Plas Dinam Wedding Photography
Plas Dinam is nestled in the beautiful Mid-Wales countryside and is one of my absolute favourite wedding venues. This place has it all: an impressive mansion, sprawling gardens and woodlands, luxury rooms plus glamping.
With exclusive use of the venue, you get to enjoy Plas Dinam for the full weekend. It’s a cliche but your wedding day really will fly by. So, having extra time either side of your wedding day extends the celebrations making your wedding more relaxed and memorable for everyone. The house’s grand yet cozy vibe combined with the rustic stables makes Plas Dinam the perfect venue for a relaxed fun wedding.
It doesn’t matter if you’re planning a big, traditional wedding or a laid-back, casual affair, this venue can do it all. The high ceilings and large windows are perfect for indoor ceremonies and receptions. For those who love the outdoors, there are multiple spots to say “I do” outside – including a secluded woodland.
Plas Dinam ticks so many boxes, I could go on for days about why it’s such a perfect wedding venue… But this isn’t just about Plas Dinam – this is about Rebecca & Mark’s gorgeous wedding.
I loved so much about Rebecca & Mark’s day, it’s hard to know where to begin. From their emotional “first look” and the beautiful woodland wedding all the way through to their epic party in the evening every part of the day was perfect. And this is how they planned it…
Planning a Plas Dinam Wedding – Rebecca & Mark
- Can you tell everyone a little about yourself?
Mark: We have been together six years having met at a job that neither of us do anymore. I am now a civil servant and Rebecca is a detective. - Tell us about the proposal?
Mark: I asked her. I knew I wanted to ask her while we were on holiday in the Brecon Beacons but I wasn’t sure exactly where and when. I was going to initially ask Rebecca atop Pen Y Fan but the weather was closing in and there were too many people and it didn’t feel right.
Instead, I fell back on my backup which was our waterfall walk which we did two days later. Fortunately the weather was amazing that day and despite numerous attempts to get me to take off my coat I insisted on keeping it on as I had the ring in the inside pocket of my jacket. It was after lunch when I popped the question, we had walked round most of the waterfalls and the second to last one was the perfect spot.
Getting away from the crowds, I asked Rebecca to move down the slope towards the waterfall so I could get a good photo of the pair of us. Following me she was looking at the waterfall when I got down on one knee and brought out the ring.
I don’t know if Rebecca knew I wanted to propose. She had said two weeks earlier when we were at Alton Towers when our gondola broke down that now would be the perfect time to propose to her which I said, “yes it would, wouldn’t it?”. Knowing full well that I would be doing so in two weeks and I was waiting for the ring to arrive.
- How long were you engaged and how long did you spend planning your wedding?
Mark: We were engaged for 2 years, 8 months. After our engagement we didn’t really start planning the wedding until after we had bought our house and then Rebecca was doing all the heavy lifting and my contributions being the website, calling a few people and sorting out the seating plans and emails. - What were you most looking forward to about your wedding
Mark: Everyone seeing the venue. We fell in love with the place when we visited in November 2021 and knew they would love it too. - If you were to describe your wedding in two or three words, what would they be?
Mark: Perfect day.
Rebecca: Incredible! - Where did you find inspiration when planning your wedding? How did you come up with your ideas?
Rebecca: Mostly Instagram. I found a lot of suppliers through social media. We knew we wanted a fairly stripped back wedding. We stuck to the basics but made sure we did the basics really well: great setting, amazing food and awesome music! - Did you involve friends & family in any way?
Mark: We wanted to involve our families as much as possible and had our sisters do the readings and our mother’s be the witnesses. With my ushers filling in the gaps and doing all the bits on the day that we needed help with like ensuring no one parked at the house so as not to ruin the photos. - Did you enjoy the planning process?
Rebecca: Having now seen it all come together I can say I did enjoy the process! All those nights of researching and trawling Instagram for the perfect suppliers really paid off. I cannot think of a single thing that I would have done differently.
Choosing your suppliers…
- How did you choose your wedding venue?
Rebecca: In the early stages we did have a spreadsheet of venues in Wales which we were considering but Plas Dinam was the only venue we visited. We fell in love with the place and couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else. The house is beautiful, the grounds are stunning and the view is breathtaking. We loved the flexibility of the venue to plan the wedding however we wished and also to have the entire place to ourselves for two days. - What advice would you give to couples looking for a wedding venue?
Rebecca: Go with your gut! Can you visualise your wedding there? - What was your biggest worry or concern when choosing a photographer?
Rebecca: Mark and I are not the biggest fans of having our picture taken and I was worried about feeling awkward on the day. That awkwardness dissipated in the first 5 minutes with Chris. Even when Mark and I went for a private moment after the ceremony, Chris was able to capture some beautiful photos of us without being at all intrusive. - What advice would you give to couples who are looking for a photographer?
Rebecca: Do your research. With Chris I looked at his website and some of the weddings he had photographed and loved his style. We found Chris as he was one of the recommended suppliers of our venue so it is definitely worth seeing who your venue recommends. - What was the best thing you spent money on for your wedding?
Rebecca: Paying a bit extra to have the band perform an acoustic session during the post-ceremony drinks was worth every penny. It created an amazing atmosphere and set everyone in the mood for a fantastic afternoon. - Would you like to give a shout out to anyone in particular?
Chris you were incredible. I cannot thank you enough for capturing our day perfectly and we cannot wait to see all the photos. Thank you for putting us both at ease. Also Wild Garlic were just impeccable. They made the day seamless. And my god the food. It got so many compliments with a lot of people telling me it was the best food they have ever had at a wedding.
- Where did you get ready?
Mark: I got changed in the in-laws room while waiting for the flowers to show up in between glasses of whiskey.
Rebecca: I got ready with my mum, my sister and my best friend in the bridal suite. We had a lovely time whilst Mark spent the morning quite stressed I later learnt. Chris came and spent some time with us whilst we were getting ready. He put me completely at ease and by the time the wedding started I was no longer thinking about him and his camera. - How did you feel when you saw each other for the first time?
Mark: Wow! I got choked up and I remember Rebecca saying I needed to keep it together or she’d start crying.
Rebecca: I am so glad we chose to do the first look and Chris captured the moment perfectly. I get teary just thinking about it. Doing a first look helped to ease both of our nerves. - Was there any part of the day you were particularly nervous about?
Rebecca: The speeches! I knew I wanted to do a speech but the idea of actually doing one filled me with dread. But by that point in the day I was so happy and relaxed that I lost my nerves. But I was still glad once it was done. Mark: Quite a few moments in the morning while waiting for the flowers and the rest of the guests and registrars to start arriving. I was a bag of nerves and had to have a few whiskeys to keep it together until the ceremony. - Did you break any wedding “traditions” or go against the norm?
Rebecca: We knew we wanted our wedding to feel as relaxed as possible so we tried to not have it too structured. I never saw myself in a white dress and fell in love with idea of a having some colour. I ended up choosing a top and skirt which was so comfy and I felt amazing in it. We also had Colin and Connie the caterpillar cakes instead of a traditional wedding cake which went down a treat! - What was your favourite part of your day?
Rebecca: Getting married in the woodland was just magical. Walking down the aisle and seeing all the people we love under the trees with the sun shining through will be something I’ll never forget.
Almost there…
- And finally… Any words of wedding planning wisdom?
Get the basics right. You can get pressured into thinking that a wedding needs to be all bells and whistles but as long as the basics are there don’t worry. At the end of the day everyone is there to celebrate you and it is that love which set the tone for an amazing day! Also, people love to tell you how they think you should plan your wedding but it is your day so make it how you want it!
Congratulations & Thank Yous
I’d like to wish a massive congratulations to Rebecca & Mark and say a huge thank you for choosing me to be your wedding photographer and for sharing your story with us all – there’s some great advice in there! I’d also like to say thank you to all the other suppliers who helped to make their day so awesome.
Venue: Plas Dinam | Hair & Makeup: Rebecca Forshaw | Dress: Lucy Cant Dance | Suits: Blidworth Menswear | Flowers: Flower & Farmer | Catering: Wild Garlic Event Catering | Band: Festival Heart via Music HQ
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