Rachel and Alex were married at the beautiful Holy Family Catholic Church in Ince Blundell and the reception tool place at the West Tower in Aughton.

There was much anticipation in the air when I arrived at Rachel’s family home on the morning of the wedding and everyone had one eye on the weather which changed from one minute to the next. We had sun, rain, hail, rain, sun, hail…sun. So quite typically British!

The wedding venue in Ince Blundell is a hidden gem. The Church of the Holy Family is set in an estate which has a varied history. The chapel is a later edition to the surrounding buildings and was used as a family chapel for the owners of the hall and surrounding estate. Much of the estate and grounds that were there originally have remained untouched.

As with most things about this wedding Rachel took the weather in her stride and didn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest about the hail shower that hit as she arrived outside the church with her father.

Rachel and Alex didn’t stop smiling at each other all day. It was lovely to see and great to photograph. Having met them a couple of times before the wedding I got on really well with them and loved being in a position to be able to create something special for them.

West Tower

When they made their way out of the church the sun was shining. After a spell outside the church for a handful group photographs and a couple of portraits we headed off to the West Tower for the reception. Having photographed a number of weddings at the West Tower I was looking forward to this part of the day as I knew the light would be great. Due to the location of the ballroom, and especially at this time of year, the light flooding into the room is a joy to work with. So it would have been rude not to do a couple of portraits at this point as well as to photograph the room in all its glory, set up beautifully for the wedding breakfast.

The speeches were a lot of fun, including a few photos on a slideshow from Alex’ brother. Equally funny and ambarrasing for all parties 🙂

The party went on into the night following a beautiful first dance.

I’m constantly surprised at how different one wedding can be from the next but I love trying to work out each couple in terms of what and who are important to them. This wedding, like many I photograph, was about the people, not the dress, the shoes, flowers or table decorations, but about a bunch of people celebrating and showing their genuine happiness for a great couple. I love to photograph the little moments and intricacies of a wedding that may happen in between the important stuff. These are the images that will tell the story and help the couple to remember how they felt in years to come.