Some weddings feel as though they belong perfectly in their surroundings, and Sarah and Joe’s summer wedding at Slapton Manor was exactly that.
Set amongst the rolling Northamptonshire countryside near Towcester, Slapton Manor gave them the freedom to create a wedding that felt completely their own. A twilight ceremony, wildflowers and soft pastel colours, garden games, pizza, music and plenty of time simply spent with the people who mattered most.
It was informal, personal and full of character. Very Sarah and Joe.
A Love Story Built on Being a Team
Sarah and Joe’s story began online before moving into the real world with a first date at a local pub. They became so engrossed in talking that they completely lost track of time, eventually finding themselves ushered out into the snow because the staff wanted to go home.
That ability to simply be themselves together became one of the foundations of their relationship.
Over the years they blended their families, created a home together and, in Sarah’s words, became each other’s “favourite teammates”. They are there for one another through the good days and the difficult ones, equally happy being silly together or simply sitting on the sofa.
There was, however, one important early relationship test. Joe maintained that everything depended upon Sarah’s ability to make a decent cup of tea.
More than ten years later, I think we can safely say she passed.
A Proposal That Didn’t Quite Go to Plan
For their tenth anniversary, Sarah and Joe headed to York for a few days away. What Sarah didn’t know was that Joe had a ring hidden in his coat pocket and an increasingly complicated proposal plan running through his head.
His first idea was to propose on York’s historic city walls. They were closed because of ice.
Then came York Minster. Too many tourists.
Next was a beautiful park, but by the time they arrived it was already dark.
Sarah, completely unaware of what was happening, simply thought Joe had developed an unusually enthusiastic desire to see absolutely everything York had to offer.
Eventually the cold won and they returned to their hotel. Sarah started getting ready for bed and was planning a quiet evening with her Kindle. After removing her contact lenses, she walked out of the bathroom to find Joe down on one knee.
There were tears, surprise and the slight complication that Sarah couldn’t properly see the beautiful handcrafted box Joe was holding.
It wasn’t the proposal Joe had planned, but looking back, they realised it couldn’t have suited them better.
Why Slapton Manor?
Sarah and Joe visited just one wedding venue.
Slapton Manor.
Even though they viewed it completely out of season, standing on the hill overlooking the spot where the marquee would eventually sit was enough. They knew.
They wanted somewhere rural, private and naturally beautiful, with enough space for their family and friends to enjoy themselves without the wedding feeling overly formal. Slapton Manor offered exactly that.
It also had a personal connection. Joe grew up in nearby Silverstone, so this part of Northamptonshire already felt familiar, with many of their friends and family still living close by.
The welcome mattered too. Sarah and Joe particularly appreciated the support they received from Sam and the family throughout the planning process, something that reflects the family-run nature of Slapton Manor itself.
Centuries of Northamptonshire History
Slapton Manor isn’t simply a wedding venue. It is a working family farm with a history stretching back centuries.
At the heart of the farmstead stands a 12th-century Manor House, alongside the historic Church of St Botolph, renowned for its medieval wall paintings, while the characterful 18th-century Threshing Barn provides another connection to the site’s agricultural past. The Smith family have farmed at Slapton Manor for four generations, since 1924, and the farm remains very much part of the identity of the venue today.
Rather than trying to disguise that agricultural heritage, Slapton Manor embraces it. Historic buildings, the Fold Yard, open farmland and huge Northamptonshire skies all become part of the wedding experience.
Its ethos is equally appealing. Only a limited number of weddings are hosted each year, couples have considerable freedom to shape their celebration around themselves, and the venue provides access before the wedding so there is time to make the space their own.
That individuality was particularly important to Sarah and Joe.
A Twilight Wedding Designed Around Them
Neither Sarah nor Joe wanted to spend their wedding day feeling as though they were performing for everyone else.
So they didn’t.
Instead, they chose a twilight ceremony with fewer formalities and concentrated on the parts of a wedding they genuinely cared about.
Wildflowers and pastel tones complemented Slapton Manor’s countryside setting without overwhelming it. Perfectly Matched and Mel the Florist took Sarah and Joe’s ideas and used them to enhance a venue that, as the couple themselves said, needs very little added to make it beautiful.
Rather than building the celebration around a rigid traditional timetable, the emphasis was on giving everyone space to eat, talk, play games, have a drink and enjoy the evening.
There was a pizza truck serving buffet-style for several hours, garden games, welcome drinks, a photobooth and a DJ under strict instructions that guests couldn’t request any awful songs.
A sensible wedding policy, frankly.
Wedding Photography for a Couple Who Don’t “Do” Photos
One sentence from Sarah and Joe’s planning questionnaire summed things up rather nicely:
“We don’t ‘do’ photos.”
And that is exactly why the photography needed to fit around them rather than forcing them to fit around the photography.
They wanted their memories captured while still feeling comfortable and present in their wedding. They weren’t looking for hours of awkward posing or constantly being pulled away from their guests.
That is a huge part of how I photograph weddings.
I want couples to recognise themselves when they look through their photographs. Not just how they looked, but how being there actually felt.
Sarah and Joe’s wedding was perfect for that approach. With everyone moving naturally between the different areas of Slapton Manor, there were endless opportunities to photograph conversations, reactions, children playing, guests enjoying the countryside and all the little moments happening between the bigger events.
And when we did head away for photographs together, the surrounding fields and open landscape gave us a beautiful backdrop without needing to turn the evening into a photoshoot.
Heroes
As the evening moved towards the party, Sarah and Joe had one final surprise waiting for their guests.
Their first dance.
They chose Heroes by David Bowie, but the song meant something different to each of them.
Joe grew up listening to Bowie through his mum, while Sarah grew up loving Labyrinth and will still happily sit down and watch it today. They also discovered the story connecting the song with Berlin and the Berlin Wall, adding another layer for two people who share an interest in history and the World Wars.
Most importantly, they kept their choice secret.
Particularly from Joe’s Bowie-loving mum.
It was another wonderfully personal detail in a wedding filled with them.
Sarah & Joe at Slapton Manor
What I love about this gallery is that Sarah and Joe didn’t try to create somebody else’s version of a wedding.
They created theirs.
From that first pub date that ended outside in the snow, through ten years together, blended families, Joe’s wonderfully unsuccessful tour of potential proposal locations in York, and finally to a summer evening surrounded by their favourite people at Slapton Manor, their story has always been about being a team.
Their wedding followed exactly the same philosophy.
Personal, informal, slightly unconventional and filled with the people they wanted around them.
Scroll through the gallery below to see the story of Sarah and Joe’s wedding at Slapton Manor, photographed naturally as it happened.