Some venues make you work for it. Dorfold Hall just hands it to you.

It is a Jacobean house sat in its own parkland just outside Nantwich, with formal gardens, a walled garden, a Coach House for ceremonies and a barn called L’Écurie round the back for the party. You get the grand old house and a proper party space on one site, which is a rarer combination than you would think. Claire and Calum got married there on the 25th of August, and it was one of those days where the whole thing just clicked.

They had 120 of their favourite people for the day and another 15 who joined in the evening. There was a guitarist. There was a labrador who ended up on top of the cake. There was a confetti line I am still thinking about. Here is how the day went.

Getting ready

Claire started the morning down in the lodge at the end of the drive before moving up to the bridal suite, which meant her dress got to hang in that dark oak panelled room with the old portraits looking on. If you have ever wondered why photographers go a bit misty eyed about wood panelling, this is why. The dress was a Martina Liana, and it did not need any help from me.

Sarah did the makeup, Gemma did the hair, and the bridesmaids were all in matching pale blue pyjamas, which is a look I will always back. There was fizz before eleven. There was a lot of shrieking. Claire spent most of the morning laughing at other people rather than worrying about herself, which tells you everything about her.

Over in the drawing room the boys were doing the traditional thing of standing around in half a suit for ages, then discovering cufflinks exist about twelve minutes before they needed to be somewhere. One of them found a window worth swinging off. I did not ask why.

Then Claire got into the dress and the room went quiet for a second, which is always my favourite bit of the morning. Her mum was there. It was lovely. I will stop there before I get soppy.

Meanwhile Calum and the lads lined up on the front steps of the hall looking extremely pleased with themselves, as well they might.

The ceremony

Two o’clock in the Coach House, with a flower wall behind the registrars and a guitarist playing everyone in. Claire and the girls walked round from the house along the old brick garden wall, which is a much nicer way to arrive at your own wedding than getting out of a car.

Claire came down the aisle on her dad’s arm and Calum’s face did exactly what you want a face to do.

There were readings, there were vows, and there was a ring that went on first time, which is not a given. Nobody cried, until somebody did, and then everybody did.

Then the walk back up the aisle, which Claire did with one fist in the air. Correct answer.

The confetti

Right. The confetti.

Petal confetti, 120 people, and a good long stretch of cobbles outside the Coach House doors for everyone to line up along. This is the ninety seconds of the day I always tell couples not to rush, because you only get one run at it and it is over before you have finished blinking. Claire and Calum walked it properly. Claire swung her train through the middle of it. Calum grinned like a man who had got away with something.

Drinks, a very good dog, and the group shots

The undisputed star of the drinks reception was the dog. He made a run at Calum the second he was off the lead, he had a proper investigate of Claire’s bouquet, and then he sat perfectly still for the couple portrait in front of the hydrangeas, which is more than I can say for some of the humans.

Family formals were done and dusted in a few minutes so everyone could get back to their drinks, then the bridesmaids, then the groomsmen, who decided Claire’s dress needed fanning out like a superhero cape. They were not wrong.

And then everybody, the whole lot of them, gathered on the front lawn and photographed from above with the house behind. Dorfold is absolutely made for this shot.

Speeches, cake and the party

Dinner was in L’Écurie, the barn on site, long tables lit with candles and covered in dahlias in every shade of orange, coral and deep red.

Claire and Calum came in with both arms in the air, which set the tone nicely.

The Cheshire Dining Experience fed everyone, Vivid Bar Services kept the glasses full, and the speeches were split across the courses instead of stacked at the end. Four of them, one between each course. I am a big fan of doing it this way. Nobody has to sit through the lot on an empty stomach, and the room stays up rather than flagging halfway through.

Golden hour came good. We slipped out for about fifteen minutes into the garden while the light was going through the roses, and this is what we came back with.

The cake had a small model of the dog sitting on top of it. Obviously it did.

Then the band started, the first dance happened, and the dance floor did not empty again until the lights came on. At some point sombreros appeared. I still do not know where from.

The bit where I go a bit soft

Here is what I keep coming back to about this one. Big house, big guest list, big gardens, and yet the whole day felt like a really good party thrown by two people who like each other enormously and are surrounded by people who like them back. Nobody was performing. Claire spent the day laughing at her friends. Calum spent the day slightly astonished by his luck. The dog had the time of his life.

That is the thing about a venue like Dorfold Hall. It is grand enough to make the pictures sing, but it does not tell you how to have your wedding. Claire and Calum had theirs exactly the way they wanted it, and it was brilliant.

Congratulations you two. Thank you for having me.

With huge thanks to

• Venue: Dorfold Hall
• Dress: Martina Liana
• Hair: @gemmaworthhair
• Makeup: @sarahdunmua
• Catering: @the_cheshire_dining_experience
• Bar: @vivid_bar_services
• Band: @deadbeatspartyband

Thinking about your own wedding at Dorfold Hall?

I am a Cheshire wedding photographer and Dorfold Hall is fifteen minutes down the road from me, so I know it inside out, from the light in the panelled rooms to exactly where to stand for the confetti. If you are planning something there, or anywhere else in Cheshire and beyond, get in touch and let’s have a chat.