The end of May 2022…. Everybody said 2020 was the most difficult year for weddings suppliers but for me I’ve found 2022 to be harder. Quadruple back to back weddings up and down the country, days and nights away from home and don’t even start on the editing pile that is giving me sleepless nights. However, it’s all good when couples are this awesome, friendly, accommodating and such bloody good company to be around. Many wedding photographers don’t have super great social lives, mainly because we are always working unsociable hours so if we are lucky enough to feel like we are guests at a wedding too then it kills two birds. This wedding, the first of that quadruple was the perfect start to a long weekend.

Yeldersley Hall was the location for this gorgeous wedding. A huge stately home set amongst the Derbyshire countryside. Lovely tropical grounds, long sweeping driveways and gorgeous gardens. Mike and Rosie got married in the nearby church but had their closest family and friends get ready at yeldersley hall. The hall only does a handful of weddings a year and so it was all the more special to be able to shoot here.

So Rosie and Mike married in a beautiful church round the corner from Yeldersley Hall surrounded by the friends and family. Rosie walked down the aisle with both her mum and dad which was such a touching moment and one rarely seen (yay for the mums getting the limelight!) Rosie wore the most gorgeous wedding dress from Simone Rocha and Mike wore a stylish black tux. Both looked incredible. Rosie arrived at the church in her Dads vintage red Mercedes Benz which he had lovingly got out of retirement especially for their big day.

After the ceremony it was back to Yeldersley Hall for the fun and games - literally. Rosie and mike had styled the venue to simple perfection, nothing over done, but so very personalised bursting at the seams with fun and laughter for their guests. Croquet, three beer ping tables, Jenga and connect 4, a brass band, pizza trucks and hilarious speeches ensured that their guests had the best time ever. I always tell my couples who are having a summer wedding to get some entertainment. it doesn’t have to be expensive - giving your guests fun stuff to do allows for better candid photos. otherwise its just snapping people sat on their arse drinking.

As I mentioned before - three tables of beer pong later and around 100 images of the most hilarious reactions and facial expressions ever. My knees too a battering though, not to mention my head when I got in position for some of these shots. I’m too old for this job.

After the brief destruction of the garden we moved inside for the speeches and oh my god, hilarious doesn’t even begin to cover it. There was all manner of embarrassing stories crawling out of the woodwork, including one about shitting in a handbag…. I mean I was unable to snap photos by this point because I was laughing so much.

After speeches it was time for some couple snaps around the beautiful grounds of Yeldersley Hall, I love plants as most of you know so when I spotted a large palm tree in the grounds ai was immediately obsessed with taking Rosie and mike to have some portraits in front of it.