Gemma and Julian’s Bright, Colourful and Romantic Outdoor Wedding in Cambridge by Nick Osborn Photography

I don’t know what it’s like where you are but here in Sheffield it is blooming freezing…literally freezing! It’s said to be going down to -11 tonight! Personally summer can’t come soon enough! so today I am taking you back to August when the sun shone, the weather was sunny and warm and you didn’t have to worry about digging your car out of the snow before you went anywhere. Gemma and Julian chose Willow Grange Farm in Cambridge for their wedding as they wanted a venue that offered them an outdoor option for their ceremony, along with the flexibility to make the reception their own and brought along their photographer friend Nick Osborn Photography to capture the day for them. They filled their day with gorgeous flowers, colour, fun, lots of smiles, a saxophonist and a vodka luge, which really got the party started! What a magical day……..now roll on summer!

It was absolutely perfect and everything we wanted it to be. We were so glad that we extended our wedding to 2 days of celebrations because we had the best 2 days of our lives.

Gemma and Julian were married on 26th August 2023 at Willow Grange Farm, Chittering, Cambridge. ‘We wanted to be outside as we love the summer and we did not want to be restricted by traditional bar. we had approximately 125 guests for day and an extra 25 in the evening, it took 20 months to plan.’

How they met
We met through work at Newmarket Races in June 2005. We have been together since 2006.

The proposal
We went to Mexico as a family for Christmas in 2021. When we were back in January 2022 we just thought about what a fabulous time we always have together and decided to get married! Before this we’d casually agreed over the years that we didn’t really need to get married, it wasn’t something that either of us were pushing.

How did you allocate your budget?
We decided to delay the wedding until the next year to give us time to save and we forfeited a few holidays between us. I also took an evening job over Christmas 2022 so that we didn’t need to eat into wedding savings to pay for Christmas. One of our daughters was also 18 on that Christmas day so we were not able to scrimp on gifts that year! Luckily our parents also gifted us some money as contribution towards the celebrations.

Where did you splurge and where did you save?
There wasn’t much the we didn’t splurge on! I ended up doubling our budget for flowers but this was well worth it, they were beautiful (Clemmie & Twine).
Luckily, I knew a talented photographer (Nick Osborn), also because we knew Nick it was nice to have him at our day and we felt comfortable discussing what we wanted with him.
I also bought bridesmaid dresses from the high street and then paid for them to be altered by a very reasonable and helpful seamstress locally. I’ve heard these alterations usually cost a fortune.
Our cake was also very reasonable but it ends there. We couldn’t afford a honeymoon as we prioritised the wedding given that we’ve already had plenty of holidays together over the years. Luckily my Godmother gifted us a trip to Menorca with them after the wedding and we called it a ‘Supermoon’ (there was a supermoon while we were there!).

How did you choose your photographer?
Nick is a running friend of mine but also, I had seen his previous work at another friend’s wedding so knew from the start that we would like to have Nick. He goes out of his way to make people feel comfortable in every situation.

The dress
My dress was Grace Loves Lace, Gucci sandals and I wore a gold diamond and pearl necklace from Catherine Jones which my husband bought me for our wedding day.

The suit and bridesmaids
Groom’s (and best mans) suit was Hugo Boss and the Bridesmaid dresses were from ASOS! I had such a range of bridesmaids in age, height and size I actually found it very difficult to find one style that would suit all. I’m also not a fan of traditional bridesmaid dresses and wanted a really bright colour so they would stand out.

Theme or colour scheme
Summer! Bright, colourful, romantic. I think my dress, my husband’s suit, our bridesmaids and the flowers all really set the scene. The rain did not get the memo though haha. It poured less than 5 minutes after we said ‘I do’.

Flowers
Oh gosh everything, dahlias, peonies, roses… all colours and all steam heights. We had a beautiful deconstructed flower arch into the Sperry tent and lots of small vases down each table.

Decoration 
Lots of flowers, lots. We also had winding greenery around internal Sperry poles

Food
Lots! There were canapes after the ceremony and then choices of soufflés, fish cakes, cod, beef and pudding choices. There was a veg/vegan option but I can’t recall that now and a decadent chocolate fountain that went down a treat with adults and children after our wedding breakfast. In the evening we had hot scotch eggs, mini fish and chips and more…

Wedding cake
A lovely lovely lady called Yvonne who had cut her business back after a family loss. I was lucky that Yvonne was so helpful and made us a 3 tier cake still (I found Yvonne by searching cake makers in Ely). It was ‘semi naked’ and then our florists finished it off with flowers to match the venue. The tiers were lemon & passionfruit and strawberry & rosewater.

Entertainment
We had string quartet during the ceremony then a disco and saxophonist in the evening. We also had a bespoke vodka luge in the evening made from our initials!

Who supplied the stationery?
We only printed our table plan locally. We used online software to send invites.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Menorca with my Godparents.

Personal touches
Julian (Groom) has an engineering business and he made our favours by laser cutting steel at work. They were small steel champagne bottles with a beer bottle opener function at one end and our wedding date and names engraved onto the label part of the bottle.

Special moments 
I loved walking down the aisle (although I was terrified by everyone turning to stare at me), then walking back with my husband. I really enjoyed the speeches too. We had a little moment together once everyone headed inside to sit down for the wedding breakfast and it was nice to have 5-10 minutes of calm together. We loved every minute of it. Day 2 was like a crazy happy party, everyone was relaxed and mingling. We had a glitter bar and an inflatable game where you have to jump over the arm as it goes around faster and faster with a view to sweep you off your feet. It was a lovely fun atmosphere.

Advice for other couples
Relax! Try to enjoy the process and remember it’s YOUR day. If someone else doesn’t like your idea, does that matter? It’s not their wedding… Also don’t get stressed on the day if something doesn’t go to plan (torrential rain!!!) you get one day, enjoy every moment, drink it all in. Don’t be running around in your wedding dress directing people for photos etc, communicate beforehand with all your suppliers so they know what you want. They will do these things for you.

Biggest surprise
My husband’s and my dad’s speeches made me more emotional than I expected. Also, I cried so much of the day before our wedding, I was so overwhelmed and emotional, a wreck. My sisters gave me a wonderful gift of ‘letters to the bride’ and so many people close to me had hand written me best wishes for our marriage and lovely memories of us together (including my parents and husband to be). I was SO touched and grateful, I thought I wouldn’t be able to get down the aisle the next day without floods of tears but, seeing Julian waiting for me, I was calm.

Supplier Shout Outs

• Photography: Nick Osborn Photography
• Venue: Willow Grange Farm
• Flowers: Clemmie & Twine
• Catering: Boxed Events
• Music: The Sax Walker
• Dress: Grace Loves Lace

Nick Osborn Photography

www.nickosbornphotography.co.uk / www.nickosbornphotography.co.uk/blog / [email protected]  / 07876 352364 / FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM

 I’m based in Cambridgeshire and I’m a documentary photographer. So I’m not a big fan of posing & neither are my couples. My ideal client is fun, unfussy & informal. I love capturing emotions and genuinely unscripted moments.