding guests dancing together in a large tipi
A wedding party celebrates together in a large tipi lit by fairy lights, many people are clapping
A black and white image of a young woman dancing with a young man in a suit
A chef removes a freshly made pizza from a wood fired over as we look over his shoulder
a wedding party in a tipi is blurred by a long exposure at night
Two brides kiss at night in front of a wooden door, surrounded by bokeh and reflections of lights.

I absolutely loved working this wedding. There were loads of really interesting little things that were different to the norm throughout the day which really contributed to me feeling more creative and excited. The staff at The Swan were also an absolute dream and I felt really well looked after so I genuinely cannot wait to get back to Swan Tipis again next year.