Joe and Viivi struck gold in February with the weather for their wedding day at The Hawkhills in Easingwold! You’ll see from the pictures that it was better than many Spring/Summer days; the sun shone and we could happily be outside without coats. Wow!

It was a really interesting day because it was actually their second wedding day in as many weeks! Joe and Viivi live in Finland and had their wedding ceremony there the week before. Apparently the weather wasn’t as kind to them there, athough I saw a few pictures from that day and the snowy scenes made for an incredible backdrop! So this day was a celebration for family and friends who could not make it abroad, as well as many who were there too. Joseph’s family are from Easingwold so it is a special venue for them.

Because there was no wedding ceremony itself, the format for the day was a little different to normal which I loved. I met the couple for preparations in the lovely bridal suite at Hawkhills. Viivi’s hair and makeup was done by the brilliant Sarah Russell from Birmingham. After they had a relaxed lunch together in their room and got dressed, we went outside for a few group shots and couple portraits before the guests arrived. I loved this part of the day as the grounds are very beautiful and we had so much fun exploring the various dramatic walls, fields and trees on offer! When Viivi suggested walking on a bit further than I had dared to ask to some nearby woodland, I jumped at the chance and I’m soooo happy we did!

Highlights from the day were a presentation of photographs from Joe and Viivi’s Mums documenting their lives growing up, friendships and relationship which was really touching and the personalised forfeits that all the guests received to carry out during the sit down meal (a Scandinavian tradition - love it!). One guest had to stand up and give an impromptu speech, completely unprepared - a braver person than me! Not that he came across as shy! Then in the evening Joe and Viivi demonstrated another Finnish wedding tradition by playing a version of ‘Mr and Mrs’ involving holding up their shoes. Hilarious! Oh yes and I mustn’t forget to mention my ‘extreme photographer’ moment up on a roof edge to capture the whole group shot. My knees were a bit wobbly after that!

As always I felt very lucky to be able to spend the day closely with a lovely couple and their friends and family, who felt like friends of mine by the end.

Joe and Viivi’s life in Finland sounds fascinating and romantic. They live on an island and catch a ferry to get to university. I hope I can visit their beautiful country one day and will be getting in touch if I do!