Lauren and Dan’s Crewe Hall Wedding

Bride and groom forehead to forehead in the grounds as rain falls lit up behind them, Crewe Hall wedding photographer

The moment Lauren, Dan and myself met at a Crewe Hall wedding fayre, I’m sure we all knew that I HAD to shoot their wedding day!

Eighty six guests for the day, a hundred and fourteen by the evening, and a wedding party big enough to fill the whole width of Crewe Hall’s steps. Navy suits, orange ties, burnt orange bridesmaid dresses. Nobody here was doing understated, and I loved them for it.

Crewe Hall is Jacobean, all carved stone and painted ceilings, and it takes colour like this beautifully. I have worked here as a Crewe Hall wedding photographer plenty of times now. I still get a kick out of walking up those steps.

It is also a venue that gives you everything in one place. Lauren got ready upstairs in the bridal suite, the ceremony was in the Drawing Room, confetti happened on the back steps, and the grounds were thirty seconds away when I wanted them. Nobody spent the day in a car.

Getting ready

I started in the bridal suite, where Lauren’s dress was hanging in front of an enormous gilt mirror.

Wedding dress hanging and reflected in an ornate gilt mirror between two lit wall sconces in the bridal suite at Crewe Hall

So I shot it reflected, with the chandelier caught in the glass and the wall lights doubling up underneath. One frame, and the whole tone of the day was set.

Hair was by Gemma Daisy Hair and makeup by Magic Mirror Aesthetics, and the room was properly full. Bridesmaids, Lauren’s mum, cups and water bottles on every surface, and the particular hum of a morning that is going exactly to plan.

Hair being styled in the bridal suite at Crewe Hall on the wedding morning
Lipstick being applied to the bride, hair vine already in place, during morning prep at Crewe Hall
Black and white photograph of the bride on the phone in her dressing gown, hand to her face
White platform wedding shoes with crystal ankle straps being fastened on the bride
Hands fastening the covered buttons on the back of the lace wedding dress, a burnt orange bridesmaid dress just out of focus behind

Dan got ready at home and arrived at one, so Neil Redfern took the boys while I stayed upstairs with Lauren. Neil was second shooting with me all day. Having him there is why the morning got covered properly rather than half covered. Two rooms, two sides of the day, nothing missed.

Two women laughing with a small boy in a navy suit as everyone gets ready at Crewe Hall
A buttonhole being pinned onto a small boy’s navy suit while he grins up at the man doing it
The groom in a navy three piece suit and orange tie laughing with a guest beside a bank of candles at Crewe Hall

Then they lined up on the steps. Every one of them in navy, every tie orange, and the smallest of the party right at the front.

The groom on the steps at Crewe Hall with Zach, Alexander and a guest, all in navy suits with orange ties
The groom and a long line of men in navy suits and orange ties lined up across the steps at Crewe Hall

Back upstairs, Lauren was in the dress. This is my favourite ten minutes of any wedding morning. The noise drops, everyone stops to look, and you get about half a dozen genuinely lovely frames before anyone remembers to be self conscious.

The bride in a strapless lace fit and flare dress holding a peach and eucalyptus bouquet by a window at Crewe Hall
Three small children squashed together on an ornate bench, two boys in navy suits and a girl in white
The bride laughing with four bridesmaids in long burnt orange dresses holding peach and cream bouquets, Cheshire wedding photographer
A small boy holding a packet of sweets while a buttonhole is pinned to his navy jacket

The ceremony

Two o’clock in the Drawing Room. Dan at the front, doing that thing grooms do where they cannot decide where to look.

The groom waiting at the top of the aisle in the Drawing Room at Crewe Hall as the processional starts

Lauren came in with her two brothers, one on each arm, and all three of them were grinning.

The bride arriving at the front of the ceremony arm in arm with her two brothers, all three grinning

Dan did not last long.

The groom wiping his eye in the foreground as the bride walks down the aisle behind him at Crewe Hall
The bride at the front of the Drawing Room with three men in navy suits, her bouquet held in front of her
Bride and groom holding hands during their ceremony beside a floral display and a row of lit pillar candles

Zach, their eldest, did a reading from a yellow card while Lauren and Dan held hands in front of him.

Zach reading from a yellow card during the ceremony while Lauren and Dan hold hands in front of him

Then the rings arrived, carried up by Alexander, who is three.

Alexander handing the wedding rings up to his dad during the ceremony at Crewe Hall
Close up of the wedding ring going onto the bride’s finger, a crystal bracelet at her wrist
The bride sliding the ring onto the groom’s finger in front of their guests at Crewe Hall
The couple’s first kiss as husband and wife, shot through a row of lit candles in the Drawing Room

On our pre wedding call, Lauren told me the photographs going up in their house would be the four of them. So this is the one. Lauren, Dan, Zach and Alexander.

Lauren, Dan, Zach and Alexander together at the signing table, banked cream and peach flowers across the front

And then they walked back out under that ceiling, which is the bit of the Drawing Room I never get tired of shooting.

Wide view of the couple walking back down the aisle under the painted and gilded ceiling of the Drawing Room at Crewe Hall

Confetti on the back steps

Crewe Hall has a front and a back, and for confetti you want the back. No arriving guests checking in behind you. Solid ground under your feet. Everybody’s head up, instead of watching their own shoes on the way down a flight of steps. That one decision will do more for your confetti photos than anything else you pick.

Bride and groom walking down the back steps of Crewe Hall through a shower of confetti thrown by their guests
Close up of the bride and groom laughing as confetti falls around them, Crewe Hall wedding photographer

Then came the hugging. Loads of it.

The bride in her veil hugging an older man in a grey suit outside Crewe Hall
A guest hugging the bride tightly and beaming over her shoulder at the camera

Family and friends

Lauren and Dan sent me their list well in advance, and then gave me two people whose only job was to round up the next group. If you take one thing from this post for your own wedding, take that. Seventeen family groups, done at the back of the hall in just over twenty minutes, and everyone was back to their drinks before they had time to get bored of standing in a line.

The full wedding party lined up on the steps at the back of Crewe Hall, navy suits and burnt orange bridesmaid dresses
The bride and groom with a long line of men in navy suits and orange ties on the steps at the back of Crewe Hall
The bride with four bridesmaids in long burnt orange dresses at the back of Crewe Hall, bouquets held low

Portraits in the grounds

Then I stole the two of them for ten minutes.

Bride and groom walking together past dark green planting in the grounds at Crewe Hall

That is genuinely all it takes when a couple are relaxed with each other. September had turned one of the big trees in the grounds copper, so we used it, and then we used the stonework on the way back in.

Bride and groom in an embrace on the lawn beneath a huge copper coloured tree in the grounds, Cheshire wedding photographer
The couple nose to nose against the carved stonework of Crewe Hall, the bride holding her peach and eucalyptus bouquet
The couple framed in the stone archway at Crewe Hall with the bride’s train spread out across the step

Speeches and the wedding breakfast

The cake was already waiting in a bay window. Three tiers, rust and cream sugar roses, copper leaves, and a view behind it.

Three tier white wedding cake with rust and cream sugar roses and copper leaves, set in a bay window at Crewe Hall

They came in hand in hand through those enormous carved doors, announced as Mr and Mrs Jaques by Lauren’s brother.

The bride and groom walking in hand in hand through heavy carved doors for their wedding breakfast at Crewe Hall

Four speeches, all before the food, which I am always in favour of. Everyone who has to speak can stop dreading it and start enjoying themselves, and the food arrives hot.

Two men in navy suits sharing a microphone and a sheet of paper as they deliver a speech in the Long Gallery
Black and white photograph of the top table in front of the carved stone fireplace at Crewe Hall during the speeches
The bride laughing at the top table with a small child on her lap while a speech is read out
A man in a navy suit and orange tie grinning mid speech, notes in hand, in the Long Gallery at Crewe Hall

Rain, and why I always bring a second shooter

The cake got a second outing once it went dark. Lit properly, all that sugar work does something completely different at night.

The three tier wedding cake lit dramatically against a dark window in the evening, knife laid beside it
The groom in his waistcoat and orange tie laughing with friends, bottle in hand, during the evening reception

The photograph at the very top of this post was a real team effort. The rain was only with us for five minutes and whilst I was setting up for first dance upstairs, Neil had spotted the rain at the entrance and ran to get me. We have to admit that this was a bit of a stressful one as we had guests coming in and out of the hotel and some of the small children in attendance being picked up by grandparents. It felt like all of the hotel wanted to come in or out of this entrance at the exact moment we were rushing to get this shot before the rain stopped!

To save time, Neil grabbed this image whilst I tried to keep the entry way clear of guests. He absolutely smashed it! It’s always amazing getting to work with Neil. We have shot so many weddings together over the years that we just know what the other wants and needs. It makes difficult, time pressured shots like this come together without any added stress or time to the couple. Thank you Neil for pressing the shutter on this fantastic image!

By blue hour the hall was fully lit and the sky had gone deep behind it, so we went out again.

Crewe Hall lit up against a deep blue evening sky with the bride and groom tiny in the lit doorway at the top of the steps

The party

Emelia Rose Vocal opened the evening and sang for a solid hour. By the time Lauren and Dan got up, the dance floor already belonged to the children.

The bride sitting on the parquet dance floor surrounded by children in a heap of skirts and laughter

Then Emelia sang them into their first dance.

Black and white photograph of Lauren and Dan during their first dance, a burst of light flaring behind them

After that the floor did not empty again until the end of the night.

A small boy in a navy suit being swung off his feet between two men on the dance floor under coloured lights
Two guests singing their hearts out arm in arm, trails of coloured light swirling around them
One guest dipping another on the dance floor at the end of the night, coloured light trails everywhere, Crewe Hall wedding photographer

Lauren and Dan, thank you. Colour in every single frame, a wedding party who were up for anything, and rain at exactly the right moment. I have been photographing weddings a long time and I still walked back to the car buzzing.

With huge thanks to

What Lauren and Dan said

Helen & Neil were absolutely amazing from start to finish. We specifically chose Helen because of her ability to work so beautifully in darker venues, and she completely exceeded our expectations.

From the moment we booked them, they were professional, friendly and so easy to work with. On the day itself, they made us feel completely at ease and captured every special moment so naturally, without anything ever feeling forced or staged.

The photos are absolutely beautiful and really capture the atmosphere, emotions and little moments of our wedding day that we will treasure forever. We honestly couldn’t be happier with our choice and would highly recommend Helen & Neil to anyone looking for wedding photographers!

Lauren and Dan

Thinking about your own wedding at Crewe Hall?

If you are planning a wedding here and you want a Crewe Hall wedding photographer who is still working when the light goes and the rain starts, I would love to hear from you. You can see more of my work at this venue in Annie and Tom’s autumn wedding at Crewe Hall and John and Neill’s Crewe Hall wedding, and you can reach me any time through the contact page.

More from Crewe Hall: my Crewe Hall wedding photographer page has more real weddings from the venue, plus what it's actually like to get married there.

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