A Breathtaking Outdoor Wedding at The Orangery, Maidstone - Heidi + Mark

The story of how Heidi and Mark's wedding would unfold began long before they started to plan, long even before they got engaged.

It began with how their relationship was first to be - long distance. With Mark in the army and Heidi at University, they spent much time apart. Their long phone calls always led to the same joke, of who loved the other more, but it always ended the same way -

I love you to the moon and back.

Years later, on Mark's birthday, a great day became perfect when the two walked along the beach in Crete and Mark proposed under the stars.

And so, their wedding theme was, so fittingly, To the Moon and Back.

We've photographed outdoor weddings a-plenty, but none quite like this!

The Orangery welcomes you with rolling gardens, a river, towering red cedar trees and squirrels; and Julie, the most meticulously organised wedding coordinator I've met. It was just perfect for what Heidi and Mark had been planning - an outdoor wedding.

We had no doubt that the day would be anything less than spectacular.

The girls prepared, with the help of hair stylists Sophie Murray and Hannah Sherwood of Sunbox Herne Bay and makeup artists Lucy Jayne Makeup, in the Wisteria Suite, tucked away from Mark and the arriving guests.

Heidi and Mark had missed nothing in their planning; their guests were in for a magical day. Friends and family were greeted by Spanish and popular guitarist in cuban heels, Hugh McDonald, who serenaded them from their arrival.

While in the army, Mark had made a tankard from a shell case and Heidi had plans to make it even more special. But first, she needed to make sure that Mark didn't notice it was missing. (I love this part of my job, I get to know all the back story and show how it plays out in photographs!)

She started by hiding the tankard in different places around their home, to make sure that Mark didn't miss it when it moved. After a few weeks of this, she knew she was safe to take it away (how genius is she!) and she had the tankard engraved and cleaned, ready to give Mark on their wedding day.

Here's best man, Ryan, delivering it before the ceremony.

Think of everything you hope your wedding day to be and put it all together, you'd find Heidi and Mark's wedding - sunshine, happiness, family and friends, beautiful surroundings, laughter, emotions running high, music, fun

and love - lots of it!

Wedding days are usually a mix of nerves, excitement and anticipation. But from all that we saw, it was all happiness.

Wall to wall smiles and laughter.

Beginning to end.

(OK there were some tears, happy ones.)

A great big THANK YOU from us to Heidi, Mark and their family and friends. You're the best.