Grace & Henry - Wedding Videography (Iken, Suffolk)

At a quick glance, my latest wedding videography for Grace & Henry's gorgeous wedding looks like it has happened on a far away sumptuous, Balearic island, but in fact, you would be wrong. The beauty and heart of this location is very much Suffolk, Iken to be precise. So let us check out this fabulous wedding and discover the beauty of having your wedding in Suffolk and why wedding videography should be at the top of your wedding checklist

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Wedding Videography in Iken, Suffolk and some history of this fascinating area

If you are not au fait with this area you wouldn't be the first. Iken is a really well-hidden Suffolk secret. Having recently moved to close to Woodbridge and Shingle Street in Suffolk I am always discovering new amazing places, whether it is on a new wedding videography assignment or walking the dogs, this part of the world really is a little gem.

See the map below ....in case your get lost, it may help you get your bearings.

So Iken some history, it’s a small village which is a former heathland and sheep pasture and it is close to the estuary of the River Alde. Now some nearby places you may well have heard of... It is located close to Snape Maltings and is North of Orford and Orford Ness. This area in general has some crazy history and has great historical importance in music with its links to composer Benjamin Britten, plus Orford Ness was a closely guarded military secret as this area was used as a military testing site!

Image: Grace & Henry - Wedding Videography (Iken, Suffolk)

Snape Maltings History

Snape Maltings is located on the banks of the Alder River, surrounded by an area of natural beauty, just 6 miles from Aldeburgh. This beautiful converted Victorian site has independent shops and galleries, great restaurants and several venues - including the world-famous Snape Maltings concert hall. The malting complex was built in 1846, and the river prompted Garrett to build a malting plant in the already busy port. It was from this port that malting companies began to develop, using the Alder River to transport barley on Thames barges across the UK and Europe. Within three years of his arrival, Newsom Garrett shipped 17,000 quarters of Snape's barley a year. Much of this barley will be shipped to the brewery, where it must first be malted.

Inspired by the vast skies and moody seas of the Suffolk coast, composer Benjamin Britton founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948 with singer Peter Pierce and writer Eric Crozier. Britton and Pierce emphasized training and supporting young artists. By the 1960s, the Aldeburgh Festival had grown beyond the limited space of Jubilee Hall. Benjamin Britton started looking around for a place to build a concert hall. Britten envisions building the largest malting plant in its grand setting, with curing as a possible site. Just over a year after negotiations began with George Gooderham, the Snape Maltings Hall was ready to be opened by the Queen for the 1967 Aldeburgh Festival.

The Secret of Orford Ness 1913-1993

World War I

In 1913, the War Office acquired most of the Ness to develop into an airport. This will begin 70 years of intense military testing. At the forefront of early military aviation pioneers, Orford Ness was a busy man working on all aspects of using aircraft as weapons.

Between wars

Continuing work established during World War I, the bomb site became the country's premier ballistic testing facility. Other work includes experimental beacons and perhaps the most important episode in the island's history - The Birth of Radar.

Second World War

While the airfield was moved to Wiltshire, ballistic testing of the bomb range continued. Fire tests were conducted to determine the vulnerability of the aircraft and its components. The information gathered is used to improve aircraft and munition designs, helping many aircraft crews get home.

After 1945

After 1945 Lethality and vulnerability testing continued, as did work on the aerodynamics of the munitions. Ballistics testing has been expanded to include jet missiles fired into the King March from barely above altitude. The Nice later hid one of its biggest secrets: the massive Cobra Mist Radar project. Access to the Institute of Atomic Weapons At the height of the Cold War, Orfoonis was used by the Atomic Weapons Research Agency (AWRE) and the Royal Aircraft Agency for the development of the atomic bomb. It wasn't until the 1960s that the ominous half-buried concrete structures were built to house these deadliest weapons. RAF bomb disposal From the 1970s, Ness has been home to the RAF Explosive Ordnance Disposal Centre (EOD). Large quantities of ammunition were destroyed on the River Ness, an often noisy process. The last service personnel stationed on the site left the site in 1987, paving the way for vandals, reckless and/or curious.