Okay, as a Merrydale Manor wedding photographer I need to talk about Maddie and Aaron’s wedding, because a February wedding at Merrydale Manor had absolutely no business being this bloody good! The world outside was grey and a bit miserable, everyone was still nursing their January blues, and then this lot turned up and just completely lit the place up. Warm, glowing, properly funny, exactly the kind of day that reminds me why I love this job.

Maddie got ready in the make up suite in the Manor House with her mum Rebecca, her Nan Geraldine (who was also on flower girl duty, legend), maid of honour Ashleigh, bridesmaids Jessica and Francesca, mother of the groom Kerry, and step mum Amanda. Six month old Phoebe added her own brand of chaos to proceedings too. Meanwhile Aaron was in the mancave by the car park with best man Nathan, groomsmen Sean and Luke, his dad Mark, his soon to be father in law Garry, and step dad Simon. It was a much calmer morning over there. Two completely different vibes, same nervous excitement running through both rooms.

By two o’clock the glass ceremony room was packed with fifty guests and absolutely glowing with soft winter light. Maddie walked down the aisle on her dad’s arm to Aaron, who could not stop grinning like an absolute idiot in the best possible way.

They held hands through the whole thing and had half the room in tears within the first minute.

I love a couple who cannot keep their hands off each other during vows, it is my favourite thing to shoot.

Confetti and first moments

The second they were pronounced married, everyone piled outside for confetti under the floral arch. Maddie and Aaron kissed their way through it, laughing so hard they could barely stand up straight.

They walked back up the aisle absolutely glowing, confetti still tangled in Maddie’s hair.

Then came my favourite ten minutes of any wedding, the bit straight after when it has all just happened and everyone wants to hug the newlyweds.

We snuck off for a few portraits under the floral arch, chandelier glowing overhead in that gorgeous glass room,

then down to the lake jetty as the light started to soften, just the two of them, hand in hand, still looking slightly stunned that they had actually done it.

Family formals

Merrydale Manor’s grounds make family portraits so easy, and with fifty guests and a wedding party this warm, we had a lot of combos to get through. Maddie with her parents,

the extended family all together,

the whole lot in one shot,

Maddie with the groomsmen in their grey suits and teal ties,

the full wedding party,

and Maddie with her bridesmaids in deep green dresses that suited the venue perfectly.

Family formals are nobody’s favourite twenty minutes, but this crowd made it painless, mostly by refusing to stop laughing between shots.

Speeches and the wedding breakfast

Guests were called through to dine at four, and the room absolutely erupted the second Maddie and Aaron walked in as husband and wife.

Speeches followed not long after and honestly ran the full emotional spectrum, guests properly clapping,

one of the bridesmaids wiping away a tear mid speech,

a lot of laughing,

Maddie’s dad Garry giving a speech that had the whole room eating out of his hand,

and Aaron’s best man Nathan finishing things off with the kind of speech that had Aaron doubled over laughing. Solid work all round.

The Singing Waiters

Round about the end of the meal, several of the waiters serving the wedding breakfast quietly swapped their trays for microphones. Every single guest at Merrydale Manor got the shock of their lives. One minute you are politely clearing plates, the next you are on your knees belting out a power ballad two feet from the top table, caught mid solo and already stealing the whole room’s attention. Honestly, it was one of the best surprises I have ever had the joy of photographing.

What followed was an absolute effing spectacle. A full on duet that turned the room into a proper singalong,

and a finale pose so dramatic the whole room was clapping along before they even realised what was happening.

Maddie and Aaron’s reactions were priceless, caught mid laugh with one very determined guest filming the whole thing on her phone.

By the time the napkins came out and got waved in the air like the room had turned into a football match, I do not think a single person at that top table had a dry eye. They were laughing too hard.

Maddie, Aaron and the whole wedding party ended up arm in arm belting out the last chorus together. It is one of my favourite unplanned moments from the entire day.

If you are booking Merrydale Manor and have not looked into a surprise act like this for your own wedding breakfast, I cannot recommend it enough. Nobody in that room will ever forget it.

As evening fell

By early evening the light had turned that soft blue that only happens in February, and we stole a few minutes for evening portraits before the party kicked off properly. Maddie’s veil catching the wind against the darkening sky is genuinely one of my favourite images of the whole day.

We found the fairy light gazebo in the gardens,

and finished with the two of them wrapped up close together, fairy lights blurring into gold behind them. I could shoot this kind of light all day every day and never get bored of it.

Cake, first dance and the party

Cocktail hour rolled into the evening reception at half seven, and by eight the party was properly underway. Maddie and Aaron cut their cake beside a glowing Happily Ever After neon sign,

then hit the dance floor for their first dance, which I have here in black and white

and colour, with their live band and light up letters glowing behind them,

plus a close up of the two of them barely moving, just holding on to each other.

After that the dance floor genuinely never emptied, and I mean never, it was absolutely chaos in the best possible way, easily one of the best party atmospheres I have shot in ages. A pile of friends jumping into a group photo mid song,

and guests still going strong late into the night. Sixty seven evening guests and I am fairly sure every single one of them ended up on that dance floor at some point.

A day worth celebrating

Maddie and Aaron told me before their wedding that they were happy to be guided and told what to do, which honestly always makes a photographer’s job easier. The truth is they barely needed guiding at all. They are just easy, warm, brilliant fun to be around, and that came through in every single part of their day, from the getting ready rooms right through to the last song of the night. Merrydale Manor gave them a stunning, glowing backdrop for it, but it was the two of them, and everyone who turned up to celebrate with them, that made the day what it was. Days like this are exactly why I love being a Merrydale Manor wedding photographer.

Huge congratulations to you both. Thank you for trusting me with it, I loved every minute!

With huge thanks to

Venue: Merrydale Manor
Hair and makeup: Yasmin Fox Creative [@yasminfox_creative]
Flowers: Black Eyed Susie Floral Design
Venue dressing: I Do Events Liverpool [@idoeventsliverpool] and The Word Is Love [@thewordislove]
Dress: Ivory of Cheshire [@ivoryofcheshire]
Suits: L and J Formal Hire
Entertainment: The Singalong Waiters [@thesingalongwaiters]
Cars: Cruise Limousines [@cruiselimousines]
Videography: Cat Media / The Cat Film Services [@thecatfilmservices]

Looking for a Merrydale Manor wedding photographer?

If you are looking for a Merrydale Manor wedding photographer, or you are planning a wedding anywhere else in Cheshire, and you love the idea of relaxed, story led photography that captures the real moments rather than just the posed ones, I would love to hear from you! Take a look through my portfolio, then get in touch and let’s have a chat about your day.