Chester blessing // Viv & Bruce

Chester blessing with Viv & Bruce and their beauiful humanist cermeony with celebrant Mandy Helsby at the Queen hotel. Their italian gardens were the perfect backdrop for the outdoor celebration followed by ceildh dancing in the ballroom.

Describe your blessing in three words

Personal, joyous, dancing

Why you chose the date of wedding (did it have any meaning?)
We had to arrange our reception for the following year due to Covid. This was the closest date The Queen had.

Your inspiration/style/aspirations for the day

The venue helped inform the style and colour scheme. The roman/classical influence in the garden and event suite formed key parts of the style for the day, for example the greek style high necked bridesmaid dresses and the invitations. The navy and yellow/gold colours jumped out to us as very clean and classic but with a bit of an art deco twist.
We wanted the day to be fun and relaxed with everyone just getting to let their hair down and party – with plenty of food and booze! The ceilidh dancing was picked for the evening entertainment because it gets everyone up and dancing, meeting new people and no one can take themselves too seriously!

Memorable/emotional/funny moment on the day

Everyone talked about how personal and unique our handfasting ceremony was. Being able to have such a tailored ceremony and share with our friends and family was really memorable.
The dancing has also been a highlight for all of the guests – it also provided most of the laughs!
How did you discover me and why you chose me to photograph the day

Good old Google! We liked your easygoing style and the images on your website are gorgeous! And when we met (via Zoom) we knew you’d be able to capture our day in a way that captured the tone and atmosphere.

Any advice for couples planning their blessing?

Go and see as many venues as possible, even if they may not fit your budget, to whittle down what you do and don’t like

Are you going on a honeymoon?

We’ve been! We spent a week in St Lucia at the end of April. We even saw wild Hummingbirds and flying fish!!!