Raithwaite Estate Wedding – Kirsty and Dan

I’ll never forget meeting my beautiful bride Kirsty. She happened to come across my stand at The Sentinel wedding fayre at The Moat House, Hanley. Clearly stunning and excited to be planning her wedding that was taking place almost 200 miles and a 3 hour drive away I was super keen to make a good impression. I HAD TO SHOOT HER WEDDING! I would have travelled to the Outer Hebrides by donkey to get her infront of my camera! Shortly after our initial meeting in a crowded room we managed to catch up and I met the rather lovely and very handsome Dan. At that point our fates were sealed. Kirsty my beautiful party princess and footballing twinkle-toes Dan just knew we were all a match made in wedding heaven! I literally spent the entire of 2017 looking forward to my road trip to Whitby and being their Raithwaite Estate Wedding Photographer!

 

Whitby Wedding Photographer

After an amazing cooked breakfast at The Singing Kettle and a quick explore around Whitby Chris (my awesome second shooter) and I headed to see Kirsty and her ladies who were getting ready at home. I am seriously girl-crushing right now but we all know that Kirsty would have looked phenomenal in a black bin bag but her stunning Justin Alexander wedding dress just took my breath away 🙂

Kirsty and her girls had such a lovely laid back morning getting ready. The champagne was flowing, no stresses or worries. Absolute perfection!

The boys!

I think it’s fair to say that the boys also had a ‘no stress’ approach to the wedding day preparations. Groom, Dan and his men had time to watch some footie, recreate some stunning childhood photos, eat pizza and they even complete a Christmas jigsaw – it was October!

The finishing touches…

While the lads finished getting suited and booted the ladies were equally as busy with the final touches.

Whilst getting ready, all eyes were on the weather. If there was one thing Kirsty had been dreaming of the whole time she had been planning the wedding, it was walking down the beautiful steps to the gardens and an outdoor ceremony. So much so that she declared ‘I don’t care if it rains and everyone gets wet. They can have umbrellas. I’m getting married outside!’ Mr weatherman and mother nature would appear to have other plans with high winds and rain forecast for the afternoon. Question is, did they make it down the paved aisle or were they forced to tread the carpet???

Just time for an emotional hug with dad and it was time to rock and roll!

Wedding Ceremony at The Raithwaite Estate

The gardens were set for an outdoor wedding ceremony. No rain was yet to leave the sky that day. The guests had started to arrive and I ran back to the front of the Raithwaite Estate to await the arrival of the bride. So far so good. Then whilst sat in the front of the wedding car I captured this…

The moment you realise it’s only gone and started spitting outside! 5 mins before the start of your outdoor wedding ceremony! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Fear not, we were determined and declared the small droplets only to be a good luck sprinkling that would surely pass by quickly. And they did!

What a difference sixty seconds make! Happy Kirsty had returned and she was ready to run down that aisle and seal the deal 🙂

Add in some beautiful bridesmaids (whose teeth were chattering from the cold and were cursing Kirsty to hurry the f*** up)! Actually, I don’t think any of them dropped the F-bomb. It may have been added by myself for dramatic effect!

Time for one quick pic whilst the guests finished seating and the music began then it was time for Kirsty to start the walk she had been dreaming about for so long!

Promises had been made, vows and rings exchanged. There was only one reading stood between Kirsty and Dan sharing their first kiss as husband and wife… so close….

DAMN IT!

Want to know what makes wedding guests move quicker than heading to a free bar? Rain! As soon as Dan’s sister finished her amazing poem the decision was made to run inside and finish the ceremony 🙁 At least Kirsty got most of her wedding outside and managed to pull off such a beautiful entrance!

Kirsty and Dan finally sealed the deal and with a little help from Miller and Eadie the registers were signed and it was time to celebrate!

It’s no wonder Kirsty and Dan look as gorgeous as they do. Look at the gene pool! All of their family members are gorgeous too!

Big shout out to Nana Joyce who is more affectionately known as G-Dog! Anyone rocking that nickname gets instant ‘Legend’ status and of course a special mention on the blog!

 

Kirsty and Dan will too forever hold the status of ‘legends’ for their willingness to ignore the fact it was still spitting outside and went for a quick stroll around the gardens at The Raithwaite Estate

 

You can see how much it is raining by looking at the rain drops hitting the water below Kirsty and Dan. Hardcore!

I’m not pure evil though and did allow them back inside for a few photos too 🙂

Speeches at The Raithwaite Estate

Well I was absolutely creased with laughter throughout the whole of the speeches. I’ve no idea how I managed to get the photos in focus or steady as there were literally tears streaming down my face. Top job by all the speakers!

Some of the best speeches of my year were then followed by a gorgeous cake cutting and an unforgettable first dance. Did these newlyweds smooch it up to a bit of Ed Sheeran? Nope! Did they keep it classic with some power ballad? I don’t think so! The nut jobs boogied on down to one of my fave musical songs ‘We Go Together’ from Grease! Amazing!

There was only one way this evening was heading and that was straight to party central! Thanks to the absolutely stonking Ellie Sax the dancefloor was packed all night!

With the night drawing to a close, there was no way I was going home without a night time photo of the bride and groom. If there is one thing I love after the sun goes down, it’s a bit of rain.

Kirsty and Dan AKA Mr and Mrs Brown – thank you so much for letting me photograph your wedding day. As I may have mentioned about a million times, you both looked phenomenal and threw an amazing celebration for your friends and family! I love you guys millions!

Raithwaite Estate Wedding Photographer

Are you or someone you know getting married at The Raithwaite Estate? I would love to hear from you! Please do get in touch via my contact page by clicking here!

Want to see more of my work? Simply head on over to my blog or have a good stalk through my Facebook and Instagram pages.

Best of luck to everyone planning their wedding day and searching for their perfect wedding photographer.

Lots of love,

Helen xxx