Tiff & Seb could give a class on how to best enjoy your wedding day. I say this not just because their wedding was lots of fun (for them, the guests, and me), but in how they just rolled with things during the day. Actually not just rolled, they were having the time of their lives all day, just as if everything was exactly as they had always wanted.

I don't mean to give the impression that lots of things went wrong (they didn't), but with English weather being (to paraphrase Forest Gump) "like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get", it did mean a few things had to adapt.

Despite being in mid-June, the day started off with rain, high winds, and a temperature more suitable to December. I started my coverage for them in Wadhurst at the Greyhound Hotel, where I would photograph Seb & his groomsmen having a pre-ceremony drink. However, the venue was undergoing renovations and although they had confirmed this would be fine prior to the wedding, they told me the bar wouldn't open for another hour. No problem, we relocated to another pub. That one also didn't open for another hour. No problem, I asked if we could do photos in there anyway and we just forgo the drink - great success.

I then joined Tiff and her bridal party at Wadhurst Castle where they were getting ready. With Tiff being from the USA, they wanted to do a first look before the ceremony, and also, to do most of the formal photos then. I know this isn't traditional for UK weddings, but it makes a lot of sense and frees you up more for mixing with your guests between the ceremony and wedding breakfast.

Once the registrars arrived, they made the decision that the ceremony couldn't be outside due to the passing showers and high-winds. No problem, the ceremony was moved inside (and Wadhurst Castle has a lovely inside option).

After the drinks reception, Seb's father and then Seb did speeches from the stairs leading from the Winter Garden to the lawn, and then everyone moved to the barn for the remaining speeches from Crystal (Maid of Honour and Tiff's sister, and Simon (the best man). I always love the speeches at weddings, but I think I'll remember aspects of these two speeches for a while. Crystal had everyone laughing at numerous times, but especially at her admittance of how she funded her flight cost (I won't explain his but I'm sure most of the guests will remember). Simon's speech was more of a comedy roast of Seb & Tiff which was executed perfectly.

If everyone wasn't already in the party mood, I think the speeches had definitely taken them there. After the meal, drinking games were being played, as well as a hollow duck being passed around the room for guests to fill said duck with their drink of choice, and then down the drink using the hole in the beak.

Everyone then moved back to the castle where Seb & Tiff poured the Champagne tower before passing the full glasses out to their guests. Tiff through the bouquet (s), and then the newly weds unveiled the Donut Wall from 'Temptation Towers'. 150 donuts, including 5 different flavours for their guests to enjoy. They were insistent that I have one, and I have to say, the triple choc was the nicest donut I think I have ever had.

They then officially started the evening party off with their first dance, which I'm sure was followed by a truly epic night.

I had a great time photographing Seb & Tiff's wedding at Wadhurst Castle. They have incredible chemistry, are absolutely besotted with each other, and their fun / easy going outlook (plus various things they'd arranged for the day) meant everyone had such a fun time.

For their preview photo, i used a photo of them kissing with Tiff's hair blowing in the wind, arms around each other, and completely lost in their love, not worrying about anything else going on around them. You can see it in amongst the other images below from their beautiful wedding.

---

Here are lots of photos from throughout their day and info about their day and choices from the couple themselves:

In brief (or as long as you like), how did you meet, & how did you become engaged?

"Seb was invited as a +1 to a house party hosted by Tiffany in Sydney, Australia. Matchmaker Adrian made the introduction and we bonded over a game of beer pong and a few drinks. We were in a relationship for 5 months before we had a long distance period of 8 months while Seb was in Sydney and Tiffany was in America for a family wedding and to renew her visa." 

"Tiffany moved back to Australia to live with Seb and we lived together for just under 5 years before Seb asked the big question! Our joint passion was Opal Hunting in Australia’s Outback (exactly like the TV show!). Seb had a custom engagement ring crafted by Mendel & Rose in Sydney and with that, booked a Opal Hunting trip to Lightning Ridge. In possibly one of the most remote areas of Australia, we got engaged!"

How long did you take to plan your wedding?

"18 months."

What made you choose your wedding venues and how did you decorate them?

"We chose Wadhurst Castle because Tiffany loves Castles. It is a great venue with lots of different rooms and spaces for guests to explore. The Castle is stunning and with its well kept gardens and flower beds, we didn’t have to do much decorating. We hired 'Wadhurst Flowers' to provide some additional flowers for tables and our caterer had a few items they brought to decorate the bar and party rooms."

What inspired you to style your day the way you did?

"Our families are from America and the UK so we wanted a wedding that would cater for both audiences. There are some differences in how the day runs so we wanted to take inspiration from both sides of the pond. We were also conscious that some guests travelled from far away lands like Australia, America, Papa New Guinea so we wanted to throw a good party as well. We put value on hiring trusted suppliers and making sure the open bar was well stocked!"

How did you decide on your dress and accessories?

Tiffany - "When I went to try on dresses I had a particular dress in mind. When trying it on, sadly it was an instant no! So that's when I decided to have some fun and let the stylist pick out some ideas. She came back with some really great choices. With each dress I tried on there was something that I loved and something that just didn’t sit right which was the perfect build up for the last dress she brought in. The dress had everything I loved from the other dresses. The moment I put it on I just knew it was my dress. Since my dress was a statement in itself, I kept the accessories fairly simple sticking to the name of the dress ”Pearl”. My earrings were a simple silver dangling earring with a pearl at the end, my necklace was a silver chain with a pearl in the middle, my hair pin was silver with pearls, my shoes were from Charlotte Mills with a pearl strap, and my veil was a simple cathedral style."

How did you decide on the outfits for the groom and groomsmen?

Seb - "Organising 6 groomsmen living in Australia, America, France, Papa New Guinea and the UK was a little tricky so I opted for a simple black tie dress code because we knew it would work well with the venue and bridesmaids and that we could easily arrange everyone to be matching. I'm also a fan of a classic black tuxedo. Two of my groomsmen were Scottish so I asked if they would wear traditional kilts which worked really well."

Who walked you down the aisle? And did you walk down the aisle to a particular song?

Tiffany - "My Uncle Eric walked me down the aisle and we walked down to “Romantic flight” from the How to Train Your Dragon movie. It’s my number one favourite movie."

Would you like to share anything about your vows?

"We decided to write our own vows. I couldn’t be happier about choosing to do this. It was the perfect way to make the ceremony more sentimental. It was a mix of some traditional vows and some not so traditional vows which included Seb being promised the window seat on planes for the rest of his life!"

Did you have any readings? If so, what were they and why did you choose them?

"Yes, We had two readings. We had a piece about travel from Beau Taplin called Buried Light and we had The Art of Marriage: by Wilfred A. Peterson."

Please describe your wedding breakfast and the reasons behind it? 

"One of the best decisions we made was to hire Amuse Catering to arrange our wedding dinner. Sarah and her team simply blew us away with how flawless it was executed. We began the dinner with speeches from the Matron of honour (Crystal) and best man (Simon). These speeches got everyone in a celebratory mood and the drinks were flowing. For dinner, the starter was Marinated Tomato with Buffalo Mozzarella and Herb Gnocchi and the main was Chargrilled marinated Lamb with parsley & Spinach pesto. We finished up the meal with a Raspberry Parfait with matcha cake and yoghurt. It was an impressive looking meal and the portion size was great. We wanted people to be well fed as it was a long day!"

Did you provide wedding favours?

"Yes, we gifted each of our guests a tall shot glass with our new family crest on it that Seb had designed as part of our wedding ‘branding’. We sourced the glassware from Amazon and Seb applied all the decals to each glass."

Please describe your cake and why you chose it?

"We actually didn’t have a cake. Instead, we chose a donut wall that had 150 donuts on it. There were five different types of donuts (strawberry, sugar rings, lemon, caramel and chocolate). It did not disappoint! We’d highly recommend Temptation Towers who did such a great job at setting up and supplying the donut wall. They were also a lovely couple!"

What was your first dance track and what did it mean to you?

"Our first dance was to a Dean Martin song “Everybody loves somebody sometime”. This song means a lot to Tiffany as her pop pop Darren used to sing it to her and her siblings when they were younger. Sadly Darren is no longer with us so it was an extra special moment."

What was your favourite part of the day and why? 

Tiffany - "So many parts of the day stand out, it’s so hard to just pick one but if I had to, it would be either the champagne tower (that we didn’t think was going to happen due to windy conditions) or everyone participating in “Chug a Duck” during the wedding dinner!"

Seb - "I really enjoyed our wedding dinner. Sitting in a room of all your close friends and family is really special. Our families were mixing really well and getting to know each other which was amazing to see."

What led you to choose Parkershots as your photographer and please can you comment on their work?

"From our initial meeting it was clear to us that Nick was the man for the job. We interviewed 3 photographers and whilst they were all very talented photographers, what stood out the most for us was Nick's experience with our venue and that nothing seemed to be too much trouble. It’s fair to say that our family and friends can be a bit of a rowdy bunch but Nick seemed to have a way with people that enabled him to get some incredible, natural shots that in our opinion are priceless! When we received our wedding photos it by far exceeded any expectation we had. We knew they would be good but they were GREAT!"

"Since our wedding day we have had multiple guests sharing their interactions with Nick and commenting on how polite and accommodating he was. We even had someone ask us how Nick was related to the family which shows you how well Nick fit in with our guests!"

"One stand out moment was when there was a slight mix up in groomsmen photoshoots. The pub we were heading to for a quick Guinness and a couple of photos turned out to be closed. Nick was the first one to arrive and quickly arranged an alternative solution at another venue just down the road. It was quick thinking and Nick saved the day!"

On reflection, is there anything you would have done differently with foresight? 

Tiffany - "I would have recorded a video on how to bust my dress as it took us a few minutes to figure it out. Other than that there is nothing I would do differently."

Seb - "Nope, I think it was a pretty perfect day. The weather was a bit biblical in the morning but it was a miracle it cleared up just in time!"

If you could impart any words of wisdom to a bride to be planning her marriage and wedding day, what would they be?

"Try not to sweat the small things! Your wedding day will be full of excitement and joy and at the end of it, no one will remember if your table arrangement contained 3 or 5 candles!

Make sure you plan some time to spend with your husband / wife during the day. Even if it’s just 5 mins of peace and quiet! It’s a very busy day and everyone wants to talk to you so a small break is invaluable. 

Enjoy your dinner! It’s easy to want to stand up, walk around and visit tables and talk to people during your dinner. Spend the time with your husband / wife and immediate family and enjoy your first meal together. It is after all, one of the most expensive parts of the day so enjoy it!"

Is there anything else you would like to add?

"We would like to thank all the suppliers for helping make our day so special. We had an incredible team and would recommend each one of them! They all treated us so well and the day felt flawless from our point of view."

Suppliers:
- Bride’s Dress: Pearl by Enzoani from The Wedding Dress Shop in Wimbledon
- Bridal Jewellery: Necklace from Gaamaa Jewellery & Earrings from Kyoto Pearl
- Bride’s shoes: Heels by Charlotte Mills from London Pearl, Sneakers by Crystal She Designs (https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1331455082/wedding-trainers-for-brides-wedding-old?ref=yr_purchases)
- Bride’s perfume: YSL - Libre
- Rings: Bride’s from Goldsmith and Grooms from Newman Bands
- Venue; Wadhurst Castle
- Bridesmaids Dresses: Azazie
- Groom’s suit: Suits Direct
- Catering - Amuse - [email protected]
- DJ - Platinum Dj's - Jason - [email protected] - 07941493074
- Flowers - Wadhurst Flowers - [email protected] - 01892783407
- Makeup & Hair - Nicola Downey - [email protected]
- Donut wall - Temptation Towers - Antia - 07834386646
- Hair & Make-up: Sweetpea
- Wedding Stationary Designer: https://www.sebjacques.com/
- Photographer: Parkershots www.parkershots.com <https://www.parkershots.com/>
- Honeymoon: Thailand

---