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Inglewood Manor Wedding Photographer

I first met Becky and Chris via a Skype call after shooting a family members wedding, Becky and Chris saw the photos and got in touch. The first thing that struck me about them both was how much they didn’t take things too seriously and were up for a good laugh. I knew I was on for a good one and I was.

Here’s Becky and Chris’s Story in their own words:

We met at main stage Avicii, Creamfields 2013 what a place to meet your husband! Chris took me to Jamie’s Italian in Liverpool where I chose spaghetti bolognese as a first date meal and tripped up the stairs! I had a code text with my mum incase he wasn’t nice as I couldn’t remember much from that night so my mum was on hand waiting for a text saying ‘the pasta is nice’ We had a ball and many more funny date stories in between. Chris proposed in panoramic 34 during afternoon tea but I wasn’t looking so the first I heard was “Come on is it a yeah or no Beck people are looking now”

Becky on Chris - “He makes me laugh all the time and behaves like a grumpy old man at the age of 34 .”

Chris about Becky - “I love how we laugh at everything and life is just one big joke when we’re together no need to take it too seriously.”

Inglewood Manor

Becky and Chris chose Inglewood Manor as they loved the country estate feel, gorgeous gardens and incredible rooms where guests could stay. Being able to have their ceremony outside in November (although you wouldn’t have thought it the weather was glorious) was a major plus and really made the day all the more special too them as they love going on adventures together and being outside.

Inglewood manor is a beautiful Edwardian Manor house in the heart of Cheshire countryside. A grade two listed building, it had many original Edwardian features and loads of character, rich mahogany wooden panelled rooms, and beautiful gardens bursting with different species of flowers, trees and wild life surrounding the house. The result of this being tons of beautiful back drops for photographs both inside and outside.

The house was built in 1909, but is actually dated as dated 1915. The house was built for F. H. Fox, a Liverpudlian millionaire (Whoop! Go on son! I love it when people from Liverpool are millionaires!) who made his fortune in marine insurance. Fishy. The outside of the house is made of stone and wooden panelling and has a Tudor look to it.

Blue skies and a swirly plane trail in the sky, views from Inglewood Manor.

Getting Ready

Becky got ready with her mum and bridesmaids at Inglewood Manor while the Chris and his groomsmen mucked about down stairs, eagerly waiting for the chairs to arrive. Upstairs with the bridesmaids it was business as usual, Becky being her usual hilarious animated self. It was lovely to see Becky being so exctied to finally marry her Chris.

Becky wore an Essence of Australia dress from Bridal Haven in Tarporley (shop now closed, but the staff there were amazing!) and Valentino shoes, and looked bloody awesome. I’m sure you’ll will agree. The shoes didn’t last very long as they were ditched shortly after the ceremony when we had to go on adventures for portraits.

The Bride makes her mother and bridesmaids laugh while telling a story.

Mother on the brides shoes lie in the sunlight on the carpet of a hotel room inside Inglewood Manor Cheshire.

Mother of the Bride and the Bride have a moment together on the morning of the wedding.

Wedding dress hangs on wardrobe at Inglewood Manor.

Brides Valentino Shoes lie on windowsill as the strong sunlight beams through onto them. The window is open showing the floor below.

Reflection of bride checking her dress in Snow White Mirror in the background of the shot, while her mum fastens her dress in the foreground.

The Bride looks out the window as her mother puts her dress on at Inglewood Manor.

The Union Jack flies outside the hotel room window at Inglewood Manor, the sun is shining.

An Outdoor Ceremony at Inglewood Manor

Becky and Chris chose to have an outdoor ceremony at Inglewood Manor. On a gloriously sunny day in November, it can happen! They put some blankets out for guests that they thought might get a bit chilly and thoughtfully labelled the reserved seats at the front with little tags with peoples names on so that people knew where to sit (and which blanket was for them!)

Under current British Law when getting married outdoors at Inglewood Manor you do need to be facing towards the house so that the registrar can marry you from the shelter of the structure of Inglewood Manor.

Empty cream wooden wedding chairs, sit empty in the sunlight casting shadows on patio awaiting the wedding guests.

The groom and his best man stand smiling awaiting their guests at their outdoor ceremony at Inglewood Manor.

Guests enjoy the sunshine while awaiting the Bride at an outdoor ceremony at Inglewood Manor.

A wedding guest in a wheel chair makes her way to watch the wedding at Inglewood manor.

Guests take their seats at the outdoor wedding ceremony, the Union Jack Flag flies behind them.

Groomsmen laugh together in the the sunlight at Inglewood Manor.

Wedding guests in blue hat chats with her friend.

Grandparents laugh together in the sunlight.

Mother of the bride is beaming with joy.

Small boy in a blue suit and red bow tie drags an older groomsmen across the patio.

The groom, best man and registrar share a joke.

The guests stand up and watch as the bride makes her way towards them at an outdoor wedding ceremony at Inglewood Manor.

Becky was walked down the aisle by her Dad looking so excited that she might burst and was greeted by an equally emotional Chris, there was a ceremony brimming with tears and laughter in equal measure and these two lovelies just looking totally besotted with each other through out. After the ceremony Becky and Chris pegged it back down the aisle grinning from ear to ear to be promptly greeted by Inglewood Manor staff who were waiting with Champagne ready for the celebrations to begin.

Flowers

Becky’s flowers were by Lisa G from Flowers of Distinction in Huyton (Lisa G was fabulous and showed Becky and Chris what the flowers would look like and had the best ideas as Becky and Chris didn’t want the bridal bouquet to be plain.)

The Bride makes her way down the aisle, arm in arm with her father during an outdoor ceremony at Inglewood manor.

The bride makes it to her groom laughing.

The bride and groom look at one and other, beaming from ear to ear at their outdoor ceremony at Inglewood Manor.

The Groom kisses the brides hand, while her father gives her a tissue to wipe their tears and snot probably.

First reading read by guest in a snazzy hat and sunglasses.

Mother of the bride and bridesmaids sit laughing together during an outdoor ceremony at Inglewood Manor.

Bride and Groom smile while holding hands.

Bride and Groom stand smiling while listening to the registrars instructions.

Bride and Groom stand facing each other, holding hands and looking to each others eyes playfully.

Bride and groom look towards registrar laughing at their outdoor ceremony at Inglewood Manor.

Bride and Groom hold hands laughing as they say their vows during outdoor ceremony.

Bride holds onto her Grooms hand while looking eager and super cute.

Close up of bouquet of flowers including red roses and berries, pink roses and eucalyptus branches.

Wedding guests laugh together as a catch them having a post ceremony cereal bar.

Bride and Groom exit the ceremony smiling.

Bride and Groom are greeted with 2 glasses of champagne at the end of the aisle by staff member.

Guests smiling in the sun shine wearing fancy hats.

Older male wedding guest holds his camera, framed by two male wedding guests wearing blue.

Bride laughs, her brides maids bouquet in the foreground of the shot.

Couples Portraits

After a cheeky swig out of Chris’s hip flask we took a quick little walk over the the tree lined path at the back of the house to get a few outdoor portraits and Becky and Chris together in the beautiful Autumnal light before heading back to the Bridal Suite at Inglewood Manor, where Becky and Chris had an idea to have a few photos of them just chilling out and having a drink together. So we did just that!

Bride takes a sqwig from her husbands hip flask as he laughs on the back steps of Inglewood Manor.

Bride and Groom laugh together on the steps on Inglewood Manor, the yellow light of the trees behind them.

Couple laugh together during their Autumnal wedding at Inglewood Manor.

Husband and wife walk through the tree lined path together laughing after their Autumnal wedding ceremony at Inglewood Manor.

Groom is attacked by a lovely red leaved branch, his wife laughs at him.

Newly weds make their way back to the house with the dusky Autumnal light behind them.

Bride raises up her flowers with a victorious strong arm as she makes her way into Inglewood Manor with her new husband.

Bride and groom sit and drink laughing in the bridal suite at Inglewood Manor.

Bride tries to stop laughing at her Groom by looking away from him, but is still laughing.

Wedding Breakfast and Speeches at Inglewood Manor

By the time we’d finished the photos, the party was in full swing, with Becky’s family and friends having a right old laugh before being ushered into the dining room at Inglewood Manor for a delicious 3 course meal followed by some hilarious and heartfelt speeches.

Becky and Chris were surprised at their table with a photograph of their beloved dog dressed in a full suit with a bow tie and a top hat, sneakily curated by Becky’s Dad (apparently it was a total nightmare to get on!)

The Wedding Cake

Their beloved pooch Barney also made an appearance on the top of the wedding cake. Becky and Chris were particularly impressed with the level of detail in shading of the fur of their beloved pooch. The talented team at The Devonshire Bakery in Frodsham took Becky and Chris’s photos and ideas and turned them into this fabulous creation!

All of Becky and Chris’s wedding stationary was made by The Complete Invitation Company.

Older male wedding guest enjoys a cup of tea at a wedding reception at Inglewood Manor

Wedding guests snuggle up to one and other at Inglewood Manor

Beautiful white ceiling and chandelier at Inglewood Manor.

Hard sunlight hits the tables that have been set for wedding guests at Inglewood Manor.

Red and white wedding cake topped with the bride and groom and their dog.

The dining room ready for guests at Inglewood Manor.

A photograph of the bride and grooms dog awaits them at their table.

The groom gives a speech as the bride laughs.

The best man presents the Groom with a car seat made up to look like a person.

The Groom congratulates the Best Man on his speech.

The Groom and Best Man smile laughing together.

Little girls watch wedding guests from the stairs.

The Party!

After the speeches were done and the cake was cut Becky and Chris and their friends and family went roaring straight into the party! Becky and Chris had a DJ and Saxophone player working the floor together to keep it jam packed and everyone with their dancing shoes on.

Henry Aspden played the saxophone all evening and the dj played Becky and Chris’s favourite songs, they found them on Jonny Ross music who also have open days so you can hear them play.

Advice From Becky and Chris for Future Couples on their Wedding Day

“Don’t take it all too seriously, ensure you laugh all day and spend the day doing everything you want to do.”

The bride reaches for the groom as they begin the first dance.

The Groom sings to his new Wife as they dance together.

Wedding guests hit the dance floor, a little girl jumps up and down as wedding guests dance behind her.

Saxophone player smiles at guests giving it their all on the dance floor.

Little boy sits on his dads shoulders cheering as wedding guests dance around them.

Grandma dances in her wheelchair surrounded by friends and family.

Bridesmaid shouts out and throws her head back as she dances.

Female wedding guest sneaks up on her friend to smack her on the bum.

Wedding guest laughs as she is driven around in Grandma's wheelchair.

Wedding guest dances making an excited face at her partner.

Bride waves her hands from side to side singing at her party at Inglewood Manor.

Groom stands nest to his new wife holding both hands in the air while grinning from ear to ear, surrounded by his friends and family.

Bride and groom dance together on their wedding day at Inglewood Manor.

A Shout Out to Becky and Chris’s Awesome Wedding Suppliers!

The Dress was an Essence of Australia dress from Bridal Haven.

Wedding Stationary by The Complete Invitation Company

Flowers by Lisa G from Flowers of Distinction

Cake The Devonshire Bakery in Frodsham

Acoustic Guitar by Ste Hadley

Saxophone by Henry Aspden

DJ found on http://www.jonnyrossmusic.com/

Make up was done by Nicola Fraser

Albert Hall Manchester Wedding

Couple kiss in the street outside Albert Hall Manchester on their wedding day.

When I first met Fran and Ben in a chic little bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter I knew I was on for a good wedding, not only had they chosen one of my favourite (and one of the coolest) venues in Manchester to host their wedding, but Fran is also an event planner so I knew everything was going to be spot on, from having their own unforgettable hash tag in lights #TEAMCRUSE to having water and hang over packs ready for guests on the way out Fran had thought of everything in advance meaning Ben and Fran and all of their friends and family could just relax into the day, knowing that everything was sorted and it was spectacular perfect.

Thanks to my awesome second shooter Marni V Photography for being a general legend through the day and every day.

The Albert Hall

The Albert Hall was an old Methodist central hall built in 1908 and is now used mainly as a music venue and a pretty epic one at that. A grade 2 listed building with a lot of the buildings old period features, including beautiful old tiled walls, a horse shoe gallery, magnificent 19th Century Organ towering over the room in centre stage, it really is something to behold. The huge beautiful stained glass windows either side of the building let in oddles of natural light during the day time and then when the sun goes down and the party gets started you have The Albert Hall’s professional concert lighting to give your party that extra edge.

Couple stand infront of stain glass window at Albert Hall Manchester on their wedding day.

Getting Ready

Fran and Ben both got ready with their bridesmaids, groomsmen family and friends at the Principal Hotel in Manchester. I love this hotel, the huge sash windows make way for loads of natural light and the rooms are nice and HUGE meaning there’s loads of space for you and your mates to have a nice chilled wedding morning together. The Principal hotel isn’t really very far from the Albert Hall so the boys walked while the girls jumped in a traditional Manchester black cab.

The groom doesn't know which way to turn at Principal Hotel Manchester

The groom catches the photographer snapping him in the bathroom mirror.

The groom has his groomsman fix his suit for him.

The groom fixes one of his groomsmen's ties.

The mother of the bride sits to have her make up done.

Bridesmaids react to the bride wearing her wedding dress.

Mother of the bride is saying something big with her arms.

Little girl sits on a chair, her eyes lit by window light.

The bride leaves her hotel to get to the church, surrounded by her bridesmaids beautiful white and green bouquets.

The Ceremony

Fran and her bridal party made their way across the main hall floor while their friends and family looked on from the stalls and cheered, before making it up onto the stage to get married! The Albert Hall lighting techs even added a little bit of smoke, to give the huge room the hazy atmospheric effect you can see in the photos.

Wedding guest in yellow is helped to her seat in the stalls at the Albert Hall Manchester.

Bridesmaid and groomsmen walk together across the hall.

Another bridesmaid and groomsmen make their way across the hall laughing.

Bridesmaid and groomsmen walk flower girl Matilda to the stage in the Albert Hall, Manchester.

Wedding guests stand cheering from stalls.

The Bride raises her flowers up to a cheer from her wedding guests as she enters the hall with her father on her arm.

Bride and groom take their first look at one another on the stage.

Bride laughing as the officiant makes a joke.

Bride and groom listen as friend gives a reading

Guests watch the bride and groom take their vows from the stalls at the Albert Hall Manchester.

The bride and groom put rings on one and other.

The bride and groom kiss, centre stage at the Albert Hall in front of their friends and family.

Bride and Groom laugh as the bride holds their marriage certificate.

Bride and groom raise hands in the air as they make their way across the main hall floor to an audience of cheering guests!

Albert Schloss

One great little perk they have at the Albert Hall Manchester is Albert Schloss, the huge, beautiful bar and restaurant down stairs, calling itself Manchester’s first bohemian bier it does have a strangely warm and cosy vibe for somewhere so huge! While the staff at the Albert Hall got stuck into getting the room ready for dinner and speeches, Fran and Ben’s Wedding guests were able to go and grab a drink at their own reserved part on the bar

Mother of the bride wearing a creme suit and hat.

Wedding guests chat in Albert Schloss Manchester

Black and white photo of wedding guest laughing.

Wedding guests have a drink and laugh together in Albert Schloss.

Wedding guests smiling playing with children

Three male wedding guests laugh together.

This little break in the day gave us the perfect opportunity to grab some friends and family portraits and a few quick couple shots before dinner.

Bride sits in the middle of her female friends laughing as they try and poke her in the face, huge TEAM CRUSE sign behind them.

The couple stand holding hands in front of a huge stain glass window.

Bride and groom laugh in pocket of window light, Albert Hall Manchester.

Bride and groom kiss in window light, Albert Hall Manchester.

Couple embrace in a pocket of strong window light.

Speeches

Once the room was turned around we were all ushered back up into the Albert Hall for speeches and some epic scran. Fran and Ben took a few moments to watch their guests enter from the stalls, seeing them finding their wedding favours on their tables. It was Fran’s idea to let everyone have a chance to be the Bride and Groom, a veil for the girls and a cheeky glasses and nose mask for the boys. Poor Ben! Lol.

Bride and groom sit laughing watching their guests arrive for the wedding breakfast.

Tables are set up with #TEAMCRUSE sign in the middle.

Wedding table set up, Albert Hall Manchester.

Brides table setting, with wooden bride calving.

Bride laughing with mother of the bride and her bridesmaid.

Wedding guests laugh trying on their veils.

Mother of the bride and her father hold hands.

Guests try on their glasses and nose masks.

Bride laughs while listening to fathers speech.

Bride smiles listening to fathers speech.

Groom makes his speech as his parents laugh.

Groom raises a glass to his bride at the end of her speech.

Best man open his speech in a flamboyant way.

Bride and groom raise their glasses to cheers the best mans speech.

Wedding guests applause the end of the speeches.

Two guests take refuge on a sofa next to a big white balloon.

The Party

After the speeches we took another little breather from the hustle and bustle of the wedding outside to grab a few more portraits in the street outside The Albert Hall Manchester, before re-entering to have the party start with the awesome The Herringbone Cocktail Club had people up and dancing straight away and right up until Fran and Ben’s last dance at midnight, sealed off with golden confetti canons and Fran and Ben making it up onto the stage for and end of night bow. An absolute belter of a wedding!

Bride and groom sit on pavement outside Albert Hall surrounded by star shaped glitter.

Bride and groom sit on the floor together.

Bride and groom laughing surrounded by glittering stars.

Bride and groom sit laughing together over the road from The Albert Hall Manchester.

Bride and groom kiss in the middle of the road outside the Albert hall, Manchester.

Bride and groom stand laughing in the middle of the road.

The Albert Hall Manchester in the sun light.

Two male wedding guests dancing with their legs in the air.

Bridesmaid dancing pulling a funny face.

Bride and grandad laugh together at the Albert Hall Manchester.

Wedding guest with shocked face and hands in the air.

Blonde wedding guest smiles dancing in the crown.

Female wedding guest dances raising her hand s in the air.

Band play in the middle of the dancing crowd at The Albert Hall, Manchester.

Bride raises her hand in the air singing to the music.

Male weddings guests dance with their ties tied around their heads, Rambo style.

Bride dances in the middle of her friends swishing her skirt around.

Packed out dance floor at The Albert Hall Manchester.

Bride hugs her friend on the dance floor.

Groom sits on his friend shoulders with his hands in the air at The Albert Hall, Manchester.

Bride sits on a guests shoulder, her hands in the air singing on her wedding day at The Albert Hall, Manchester.

Bride and groom dance the final dance of the night surrounded by their family and friends at The Albert Hall Manchester.

Suppliers

A shout out to Fran and Ben’s Awesome hand picked wedding suppliers who did an awesome job!

Venue - https://www.alberthallmanchester.com/

Hotel - https://www.phcompany.com/principal/manchester-hotel/

Dress - Knutsford Wedding Gallery

Shoes - Office

Bridesmaids - Needle and Thread

Band - The Herringbone Cocktail Club

Love letters - The Word is Love

Florist - Frog

Suits - Ted Baker

If you were a supplier that worked at this wedding and your name is not listed here, please get in touch, I’ll be more than happy to link to your site!

Like what you see? Getting married? Need a photographer? Get in touch!

Goldstone Hall in Market Drayton

Up on the blog today we’ve got Lucy and Nick’s gorgeous autumnal wedding at Goldstone Hall, Market Drayton where they had a intimate outdoor ceremony (despite a tiny bit of rain) amongst their closest family and friends and surrounded by the most beautiful wild flowers both inside Goldstone Hall and out! I’ll let Lucy and Nick take it from here. If you’d like to see the full day from start to finish click on the link below to watch Lucy and Nick’s nifty little Wedding Photo Trailer!

Lucy and nick’s Story

A mutual friend (James - Lucy's friend from uni and Nick's friend from school) invited us both to an outdoor film screening in Summer 2013. It wasn't intended to be a set up but we hit if off! As we met at a film screening we (unimaginatively!) arranged to go to the cinema for our first date. We saw Only God Forgives not quite realising it was full of gory violence, definitely not a first date film but at least it gave us something to talk about!

We got engaged in our flat in London, the first place we've ever lived together! It was super low key but perfect for us, Luce was wearing her pyjamas while I got down on one knee! She immediately burst into tears (and then said yes thankfully!)

Couple laugh together on their wedding day at Goldstone Hall, Market Drayton. Photograph in black and white.

Goldstone hall wedding venue

We got married at Goldstone Hall, Market Drayton, one of the most beautiful venues we've ever seen. Lucy wanted to get married in an old house and have the reception at the same venue, Nick wanted a marquee reception and so Goldstone was ideal! We visited on a rainy autumn day and even then the gardens and house looked so beautiful that we knew it was right for us! Goldstone couldn't have been better throughout our build up, they even managed to somehow give our guests a choice of food on the day!

Mother of the bride sits on a bed putting on her lipstick in front of a wall of very loud red and gold floral wall paper framed by two matching lamps.

Bride and groom say their vows in an outdoor ceremony at Goldstone Hall, Market Drayton. Photograph in black and white.

FLOWERS

The biggest superstar supplier of the day was our florist, Nicola (Brown Sugar Blooms). We wanted relaxed, colourful flowers that didn't look too neat or tidy and she absolutely blew us away! She turned something that was just inside our heads into the most perfect arrangement and made for a stunning marquee! And Lucy adored her bouquet!

The bride and groom smile at their friends and family as they walk down the red carpet and have confetti thrown at them.

Bridesmaids sit together during the ceremony holding their bouquets.

Close up of a bridesmaids bouquet of wild seasonal flowers.

Wedding SUIT

Nick's suit supplier, Beggars Run, were also awesome, making the whole process super easy, enjoyable and producing a great looking suit!

Groom and his groomsmen stand waiting for his bride to arrive.

Groom fixes his tie, photograph in black and white.

The Dress

Lucy’s beautiful wedding dress was by Maggie Sottero Designs

Reflection of the wedding dress in the glass of a painting of a green mountainous landscape.

Bride has her make up done by one of her bridesmaids as her wedding dress hangs in the window at Goldstone Hall, Market Drayton.

Close up of details of dress as bridesmaid fastens up the back.

Bride stands smiling while wearing her wedding dress.

Wedding cake

Nick's Mum made our cake and decorated it with flowers to match Brown Sugar Blooms, it looked and tasted amazing! She then went one step beyond and made all our bunting too!

Table plan in marquee full of colourful flowers and bunting at Goldstone Hall.

Guests laugh as they look at photographs together.

Photographer

Of course Katie Dervin - who did the best job! Getting our photos through after the wedding was like reliving the whole day again!

Bride and groom standing in gardens at Goldstone Hall, Market Drayton.

Silhouette of bride putting on her lipstick as her wedding dress hangs in the window behind her.

Bride and Groom stand with a sea of colourful wild flowers together at Goldstone Hall, Market Drayton.

Toddler and his father play together in the garden.

Mother of the bride puts on her corsarge while her daughters look at her.

The BAND

Our band were The Vivas and they were brilliant! They played an amazing set that got everyone dancing, so much in fact that the speakers began to shake as everyone jumped up and down! They really made the evening a great party!

Bride and groom dance laughing together.

Bride laughs while dancing with her new husband.

Male wedding guests throw out some stretchy arm dance moves.

Couple are silhouetted while they dance together, female guests wears a 50's type dress.

Groom pulls some moves on the dance floor.

Blonde female wedding guest hugs another wedding guest while dancing together.

Bride and Groom dance together in the centre on the dance floor surrounded by their friends and family at Goldstone Hall, Market Drayton.

Advice for future couples on their wedding day

The day will go really quick, so make sure to try and stay in the moment and don't worry too much about what's coming next, it'll all work out just fine! And make sure you make time for each other, it's easy to get lost in making sure everyone else is having a good time!

OUTDOOR WEDDING GAME IDEAS

Outdoor weddings can be fun, but they are even better with some games to play. Here are some of the top outdoor wedding games to keep your guests occupied. FYI a lot of these games can be played indoors too, maybe not the fire one.

To The Games chalk board sign hanging of a tree at an outdoor wedding.

Signs

Having games to play is great, but if people don’t know where they are, if they are in fact part of the wedding or even in some cases what the rules are it can money into the wind. Sometime you need to lead the horse to the water. You know the kind of horses that will be coming to your wedding and the kind of games you will be playing so if a sign or two or a little bit of info about how to play will help, chalk boards are a great re usable way to point people in the right direction.

Hula Hooping!

Hula hoops are like super bloody cheap, like I just googled one and you can get one for £2.50 online (probably cheaper from an actual real life shop) and you can get a glow in the dark one here for £13.99! I might get one of those actually… https://www.glowsticks.co.uk

I’m not here to sell you hula hoops, but what I am saying is watching friends hula hooping is fun, beating your friends at hula hooping is even better, hula hooping is a laugh. You can even do that skippy thing that you used to do at school where you swing it round your leg and hop over it… If you want to. Anyway basically I’m really good at hula hooping and this is why hula hooping is number one, if you want me to put my camera down for a few minutes and beat your friends at a hula hooping competition… IT IS ON.

Limbo

Limbo is loads of fun and you quite literally just need a stick. I very generously donated a bamboo garden stick to my friends wedding this summer to use as a limbo stick and it went down a storm. If you aren’t going to have a special “Limbo Time”

1. Why the hell not?

2. Maybe get something to hold your limbo stick up for people so it doesn’t just look like a stick on the floor and less than 3 people can have a bash.

Cards

A couple of packs of cards knocking around the place can’t hurt, unless people start throwing them at each other. It can help the kids play snap and maybe give other guests that fancy a game a chance to show off their best shuffles. Everyone knows a card game. A pack of cards on each table will not break the bank and give everyone, young, old, introvert, extrovert a chance to have a bit of fun with some people they might not have otherwise spoken to.

Connect 4

It’s a golden oldie, you will no doubt have seen it at a wedding before but it wouldn’t be a proper blog with out good old giant connect 4! Plus you give your photographer a chance to take arty through the hole photos like this, we love that kind of shit.

Bouncy Castle

Who doesn’t like bouncing around like an idiot?! Just make sure you don’t bounce on straight after dinner * puke emoji *

GIANT JENGA

Giant Jenga works a treat at keeping small and larger guests occupied, but if your budget wont stretch to hiring out a giant garden game set, why not just put a few normal sized ones out of tables instead? You can even force your guests to write messages to you both in sharpie pen on the side of the blocks in thats your thing. It might keep them away from the bar for a few minutes.

HOOK A DUCK

This is a fun carnival type game for kids and can also be used to help guests win prizes if you put a number on the bottom of the duck and have a prize for each one, or maybe just write insults or cryptic fortunes, it’s your party! Write whatever you like on the bottom of the ducks.

Child crouches down behind tipi, holding his water gun ready to wreak havock on unsuspecting wedding guests.

WATER GUNS

Depending on how brave you are and how hot your wedding your day is, arming your guests with water guns could be a really fun or really fun-stupid idea. Maybe have some towels to hand.

FIRE!!!

Ok, you got me a fire isn’t a game, but they are fun to build and keep going. People like burning stuff. They will keep your guests warm and together when night falls and can be a good old place to crack out a guitar and have a sing song or just sit up into the sweet hours of the night catching up with your mates. They certainly add a bit of extra atmosphere to any outdoor wedding and if one of your guests breaks a chair that you hired from the chair hire company, you can quite easily burn the evidence.

Thinking about colour palettes? Your Go-To Color Palettes for A Perfect Wedding

Oxfordshire Wedding Photographer - Village Hall Wedding

St Mary's Church in Aldworth & Letcombe Regis Village Hall Wedding

Click on the image above to go to Jess and Scott’s FULL WEDDING TRAILER!

So in early September this year I had the absolute pleasure of travelling down to South Oxfordshire to shoot Jess and Scott’s Wedding. It has been a wedding I’ve been looking forward to for a while as Jess and Scott are absolute sweethearts and I was so excited by Jess’s description the the beautiful 13th Century Church her and Scott were getting married in. I was also going to get to see some old faces at the wedding (Hey Kate and Tim) which always makes for a extra special day.

Jess wore a gorgeous dress from Rock the Frock Bridal Boutique in Berkshire on her wedding day teamed with a gorgeous silk flower crown her bridesmaids had bought her for her hen do, it ended up being so beautiful and going with Jess’s dress and make up so well that it was a main feature of her wedding outfit.

Jess and Scott rented out a local Village Hall in Wantage for a lovely, relaxed village hall reception. Anyway I’m giving away far too much… I’m going to let Jess and Scott take it from here in their own words.

If you would like to see the full wedding trailer click on the image above. ;)

Jess and Scott’s Story

“We met at a heavy metal nightclub! Scott was the DJ, and I went up and asked him to play a song by Polish death metal band Decapitated. We got chatting about death metal and had a bit of a flirt. He disappeared briefly to the loo and I left to get a kebab (I was a bit worse for wear). Fast forward a week and I spotted him loitering at another rock night - turns out he was trying to find me! We literally talked for about 5 hours, and then agreed on an official first date a few days later. I think he fancied me first, but I was the one who officially announced our relationship to all my friends at a party (with Scott standing next to me). I think that was the first he knew of it as well.”

“Scott asked me to marry him underneath the liberty statue in Budapest on a very misty autumn day in November. We were sitting quietly together on a bench, and he asked me suddenly. It was one of the best moments of my whole life.”

Jess on Scott: “He's kind, loyal, and is fiercely protective of the relationship we've built. He's the best man I've ever met.”

Scott on Jess Jess: “Is loving and caring, emotionally strong, always positive, clever, very fun :)”

St Mary's Church in Aldworth, South Oxfordshire

“I did postgraduate work on medieval literature and culture, and St Mary's Church is a stunning example of Transitional Norman architecture, and the inside of the church contains these amazing 13th century stone effigies! It felt super intimate, very English and had a melancholic beauty (basically my dream aesthetic).”

Letcombe Regis Village Hall

“We had the reception at Letcombe because we wanted a proper old English knees-up. The cricket field outside and the amount of natural light in the venue just swung it for us. We were also planning on doing nearly all the decorating ourselves and a village hall gave us the freedom to do that.”

Wedding Suppliers

“For my dress I went to Rock the Frock bridal boutique in Berkshire. I used RTF because I liked the idea of choosing from a small collection of thoughtfully curated dresses rather than a huge collection of dresses that all look basically the same. I also knew I wanted something a bit different, and something that would complement my body type. The wedding dress industry is often super focused on making brides look like a completely different person on their wedding day - I didn't want that. The atmosphere at RTF was completely relaxed, un-pressured and lots of fun. I ended up going for a dress I thought I would hate before I tried it on, and then fell in love with as soon as I walked out of the dressing room in it.”

“I used the artisan dried flower company for my bouquet and accessories. I get to keep my bouquet forever (well, almost...) and it was about a third of the price of fresh flowers. I cannot recommend dried flowers highly enough - they are much more cost effective, they look incredibly elegant and feminine, and you get to keep them after the wedding. Dried flower confetti is also muck kinder for the environment!”

Dried flower button hole, featuring a red rose and gypsy grass.

Bride and Groom leaving St Mary's Church, Aldworth together as a married couple.

Bride and Groom laugh together and their wedding guests throw dried petal confetti at them at St Mary's Church, Aldworth Village on a beautiful sunny day.

“My best friend baked my wedding cake. This was one of the most special parts of my whole wedding. He made a three tier cake - chocolate and porter fruit cake, amaretto drizzle cake, and citrus gin drizzle cake he decorated it with a thin layer of buttercream icing, gold leaf, dried rose petals and bee pollen. It was stunning.”

“We made the majority of the decorations ourselves - I painted glass jars for candle holders, hemmed and sewed my own cloth napkins and painted my table plan by hand. It was a huge amount of hard work, but incredibly rewarding to see it all come together on the day. Seeing all of our nearest and dearest hanging bunting and ironing table cloths the day before was a very emotional experience and made us both feel so loved.”

Hand Painted Table Plan Featuring English Flowers, Outside Village Hall Wedding Reception in Oxfordshire.

Stationary welcoming guests to the wedding with window light shining on it at village hall wedding reception in Oxfordshire.

”We had a South African braai! Scott was born and raised in South Africa so we wanted to keep the food super authentic, casual and just plain tasty. Everyone loved the food and we were both chuffed to see people up for seconds. I knew I didn't want a sit down meal, and queuing with my plate for boerewors and Mrs Balls chutney was one of my fave little moments of the day! Flame BBQ did an epic job.”

“Our pictures from the day are beyond what we expected - natural, intimate, stylish, and all suffused with a genuine warmth. Katie got some absolutely magical shots and provided a calming presence when I was getting ready in my bridal suite. I'm actually trying to think of excuses to book her again! Do you do 30th's Katie?”

Ha, ha the answer is yes I do. ;)

Is there anything you wish you could have done differently?

“I wish we hadn't allowed the stress of all the last minute organisation to get to us as much as it did. We were stressed out, exhausted from all the work and bickered a lot. When you spend so long planning a wedding, it becomes the biggest thing in your life and any little problem gets very easily blown out of proportion. I wish we'd have maintained a greater sense of perspective and not allowed the stress to impact us.”

Advice from Jess and Scott for other Couples

“No matter what goes wrong on the day, you will still be on cloud 9. Stop worrying about worst case scenarios, because on the day you absolutely won't care! You've just married the love of your life - congratulations!”

Thanks so much for having me Jess and Scott it was a bloody marvellous wedding indeed!

Lots of Love Katie xxxx

Dress was by https://www.rockthefrockbridal.co.uk/

Flowers by https://www.artisandriedflowers.co.uk/

Food by https://www.flamebbq.co.uk/

If you are looking to book your wedding photographer and would like a little bit more info get in touch with the form below. ;)

Creative Documentary Wedding Photographer - Manchester - Cristal & Max.

Creative Couples Shoots are the Best!

I love couples shoots, it’s always a nice fun relaxed way to get a load of photographs of you both together, there’s more time to mess around, be creative and get the kind of photos or travel to kind of places that you might not have the time (or the motivation to) get to on your actual wedding day

How Does A Creative Documentary Couples Shoot Work?

Sometimes people ask how Documentary Photography and things like couples portraits can work together and I suppose it differs from photographer to photographer, but generally getting people to relax and be themselves and mess around together in a place of special meaning to them, makes for the perfect mix of context and emotion for the photographs to work. We obviously set up these scenes but I promise you the fun and laughs in these photographs are very, very real! ;)

Falling In Love In Manchester

Photographing Cristal and Max was an absolute dream! Manchester is a really special place to them as it’s where they met at Manchester University before travelling back home together and getting engaged. They visit the UK and Manchester every 4 years if they can, to check out their old haunts, see old friends and see how the landscape has changed since their last visit.

Remembering the Normal Every Day Parts of Your Story as A Couple.

We visited their favourite KFC, the Sainsbury’s where they would have “shopping dates” (I was in awe of the practical time use of that one!), their favourite bars and cafes, their university and old university halls and a dozen other places with special meaning to them both and their individual story as a couple. Cristal and Max did this all while donning their stylish wedding gear and they both totally rocked it!

Cristal and Max

Cristal and Max will be getting married on the 2nd of February 2019 in Singapore.

Cristal and Max I wish you both a wonderful married life and future together, it was an absolute delight to be a small part of your adventure. Thanks so much for having me along for the ride! Lots of love Katie xxxxx