Megan & Kelson tied the knot in a beautiful church ceremony in Nether Alderley, Cheshire, followed by an intimate outdoor garden reception.

Photo of a bride and groom outside church on their wedding day in Cheshire

CHESHIRE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS

We were delighted when Megan & Kelson chose us as their photographers for their beautiful Cheshire wedding. Getting married in spring 2021, they had originally planned for a church ceremony followed by a large dressed marquee reception in the Cheshire countryside. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic meant a change of plans, but Megan & Kelson were determined to get married on their original May date and they worked hard to make their dream wedding a reality; compromising where they had to but keeping as many of their original plans as possible. There were still some Covid restrictions, and a limit on numbers, so their smaller church ceremony was followed by an intimate outdoor reception in the gardens of a country pub.

They chose a neutral, soft colour palette – greens, creamy whites and soft blush, with earthy browns and greys. As a talented florist and co-owner of The Flower House Cheshire, Megan had dreamt of creating a beautiful real flower arch at the church altar, and bringing a woodland vibe to the aisle. The day before the wedding, she and Kelson assembled it together and, assisted by family and friends, they spent the afternoon decorating the church – we were there to document the process - scroll to the bottom for the behind the scenes of the making of the ‘Sharpley Arch’ – the result was truly beautiful. Megan’s business partner, Bev, took care of making all the bouquets and all other floral arrangements, leaving Megan to concentrate on the flower arch.

THE MORNING

In what was a wonderfully relaxed and fun morning, Megan got ready at her parent’s home, surrounded by her bridesmaids. It was truly a family and friends affair, with her best friend and a family friend both styling her hair, and her talented cousin, Chloe, doing all the girls’ makeup.

Kelson and his groomsmen got ready at the couple’s home – a chilled-out morning with the best of friends. The guys looked super-smart, with Kelson wearing a fabulous Harris Tweed jacket.

Groom and groomsmen arriving at the wedding ceremony at St Mary’s church in Nether Alderley, Cheshire

Groom-and-groomsmen-at-Nether-Alderley-church

Megan looked absolutely beautiful in her Pronovias dress – the floral and leaf detailing in her dress and veil were the perfect choice for a florist! There was time for a few bridal portraits before leaving the house, and then it was out to the wedding car – a Porsche Taycan from Porsche Wilmslow, which her friend and business partner, Bev, had arranged for her as a wedding day surprise and, in a lovely touch, Bev also drove her to the church.

THE CEREMONY

The wedding ceremony took place at the pretty church of St Mary’s in Nether Alderley, Cheshire. The church dates from the 14th century and features some beautiful gothic stonework, with the grounds also home to a mausoleum and 17th century schoolhouse. It’s a lovely place to look around even if you’re not getting married!

For the ceremony, face masks were still required, with the exception of the bride and groom. As with many churches, the available light is often limited and so photographing can be a challenge, but Megan’s vision of walking through a candlelit woodland in church was beautifully evocative.

It was an emotional ceremony of laughter and tears – no-one really knew whether the wedding would actually be able to go ahead in the run up to the big day – and everyone was just so happy to watch them say their ‘I do’s!’

When it came to confetti, Megan naturally wanted to make her own and had been carefully saving and drying petals from the flower shop for over a year to make the confetti, and had used a punch to create little petal hearts from some of them – so this really was an extra-special confetti shot – no pressure! We always say to our couples, to order more confetti than they think they’ll need – the more the better! Especially with petals as they don’t show up as well on camera. We needn’t have worried though – there was SO much confetti and it just made for the most wonderful photos! Though they were picking it out of their hair for hours afterwards!

After confetti and a few family photos, we stayed at the church for a few minutes to do some bridal party photos and then some portraits of the new Mr & Mrs.

THE GARDEN PARTY

Megan & Kelson headed off to their reception in the Porsche, and we took a little detour with them to capture a shot of them with the car in the countryside – one for Kelson’s wishlist!

At the pub, the drinks reception was underway and, despite some threatening rain clouds, the afternoon stayed dry for their outdoor celebration.

It was great to see everyone truly letting their hair down, having fun, enjoying the funny and (very) emotional speeches and watching the bride and groom cut their fabulous cake (made by Megan’s mum), which produced one of the best cake-cutting expressions we’ve ever seen!

There were so many little personal touches and details that made Megan & Kelson’s wedding day so very special, not least that so much was about family and friends pitching in – it was a joy to be part of it and we feel honoured that they chose us to share in their special day.

THE MAKING OF THE ‘SHARPLEY ARCH’

The day before Megan & Kelson’s wedding, we documented the making of the beautiful flower arch that Megan designed - now affectionately known as the ‘Sharpley Arch’.

Megan wanted to make the real flower arch more eco-friendly and therefore create it without using the usual florists’ foam, so she designed a re-usable technique that worked perfectly! It was a team effort with family and friends pitching in to help decorate the church and get everything ready for the wedding the next day. There was a great fun atmosphere and a definite palpable sense of excitement!