Jo & Andy’s Le Talbooth Wedding Film, Colchester

A wedding can carry you through several different worlds in a single day. For Jo and Andy, there was the excitement of a Colchester ceremony, a stretch of quiet water at Dedham and a riverside reception at Le Talbooth. Looking back through their films, it is the people who join those places together.

The date: 12 September 2019
The ceremony: Colchester Town Hall
The celebration: Le Talbooth, Dedham
Our part: Wedding videography

A phone call, a fortnight, a wedding

Jo contacted us with only two weeks left before the wedding. She and Andy were getting ready for a move abroad, and their wedding plans had come together quickly. There was plenty to organise, but the result had a clear sense of them: family around them in the morning, a ceremony in Colchester and time to celebrate beside the River Stour.

This was also the first wedding we filmed under The Camera Guys name, before our wedding work became Stolen Hearts. It is a lovely one to revisit. The cameras and the business have moved on since 2019, but these are still the things we look for in a wedding film: the relationship at its centre, the people around it and the moments that only happen once.

The part of the day you spend apart

We had two videographers with Jo and Andy, which meant both sets of preparations could be filmed. That gives the couple a particularly personal part of the story to watch afterwards. While one of you is getting ready, the other has a whole morning of their own: different conversations, different nerves and different people helping things along.

The frames here include Jo’s makeup being finished, her dress hanging beside the beams and the small details waiting for the groom. There is also a kiss for a baby and a smile across the room. Those little interruptions belong in the memory of the morning just as much as the dress and the rings.

A pocket watch, cufflinks and buttonhole laid out for the groom — film still — Two preparations happening in parallel, brought together in the film.

Looking through the window as Jo gets ready — film still — Two preparations happening in parallel, brought together in the film.

Married in Colchester

The ceremony took place at Colchester Town Hall. One of our favourite frames catches Jo and Andy lifting their joined hands afterwards, smiling out towards the people who had come to see them marry. It is a brief gesture, but an excellent place to pause the film.

Movement and sound give the scene its life when you press play. A still lets you linger over a face or an expression that might otherwise pass in a second. We have included both ways of revisiting this wedding below, while keeping the distinction clear: the images are frames from our video coverage.

Jo and Andy lifting their hands together at Colchester Town Hall — film still — A raised hand and two very happy faces after the ceremony. Still from the wedding film.

Press play

Back to that September.

Two films from Jo and Andy’s wedding, made in 2019 under The Camera Guys name.

The highlights

Nine minutes with Jo & Andy

The trailer

A little taste of the day · 1 min 35 sec

Select a film to load Vimeo. Privacy details.

A little time on the river

After the ceremony, Jo and Andy travelled from Dedham to Le Talbooth, now Talbooth Restaurant, by boat. The route gave their wedding a lovely change of pace. The formality of the ceremony was behind them; the reception was still ahead, with a few moments together on the water in between.

We kept the boat journey in the story, from stepping aboard to a kiss along the way. The trees, reflections and approach to the riverside venue make it a very different setting from the Town Hall. More than a scenic transition, it records how they actually arrived at their celebration.

Jo and Andy stepping aboard the boat at Dedham — film still — A wedding-day journey worth remembering in its own right. Film stills.

A kiss on the boat between the ceremony and reception — film still — A wedding-day journey worth remembering in its own right. Film stills.

The river and Le Talbooth framed by the bridge — film still — The riverside setting at Le Talbooth, seen from beneath the bridge. Still from the wedding film.

The room around the speeches

The speeches at Le Talbooth were a real pleasure to film. They had humour and feeling, and there was plenty happening among the listeners as well as at the microphone. Jo turning towards Andy, a guest becoming emotional, someone following their handwritten notes: those responses give the words their context.

The complete speeches and ceremony were part of the films we delivered to Jo and Andy. Alongside those, their commission included a 60-second teaser, a nine-minute highlights film and an extended 27-minute edit. The nine-minute highlights and separate trailer featured here offer two ways into the day; the longer films were there for the couple to return to in their own time.

It is a subject we have explored further in the journal: why keeping your full wedding speeches can mean so much later, and what to discuss with your filmmaker before the day.

Jo turning towards Andy while they listen to a speech — film still — The speaker, the listeners and all the feeling between them. Film stills.

Andy standing to give his speech at Le Talbooth — film still — The speaker, the listeners and all the feeling between them. Film stills.

A familiar voice, years later

There is another detail we love about this wedding: Sam Ryder sang during the drinks reception. Back then, we were filming a brilliant singer with a guitar as part of Jo and Andy’s celebration. Recognising him on television years later gave this early wedding film an unexpected little footnote. He appears briefly in the highlights, among the people and moments that made the day theirs.

A few seconds, held still

These 26 images are freeze frames from the wedding films, not photographs from a separate photography shoot. You may notice softer detail or a trace of movement in some of them. They are here as a small visual companion to the film, from the preparations to the confetti and the celebrations beside the river.

The film, paused · 26 stills

The entrance to Idle Waters, beside the River Stour — film still

The exterior of Milsoms with the wedding date on screen — film still

Two wedding rings reflected in a dark tabletop — film still

Jo’s wedding shoes on a sunlit windowsill — film still

The bridal dress hanging beneath a wooden beam — film still

Beading across the back of Jo’s wedding dress — film still

A kiss for a baby during Jo’s preparations — film still

A guest smiling beside the window before the ceremony — film still

A boat at its mooring outside Le Talbooth — film still

A white woven heart hanging above the water — film still

Looking ahead from the boat on the River Stour — film still

Wedding guests reacting emotionally during the speeches — film still

A speaker reading from his notes during the reception — film still

Jo and Andy holding each other in the riverside garden — film still

The newlyweds sharing a laugh outside Le Talbooth — film still

Flowers and greenery along the wedding reception table — film still

Jo raising her bouquet as she and Andy celebrate — film still

The couple surrounded by their guests and falling confetti — film still

Select a frame to view it in full. These are stills from the wedding video.

Planning a wedding around Colchester or Dedham?

If you are imagining a Town Hall ceremony, a riverside reception or a day spread across a few favourite places, we would love to hear about it. Browse our wedding films, explore the Stolen Hearts wedding portfolio or look through our wedding photo and film packages. Tell us the parts you are most looking forward to, and we can talk about how to keep them.

Jo + Andy