A Wilderness Reserve Wedding: Paige and Sam marry in a sea of blue and white florals planned by the brides sister Millie Bobby Brown
What a glorious couple of days this wedding was! I was really looking forward to capturing the wedding day of Paige Brown and Sam Hardinges at the Wilderness Reserve. This venue has been on my bucket list for quite some time! It is a little bit of a drive- depending on traffic a good day can be a 3.5 hour drive. But it was worth it to see this stunning estate, photograph these two in a gorgeous setting and see the party in full swing! What was even more lovely about this day was to see the love and family connection of everyone involved. As the Browns are quite a famous family, with Millie Bobby Brown being a world renowned actress staring in Stranger things and Enola Holmes in which Paige was also a producer for. But not only that, after Millie married in 2024 to Jake Bongiovi in Italy, she then took on the task of planning Paige’s wedding day for her. Booking suppliers, designing the ceremony and dinner, as well as running the day alongside her own wedding planner Camilla Boniek. It was truly lovely working alongside Millie, seeing how fiercely loving she is towards Paige and making sure she and Sam had the most special day.
From Millie to Paige in Galia Lahav
What was lovely was seeing both Paige and Millie in the gorgeous dress designer Galia Lahav. Millie wore Galia for her wedding day and then Paige wowed in a stunning lace dress. Galia Lahav has to be one of my favourite designers. With Millie also wearing her maid of honour dress as a custom Ice blue colour from Galia. They even did a gorgeous blog post which you can read here about how Paige found the dress of her dreams. Galia Lahav Blog.
Welcome dinner at the Clock House
As the Wilderness Reserve is quite a drive away, it made sense to stay overnight as well as it being a half midnight finish I did not fancy the long drive home. So I popped by the venue to look at key spots and meet Paige and Sam in person. It is always great to then get a feel for all of the family and how everyone is settling in. At the time the Clock House was being set up for the welcome dinner. So I did a few pictures of the venue and the welcome dinner set up with people taking their seats before leaving them to have a private dinner. As this part of the wedding plans were never to be photographed originally so it was great to capture a few but not impact their privacy for the evening. But ti was fav to get a few of these, As the gorgeous green florals and everyone buzzing for the start of the wedding festivities was lovely to capture.
Wilderness Reserve Wedding set up
The day started with a buzz, with so many suppliers on hand to create the perfect day! With a sea of blue and white florals for the ceremony, parasols and lounge seating for the drinks reception. Everything was arriving and starting to be set up. It was the dream team! Millie was often popping in and out to check on everything while Paige relaxed with the girls back in the clock house and had hair and makeup done. Millie was even putting together the welcome sign herself!
Getting ready at the Wilderness Reserve
Getting ready was in full swing. With the boys opening the morning with a wild swimming experience and fried breakfast outside! While the girls were being pampered by the dream team of Pete Burkill and Buster Knight. Paige then headed over to the main Sibton Manor to get into her wedding dress and get some gorgeous photos on the iconic staircase and dining room. I couldn’t help but put Paige in the window light to create some harsh shadows – she looked like such a queen!
Wilderness ceremony of dreams in a sea of blue and white
As the ceremony was about to commence, Sam arrived in one of the Wilderness Landrovers with guests arriving to welcome drinks. As guests took their seats, everything started to come together with Millie the first to walk down the aisle as Maid of Honour with Ralph in her arms who is Paige and Sam’s son. Next up came the bridesmaids with Ava, Paige’s youngest sister coming last. It was then time for Paige to make her grand entrance alongside her father. For this angle I wanted to be near the door to be able to get a quick shot of the back of her dress and then back to the front. It took a bit of a quick dash to make it happen but it was so worth it! With Millie and Sam’s brother up the front as Best Man and Maid of Honour. It was a heartfelt ceremony with a gorgeous confetti exit and Paige’s veil blowing in the wind!
Couple photos and groups around Wilderness reserve
Time for some quick couple photos in the lounge and utilising the floral arches for group photos before they were moved into dinner. I really thought this was the most gorgeous spot to make use of for groups and it really was such a perfect colour palette. Millie was running around co-ordinating the groups while I got everyone lined up. We wanted to make sure this was done quickly so that everyone could go back to the drinks reception and soak in the sun.
Drinks reception outside of Sibton Manor
What a gorgeous drinks reception this was. With lounge sofas allowing people a break out space to chat and mingle. Aperol sprits cart and capepes being handed around. People were able to really have a relaxing time! As it was such an intimate crown of close friends and family it was also fun to see people such as Pixie Lott and Natalya Wright amount the guest list having fun and celebrating with Paige and Sam.
Dinner reception at Wilderness Reserve
Paige and Sam had a first look at the dinner reception all set up before everyone else, lead in by Millie showcasing her hard work. In this moment you can really see the love between these sisters, with how much joy it brought Millie to plan it for Paige and how much appreciation Paige had for her younger sister- what a fab bond! Next up Paige and Sam hade the most fabulous entrance with napkins swirling in the air. What followed was speeches throughout the dinner before the party began.
After party in the Cellar at Wilderness reserve
What followed was a fun filled party, with everyone on the dance floor! Paige changed into a gorgeous shorter dress for the dance floor which I could not resist a few fun photos of. After the band were finished, everyone headed downstairs into the cellar for the DJ afterparty. With expresso martinis and Tiramisu! What a fun and fabulous wedding day- these guys really knew how to throw a party. But also how lovely it was to witness such a close family. Such a pleasure to capture! I cannot wait to head back to wilderness reserve again.
