A passionate family celebration at a luxurious country retreat


Will & Jess planned an incredible day at the exclusive Easton Grange in the heart of the Suffolk countryside. One of those rare breeds of wedding venues where everything you turn your head to is carefully curated to look incredible. This was actually my first time working here, but I’ve been desperate to for ages. It’s literally within walking distance of my house and all the photos I’d seen from other photographers looked incredible. Every time I drove past I got a little pang of “ohh it looks pretty”, and it really lived up to my expectations. Plus the staff were wonderful and the food was absolutely incredible which are two of my biggest ticks right off the bat. Special thanks to the nice lady who snuck me out an extremely generous selection of desserts.


I usually turn up to weddings fairly early, even if they're right on my doorstep so that if anything goes wrong there's plenty of extra buffer time to eat into before I'm actually late. Thanks to Easton Grange being literally within walking distance I felt pretty safe but turned up a little over an hour early anyway and spent the extra time exploring. I was actually quite surprised how large the grounds were. There's the main gardens behind the venue itself which is more than big enough but just over the bride which crosses a small river, there's a meadow and a woodland area beyond that, plus another meadow to the other side through a gate.

A rear view of luxury Suffolk wedding venue Easton Grange
A wooden sign at the main entrance of Easton grange.
The rear gable of the wedding ceremony room at Easton Grange
Rear gardens at Easton Grange wedding venue with a bridge over a river
Interior photograph of the bar area of Easton Grange wedding venue with olive tree in centre and seating scattered

Having thoroughly explored the venue and grounds (and taken a few photos of everything beautifully set up) I headed over to join Jess and her girls in the process of getting ready. Rather helpfully Easton Grange has an on-site bridal suite so that couples don't have to worry about finding somewhere with the right facilities or space to accommodate everyone. Even more helpfully (as this often seems to be a bit of an afterthought at some venues) Easton Grange's suite is one of the biggest I've come across, has loads of natural light, and fantastic facilities including a built in salon area which I have no doubt goes down an absolute treat with the hair and make up artists.

A bridesmaid at Easton Grange being shown the back of her hair before the wedding
Two bridesmaids hold hands in Easton Grange bridal suite whilst hair and makeup artists work around them
A bride having makeup applied in Easton Grange bridal suite
Bridesmaids laugh together during prep for wedding at Easton grange
A bridesmaid put on a colourful shoe getting ready for a wedding at Easton Grange
Reflected in a mirror a bra is thrown across the room in Easton grange bridal suite and bridesmaids stretch to catch it.
Bridesmaids and a bride dance together before a wedding in Easton Grange bridal suite

Once everyone was ready, Jess cranked up the music and everyone gathered round for a last minute dance which was a really lovely moment of friendship and sisterhood which I'd not seen before and a genuine delight to witness. Then it was a very short walk across the entrance hall to the main ceremony room. Easton Grange is blessed with incredible light which can be a real hit an miss affair for Suffolk wedding venues. There's a lot of ceremony rooms out there which look nice on the face of it but have a tendency to blast horrible harsh orange light on people's faces. It's also a really lovely example of a clean slate which looks amazing with little to no added decor. Quick side-note: that floral arrangement at the front you can see below was 100% DIY. The wooden frame was built by Will's father and the flowers arranged by Jess's mother & bridesmaids the previous day. In fact, they actually did all the flower arrangements for the wedding themselves.

A wide view of the main ceremony room at luxury Suffolk wedding venue, Easton Grange
Two groomsmen hug at the front of the ceremony room at Easton Grange
Two flower girls and the mother of the bride walk down the aisle at an Easton Grange wedding scattering petals
A groom waits at the front of an Easton Grange ceremony and the congregation stand as the bride enters behind them
The groom spots his bride walking up the aisle at Easton Grange and smiles
The bride walks up the aisle at Easton Grange with her father and smiles as she sees her groom
A bride and groom stand at the front of Easton Grange ceremony room and exchange smiles with their guests
A groom smiles at the officiant and the bride smiles at the groom during an Easton Grange wedding ceremony
A bride and groom hold hands and exchange rings at an Easton Grange wedding ceremony
A bride and groom have their first kiss at an Easton Grange ceremony as the congregation applauds
A bride and groom walk back up the aisle having just got married at Easton Grange as the congregation stands & applauds

One particularly nice touch for the ceremony was that whilst the register was being signed, Will & Jess' young nephew played the piano rather than the usual phone connected to a speaker system affair that I'd come to expect. It was a really nice way to bring more family touches into the day.

After the ceremony, we went outside for the traditional confetti throw - Will & Jess had bought dried petals to use.

A bride and groom exit Easton Grange holding hands as guests throw confetti
Groomsmen laugh together on the lawn of Easton Grange
Closer view of groomsmen laughing together on the lawn of Easton Grange
Guests gather in the courtyard at the back of Easton Grange to celebrate a Suffolk wedding.
Wedding guests congratulate a newlywed couple in the courtyard of Easton Grange
A stone with the word 'forever' hand painted on it is hidden in a planter at Easton Grange
A girl jumps over a giant connect 4 game on the main lawn at Easton Grange
A woman in a blue dress laughs with other guests outdoors at a wedding reception at Suffolk venue Easton Grange
Guests at Suffolk wedding venue Easton grange laugh together in the courtyard whilst drinking alcohol
A bride hugs her guests in the courtyard at Easton Grange as others smile around them
Guests at Easton Grange seated around a garden table in the courtyard with the garden in the background
Guests are seated in the courtyard at Easton Grange laughing together

After a good catch up and a few group photos, we moved through to the other large barn for afternoon tea served by the team at Easton Grange. This is another room which looks incredible with little to no decoration but has enough 'blank slate' charm about it that you could really go to town if you wanted to without ruining it.

The wood beamed reception barn at Easton Grange set up for the wedding breakfast with multiple tables and chairs
A view through two pillars of Easton Grange reception barn with chairs and tables made up for a wedding breakfast
Table seating plan for Easton grange wedding reception on an easel in front of a mirrored wall
A wooden hand painted Dunwich sign placed on a table at Easton Grange
A sweets table at Easton Grange with a plaque on reading EGClarke & Son Ltd - Framlingham
A woman in a blue dress gives a speech from the top table at an Easton Grange wedding
A woman places her hand on the back of a male guest at an Easton Grange wedding reception
An afternoon tea platter at Easton Grange served on a wedding reception table
Woman smiles as she watched speeches at Easton grange during wedding reception
Guests seated in Easton Grange reception barn eating afternoon tea at a wedding

As the light was starting to fade, once everyone had finished eating we headed out to the meadow behind Easton Grange for a short walk. This gave Will & Jess a bit of space to enjoy each other's company, but also get a few photos of just the two of them. I generally try to do couple's portraits around sunset because the light's at its best then, plus everyone's relaxed that little bit more so I find it results in better photos with less effort. Because I'm documentary led in my approach however, I do portraits without posing and without prompts, so we literally just go for a walk and I mostly scuttle about and hide in bushes to make things as unobtrusive as possible.

Today wasn't the day for an absolute belter of a sunset which is a pity - I go a bit weak at the knees for a gorgeous red sky and scattered clouds which thankfully Suffolk seems to do quite well. We had to settle for overcast cloud on this occasion where it just got progressively darker, but thankfully that didn't mean we couldn't get a handful of really nice portraits anyway. Moments are more important than sunsets any day.

A bride & groom walk through a meadow with Easton grange in the background
A bride and groom walk across a meadow at Easton Grange, Suffolk countryside wedding venue
A groom looks lovingly at his bride in the gardens of Easton Grange in the Suffolk countryside
A bride looks lovingly at her husband in a meadow at Easton Grange
A bride and groom hold hands in a meadow at Easton Grange
A bride and groom are silhouetted at sunset in the meadow behind Easton Grange

Time for more cake. A two tier masterpiece adorned with daisies made by The Pudding Pantry. Then the first dance by The Smooth Criminals. I don’t mean to knock DJ’s or those who book them but honestly, I really feel like you can’t beat a live band. It always adds so much more energy to the dance floor and I really enjoy hearing different bands’ takes on that classics. When you attend one or two weddings a week over the summer months you quickly realise that a lot of the playlists are very similar. 😂

This lot really knew how to throw a party - heels were swapped for trainers and the dance floor was absolutely packed all night. I was also quite amused to see a number of props from the photo-booth make their way over to the dance floor.

A bride and groom cut their two tier white wedding cake in front of their guests in the bar at Easton Grange
Wedding guests dance together on Easton Grange dancefloor
A bride and groom walk onto the dance floor at Easton Grange surrounded by guests
A woman dances with a man at an Easton Grange wedding with a purple and orange lens flare in the foreground.
A bride and groom dance together at Easton Grange surrounded by their guests
A man in a top hat and t-shirt dances at an Easton Grange evening wedding reception with a band playing behind him
A man in a large wig assisted by other guests who are laughing on the Easton Grange dance floor.
A double exposure photograph of an Easton Grange evening reception dance floor and bokeh lights
A wide view of the courtyard at Easting Grange at night
Evening food including a bowl of sausages catered by Easton Grange]
Evening guests at an Easton Grange wedding seated outside in the courtyard at night.
Children sitting on the shoulders of adults at Easton Grange evening reception
A portrait at night of a bride and groom on the bridge in the gardens of Easton Grange with orange and purple lens flare

I thoroughly enjoyed the creative details in this wedding and it was a joy to see so much passionate involvement from both friends and family. It’s abundantly clear that these two are really well loved. Easton Grange is also an absolute stunner and immediately made it to my list of favourites, particularly from a lighting perspective. Sometimes you really have to work quite hard to make photos look good but this place was an absolute dream. Given it’s also right on my doorstep, I’m keen to go back again soon.

Suppliers;

Venue & catering: Easton Grange

Hair stylist: Amy Best

Makeup: Makeup By Carli

Flowers: DIY

Cake: The Pudding Pantry

Band: The Smooth Criminals

Photo Booth: Family friend