Medley Walled Garden Wedding Photography

Medley Walled Garden lies on the western edge of Oxford, right beside the River Thames. Part of Medley Manor Farm, one of only three working farms in Oxford, which is well known locally for its pick-your-own soft fruits and vegetables. The walled garden, as a wedding venue and the Medley bar next to it, an open-air bar with pizzas, form further offshoots of this family-run farm. This was the location for locals Carrie and Eric to hold their wedding day in May.

Open-Air wedding in May

With the bridal prep taking place in a rented AirB&B, a few miles up the road, the rest of the wedding day was to all take place within the walls of Medley. Carrie and Eric, having done the legal ceremony in Oxford the day before, it left them free to design the ‘wedding day’ ceremony themselves. An open-air ceremony led by a close friend. With the introduction into their ceremony of a German tradition, the Brautbecher. A double cupped drinking vessel in the shape of a maiden. During the ceremony, the bride and groom drink from it simultaneously to symbolise unity – the idea being, of course, that a drop is not dropped. The groom drinks from the larger cup, while the bride drinks from the smaller cup that swivels. (There is a History and Legend attached, of course. The cup dates back to 16th-century Nuremberg. Legend states that a noblewoman’s daughter and a humble goldsmith fell in love, but the girl’s father forbade the marriage. He challenged the goldsmith to craft a cup from which both lovers could drink at the same time without spilling a single drop. Inspired by love, the goldsmith designed this ingenious double-cup.) Another German wedding tradition here.

After the ceremony and the confetti run, it was drinks in the garden. The weather? Mid-May, but not quite the mid-May weather you would hope for, and yes, some rain eventually came. The heatwave would come a week later…

Speeches, food, all in the ‘marquee’, built around a tree. What is great about this structure is the clear roof – perfect for shooting the ceilidh later. It would be nice if more venues had this. It was after a fair bit of the ceilidh that the coverage ended and I headed back to Sussex.

Here are a few images from this wedding at Medley Walled Garden…