Fun Clapton Country Club London Wedding | Amy + Matt
Stoke Newington Town Hall and Clapton Country Club with LIVE BAND Karaoke!
Amy and Matt got married at the fab Stoke Newington Town Hall with a reception at Clapton Country Club in London last summer. I love London weddings - there are so many awesome venues for a fun and relaxed day. Clapton Country Club is one of my faves! It’s a great pub come warehouse venue where you can hire the two rooms to stay in pre wedding and post (great for climbing into bed after your final number on the dance floor) which meant the Amy and Matt got ready in rooms next to each other, along with pizza and bubbles before doing a first look and hoping on a London Bus together to head to the ceremony (yes to breaking with tradition!!)
“Kate instantly felt like a friend, fun to have around. On the day she worked tirelessly I never saw her stop! So many people have commented on the photos they're amazed, she is amazing and if she is still available you have to book her…it was the BEST money we spent on the wedding”
The ceremony took place in the Stoke Newington Town Hall, close to their reception venue at Clapton Country Club. The ceremony began with Amy and her bridal party walking down the aisle to Emmylou by First Aid Kit, followed by two wonderful readings - Touched By An Angel by Maya Angelou and David Bowie Absolute Beginners. The ceremony finished with Amy cheering after the first kiss, signing the register to Chaka Kahn Aint Nobody, and exiting to one of my fave songs Folding Chair by Regina Spektor. It was a lovely and relaxed ceremony, full of lots of laughter and nervous giggles.
After the ceremony, we took the vintage bus to the reception, I love buses as wedding transport they are so great for a city wedding. Pretty much as soon as we arrived back at Clapton Country Club all the guests made a beeline for the bar. I got some really fun candid photos as they enjoyed the afternoon, chatting away.
Amy and Matt chose to have their wedding at Clapton Country Club because they wanted a beautiful but relaxed venue - Clapton Country Club is perfect for that. In Amy’s words ‘it didn't feel too wedding-y, and the food and wine was amazing’. Clapton Country Club is an old warehouse part of a cool strip known at the Tram Depot, and it’s got such a party vibe, especially in the evenings when the party gets going. And I can confirm they are indeed correct, the food is amazing!
After we had all eaten said yummy food, it was back out for drinks again and the venue cleared the room and everyone gathered for speeches. Speeches started with Amy’s dad which had several folk tearing up, followed by a wonderful speech from the bride herself, at this point even I had gotten super emotional (making the bridesmaids laugh). Wet faces all around. Matt joined Amy on the stage and then speeches finished with a very funny yet touching (and original) best man speech. Followed by a big group hug.
Next up, the best wedding entertainment I have EVER seen. Rockaoke, which is live band karaoke. Yes. Sounds terrible. It wasn’t! Amy and Matt’s family and friends filled out the the dance floor and stage all night, it was hilarious. The karaoke went down so well with the guests, they were seriously all rockstars for the night.
I loved this fun and informal wedding so much, apparently after I left everyone was covered in eco glitter, and there was a human pyramid. I wish I had been there. I’m photographing two sets of their friends weddings this year and I can’t wait. If you want to see what Amy and Matt had to say about their day scroll to the bottom, whilst taking in the photos of course.
CLAPTON COUNTRY CLUB Wedding Film
CLAPTON COUNTRY CLUB Wedding Photos
Here’s what the couple had to say about their day!
OH GOSH it was the best day.
We were lucky enough to get our venue the night before and we had some lovely friends and our families helped us to decorate the afternoon before then we all went to the pub down the road for a drink. This was a special moment for me (Amy). I was so nervous before the wedding and talking to Matt's mum and Granny, and his Granny told me all about her wedding and how nervous she was too - it was such a lovely time for us to bond just as I was about to join the family.
We stayed on site with flats next door. Me and 2 of the bridesmaids went back to the flat early. We stopped at a shop to pick up prosecco for the morning when Matt's siter saw a white bottle she reached for it nearly knocking everything off the shelves.
The morning of the wedding was so much fun. We woke up way too early so there was a bit of hanging around drinking, eating pizza and trying to calm my nerves. I remember my dad constantly swapping flats - wanting to hang out with the lads then coming to check in on his little girl. He got SO EXCITED when the cake arrived - Matt's aunt made it for us and it looked amazing. He took a picture and ran it round to show me.
I remember when you arrived Kate - I was so excited to meet you. I felt like I knew you already from all the emails, and you just seemed so fun and genuinely lovely so I was eager to have you around, and I knew you had obviously been to 100s of weddings so I felt like you could calm my nerves and assure me everything was going well.
Matt and I decided to travel together to the wedding in a vintage bus so we did a 'first look' before then on camera. I remember finally being ready and walking through and unexpectedly ALL his groomsmen (7 of them) were there staring it was so initimidating but they were such gents.
When I saw Matt it was lovely, he looked nervous but I think he liked how I looked! We waited for this bus (this was one of the only things I had sole responsibility for) and it was late. Matt was getting really anxious - I was annoyed he didn't trust me, worried I had made a mistake and terrified we were going to miss our wedding!
Finally it came and we got to the town hall. The ceremony was actually so much fun. I was really nervous, but I was trying to hide it by being silly. I was really nice having some laughter in the ceremony. Our readings were lovely, our friends Mikey and Chris did such lovely readings.
When we were married it felt amazing, and the rest of the day whizzed by in more of a blur. There was so much smiling, hugging, bubbles and excitement. It was a lovely sunny day - couldn't have been better.
We sat down to the meal and I was getting nervous for the upcoming speeches. Then we heard a commotion and discovered one of my friends had knocked the cake over. This has become a legendary tale of the day!
Speech time came and it was actually lovely. My dad was clearly really nervous so it meant a lot to me that he got up and said something. I did my speech which I actually loved and Matt did a wonderful speech.
Finally it was time for our rockaoke band. I wasn't sure if people would be keen but we actually couldn't get people away from the mic. Unfortunately none of our friends who were actually good at singing had a chance and there was a lot of passionate shouting going on, but it was great.
Late in the night I got out the eco-glitter and started slapping it on people's faces, and there was a human pyramid that got way too tall considering how drunk everyone was.
Eventually the band had to leave and the last of the party started to leave. We had a small after party in one of the flats but it was clear by 1am we'd already had too much fun and it was off to bed, still covered in glitter of course.
And here’s what they had to say about working with me, Kate Jackson Photography.
“I found you because I was looking for people who had photographed Clapton Country Club before. I was really taken by your photography because it wasn't staged, seemed to capture genuine joy, and you got photos of so many smiling faces compared to other weddings I had seen! I came across one of your wedding videos and loved it. I felt like loads of other wedding videos I'd seen online were so sweet and romantic they almost seemed like horror films but yours were just fun and joyful. We toyed for ages about the money to be honest, it was more than we had budgeted but it was the BEST money we spent on the wedding.
I’ve already recommended you to our friends, saying Kate was amazing from start to finish, quick communication, instantly felt like a friend, fun to have around.
On the day you worked tirelessly I never saw you stop and everyone at the wedding commented to me how lovely you were. I felt like you knew my wedding and guests straight away. Knew who to take pictures of and how best to capture them.
So many people have commented on the photos they're amazed. We found out the other day one of our guests (matt's mum's friend) has been recommending her after seeing the photos and she doesn't even know you!
I’ve said to friends ‘she is amazing and if she is still available you have to book her’.”
LONDON WEDDING SUPPLIERS
Venue(s) Stoke Newington Town Hall and Clapton Country Club
Second Shooter Charlotte Rawles
Amy’s Wedding Dress John Lewis
Amy’s Wedding Shoes New Look
Amy’s Accessories Hair Vine and Necklace from Etsy
Florist The Botanical Shed
Make up Katrina McLeod
Matt’s Outfit Moss Bros Suit and tropical tie and coral pocket square from Suits Direct
Stationary DIY (Amy)
Naked Cake DIY (Matt’s Aunty)
Live Band Karaoke Live Karaoke Band
Planning your Stoke Newington Town Hall or Clapton Country Club Wedding? If you are looking for a relaxed and fun wedding photographer I’d love to have a natter with you, get in touch with me here.
Searching for an informal photographer for your wedding? Check out my portfolio here, and my prices here. Want to see all the joy of 2018? Head here for my round up. I’m a UK wide wedding photographer, photographing weddings in Hackney, London, and back in my home town of Birmingham.