MUSE, QUEEN & PEARL JAM
RIDGE FARM WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
What do Muse, Queen and Pearl Jam all have in common with the wedding photographs I'm about to share below? Answer; they've all shared the same space at Ridge Farm in Surrey. In the sixteenth century when the first stones were laid at this farm, I doubt those who tilled the soil would ever think, or even be able to imagine the kind of music produced by Manchester's iconic stars of rock, Oasis, filling the four walls of a barn designed for keeping grain dry. Be Here Now, one of my favourite albums was recorded on this farm at the famous residential studio retreat in a room a stone's throw from a cottage where brides prepare for their weddings now. The studio (two pics down on left) is used no longer, its windows shaded by the foliage that's gradually enveloping the building sadly, though I did stand on tiptoes to see if the hallowed mix desk was still there, until someone remarked it had been sold over a decade ago to Radio Denmark!
The bridal preparations take place on the first floor of this neighbouring cottage. Legend has it Ozzy Osbourne's girlfriend, Sharon also got prepared in this room, although it was a good few years before their wedding. She infamously threw a Rolex watch belonging to Oz in the pond from the balcony and it's apparently still in there. I looked hard into the shallow waters. It's not there. The studio closed and the farm grew other business wings as a party venue and latterly, a wedding venue too. Ridge Farm is unique indeed. I doubt there are many other wedding venues where you can play tennis on a court where Freddie Mercury fought five setters, or sit at a breakfast table that entertained Morrisey of The Smiths. I can understand why bands came here. You can breathe in creativity when you're not fighting in the smoke or struggling to get into work in time thwarted by city traffic and executive attitude. Bands were encouraged to live here as they created their albums and I can just imagine Noel and Liam in more harmonious times, sat writing lyrics and melodies where outdoor wedding ceremonies now take place, serenaded by the sound of wild woodland.
