Traditional church wedding followed by a marquee reception in the family’s garden near Preston, Northwest England

Vanessa and Christian got married on a warm August Saturday at St. Mary’s Newhouse Roman Catholic Church in Barton, Lancashire with a reception afterwards in Vanessa’s parents garden just a few minutes’ drive away.

When I met up with Vanessa the week before her wedding to go through the final details of the day, she drew me a plan of her parents garden.  It looked very lovely indeed on paper with the walled garden and the pond and then the neighbour’s woodland walk but the reality definitely exceeded my expectations. I could see why Vanessa dreamed of having her wedding there.  Not only did the lawn and flowers look great but there were little touches in the trees – like the heart frame with pictures of Vanessa and Christian, the flowers in little glass jars and the swing decorated with flowers – that just added the icing on the cake.  The marquee that had been installed also looked like it was meant to be there.  Vanessa’s Mum and Dad (and anyone else they could rope in it seems) had worked very hard to get the gardens looking perfect – a remarkable effort especially when it came to trying to time the yellow flowers to be at their peak.  There was some support on the flower front from a team from Margaret Mason Florist.  They decorated the church and the marquee to a very high standard indeed.  The archway on the entrance to the church was particularly amazing.

Vanessa’s two sisters and (soon to be) sister-in-law were the bridesmaids and little Maisy was an excellent and very cute flower girl. The bridesmaids’ yellow dresses and groomsmen’s yellow ties looked amazing and were the perfect complement to their blue suits.

There were a few tears during the funny but traditional service – there are so many overwhelming emotions at a wedding and its never a bad thing if they bubble over.  Vanessa’s sisters sang a duet during the service while the register was being signed – they sang so beautifully it was one of those times where I needed to remind myself to keep taking pictures and not just stand and listen to the music.

When we got back to the house after the ceremony, Caroline and her team at Twelve Event Management were super organised on all fronts from where the guests parked to serving canapes to helping gather people for the group pictures.  They were great to work with.

There were 3 speeches before dinner starting with Vanessa’s Dad Phillip, the groom and then a tag team best man’s speech from Matt and Dec.  I enjoyed listening to all the speeches and finding out more about this very likeable couple.

After dinner, we went for a little wander with Vanessa and Christian around the gardens for some portraits.  The neighbours garden offered a great view over the Trough of Bowland which we took advantage of but there were so many great backgrounds to choose from we were spoiled for choice really.

The DJ told me ahead of the cake cutting and first dance that he was going to get everyone up and dancing at the tables– I was intrigued and (I have to admit) somewhat sceptical but I eat my words.  Within a few minutes there they were dancing on the chairs, throwing Christian up and down in a chair and forming a conga line all the way around the marquee.  What a great, energetic vibe – I loved it and with everyone laughing and smiling and really enjoying themselves, we got some great pictures.

After the first dance, Christian’s grandma sang 3 songs.  I think Christian’s words when he was telling me about this part of the day was that his Grandma was not like most Grandmas… she is called Kelly Fox and sang on Britain’s Got Talent a few years ago– a song called “Kiss my Ass” none the less!  She was very entertaining.  To get a flavour for her style of singing, you can check out her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent. Simon Cowell’s face!

It must be so satisfying for Vanessa and Christian and their families to see all their hard work and planning come together in such a special way.  Congratulations to Vanessa and Christian – here are some of the pictures from the day.  It was great working alongside Gabby from LLG photos – top team.

If you’re getting married next year and want your wedding photographed in a natural and relaxed way, get in touch!