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Wedding at Delamere Manor, Cheshire

Despite being based in North Wales, I often get the chance to photograph Chester and Cheshire weddings too. This month’s real wedding feature takes place at stunning Cheshire location, Delamere Manor.

About Delamere Manor

Sitting in 100 acres of stunning Cheshire countryside, Delamere Manor is a beautiful wedding venue near Cuddington, just outside Northwich,

It is famously the ex-home of Take That superstar, Gary Barlow. Before that, it was the residence of the Wilbraham family and was built in 1784.

The venue certainly isn’t small, as it can comfortably seat 140 for the main daytime reception and up to 180 guests for the evening reception. There are nooks and crannies around every corner and I don’t think you’ll find anywhere more beautiful to eat your wedding breakfast or have outdoor photos taken.

The Wedding of Alex and Dave

The day started out at the venue itself as the bride, Alex, decided this would be the place where she would get ready. The rooms in Delamere Manor are really beautiful and make for excellent shots of the dress before it’s put on.

The venue has kept the decor modern yet in keeping with the traditional look and feel of the house.

Alex’s dress was a stunning fitted lace number that flared out at the bottom to create a beautiful train. Her veil completed the look beautiful. I think everyone would agree she looks absolutely stunning!

One of my favourite moments to photograph is the bridesmaids’ reactions. It’s likely they haven’t seen the bride in the dress or, if they have, they haven’t seen her complete with hair, makeup veil, etc. You can get some amazing photos of the bridesmaids, like this one when Alex comes down the stairs!

Alex chose a dusky pink colour for her bridesmaids’ dresses and her flowers also stuck to this colour theme. Her flower girl was Alex’s and Dave’s daughter, who matched the colour scheme in a white dress complete with flowery headband.

The theme of flowers was everywhere you looked. Dave wore a blue tie with delicate pink flowers on it and flowers were absolutely everywhere, including the venue, the tables, the table plan, the registry table. It all looked so beautiful. Even the naked cake had some white and pink flowers on to match the overall scheme.

The tables were decorated with candles and tonnes of real flowers, including roses and peonies. Each table was named after a Disney princess, which I thought was a wonderful touch. But on the day, the real Disney princess was Alex!

Delamere Manor has some truly stunning surroundings that make for excellent photos, such as these.

I also managed to get some lovely shots of the family having fun together.

Congratulations again to Mr and Mrs Gleave!

You can see some more real wedding features below:

Soughton Hall

Grosvenor Pulford

July 1, 2020

Blog, Real Weddings

Wedding at the Tower in Mold, North Wales

North Wales has plenty of stunning wedding venues on offer and the countryside is what makes this location even more beautiful. Justine and Aaron chose to have their wedding at Tower in Mold in July 2019.

About Tower

Tower is a very unusual and beautiful venue that is perfect for weddings and other events. Located close to Chester, Tower is a Grade-I listed building nestled in its own parkland in Mold, North Wales. Despite being conveniently placed next to roads such as the A55 and the A494 for easy access, you still feel like you’re in the middle of the peaceful Welsh countryside. The building is hidden from the road and boasts stunning views of the grounds and the large pond. This makes the perfect backdrop for an outdoor wedding, just like the one of Justine and Aaron.

The property has been owned by the same family for 500 years so, if you want a venue with tonnes of history, this is the one for you. Tower was built to guard against any attacks from the English, but I’m sure anyone is most welcome in the venue today.

The Wedding of Justine and Aaron

Justine chose to get ready in one of the Tower’s many beautiful bedrooms. One of my favourite shots is this one, where we can see Justine looking at herself in the mirror the makeup artist is holding up. You can see the true character of the building, with it’s lead windows and beautiful shutters that fold into the wall.

This building is also a dream to shoot in. The beautiful decor makes every photo look stunning, while I can get shots like the one below due to the way the rooms are laid out in the corridor. Bridal prep is one of my favourite aspects of the day, and these kinds of photos show why.

Justine’s dress was a beautiful satin fit-to-flare dress from The Silk Loft that came right in at the waist and flowed out from above the knee to the floor, with an exceptional train to end.

Justine and Aaron were praying for nice weather on the day of their wedding in July, as they’d planned a beautiful outdoor ceremony, complete with a flower arch to get married in front of and the beautiful pond as a backdrop. The rain is not always predictable but, despite being cloudy, it held off.

Justine wore minimal jewellery and kept her hairdo quite informal in a half up/down style. Her colour theme for the day was pastel pink and green, as you can see from her dad’s tie and pocket hanky and her flowers. The bridesmaids’ were pretty in pastel, as their dresses were a gorgeous pastel green/blue colour, almost like a light turquoise and these matched the groom’s tie and pocket hanky.

The rest of the groomsmen, like the father of the bride, wore pastel pink ties and light grey suits.

If we haven’t already determined this, Tower makes for an excellent photo backdrop. The opportunities here are almost endless, which is why it’s one of my favourite venues.

The cake matched the rest of Justine and Aaron’s colour scheme, incorporating both the pastel green and pinks from the rest of the day. The iced details on the flowers are unbelievable and it’s a simple but stunning design.

I love taking images of a venue throughout the day as it can change so much from morning to night. I snuck away from the wedding and captured these images of Tower at sunset, when the uplights and fairy lights are on and the pond is still. I just love the colour of that sky.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re still looking for a North Wales wedding photographer to capture your big day.

May 6, 2020

Blog, Real Weddings

Wedding at the Grosvenor Pulford Hotel, North Wales

North Wales is my home, and so I love photographing venues all over this area. Last March, I shot a wedding at the beautiful Grosvenor Hotel and Spa, based in Pulford.

About the Grosvenor Pulford Hotel and Spa

Situated in North Wales just a few miles outside of Chester, Grosvenor Pulford Hotel and Spa is a 4* venue that boasts 73 stunning bedrooms, a restaurant, bar, piano lounge and spa.

Built in the 18th century, the building was originally a hotel as well as a working farm, where ale was sold to workers. In 1874, it was known as the Grosvenor Arms. There have been many owners of this historic building, including the Duke of Westminster. Now it’s run by the Nelson family (hence where the name of Nelson’s Bar originates), who have lovingly restored the building and added exceptional facilities, such as additional bedrooms and full leisure facilities.

The wedding of Hazel and Craig

Hazel and Craig’s wedding took place on a beautifully crisp and sunny spring day in North Wales. The Grosvenor Pulford is the perfect place for a dramatic arrival as you can walk down the stunning staircase and into the ceremony room, making for a picture-perfect entrance.

As avid travellers, Hazel and Craig chose to adorn the ceremony room with centrepieces of globes, suitcases, books, cameras and magnifying glasses. These looked really beautiful and were quite different from the traditional flowers that many couples opt for. The globes really stood out during the signing of the register against the white tablecloth and showed the couple’s true personality.

The main colour theme for the wedding day was blue. The groomsmen wore blue ties while the groom wore cream to make him stand out. The bridesmaids wore navy and the bride had a bouquet made from white and blue roses that were specially dyed.

Hazel wore a stunning white dress that was both simple and elegant. The lace sleeves combined with a chic up do made her look beautiful and was a very classic look. The belt accentuated her waist and her shoes added a bit of sparkle to the outfit.

One of the most beautiful aspects of this venue is the bridge that spans over a small pond. The large willow trees combined with the blue sky make for some truly stunning images. I love finding nooks and crannies at a venue that makes for beautiful photo opportunities, and this venue has plenty of those. Discover the daffodils in spring, the many bridges and water features as well as the stunning aspects of the building itself.

It’s for this reason that I visit a venue multiple times before doing a wedding there, particularly if it’s a place I haven’t visited before. It’s so important to see what photo opportunities there are and for me to get to know a place properly.

The travel theme continued through the wedding day. The name cards on the tables were mini suitcases and their wedding cake was three suitcases stacked on top of each other, topped with mini bride and groom. It’s these small details about weddings that I absolutely love and haven’t seen a theme used as creatively as this.

As a photographer, I love taking wedding shots but I also love experimenting with some different techniques. For Hazel and Craig, we tried using smoke bombs and lighting to create stunning pictures like these:

These would look incredible over your fireplace or framed on a table. I always provide a USB containing all of your photos as well as a link so you can download the photos via my website. Downloads are unlimited, so you can go crazy and send them to friends and family, get them printed on mugs, cushions, anything you want!

March 5, 2020