Being in Cheshire we are very lucky to be surrounded by some lovely wedding venues of all kinds set in the gorgeous countryside. We are privileged to be involved in many weddings each year but our selfie mirror lets us get even closer as we get to personally attend the after parties. We get to meet the wonderful couples and all their guests so we could reminisce all day about the funny moments we see, but the weddings that I often think about are the ones that have a sub plot to them.

Wedding 1

The first of our favourite weddings was once that we attended at Crewe Hall. They had really gone for it. From us alone they had their surname spelt out in 4ft LED letters, a fancy sweet cart and our fantastic Selfie Mirror but beautifully, it was all arranged through friends. It was only when we got the humbling experience of meeting the groom that we found out their story. Heartbreakingly, the groom had Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and his battle was coming to an end. Your initial thought is to be sad and even feel sorry for them, however, there was such a positive energy in the room, it was inspiring and infectious. We quickly realised they were eager for pictures on our Selfie Mirror and as I watched the groom’s friends still “taking the micky” out of him and seeing that they didn’t make it about the illness, there was no feeling of pity but pure joy, their friend was marrying the woman he loved, it could only fill you with the joy they were feeling in that moment. Weddings are such a personal moment in someone’s life but on this day, I felt I was invited into this moment and with every picture that was printed, it was properly treasured and didn’t receive the usual drunken glare and then drunkenly scrunched in their suit pockets. They knew it could be the last photo and there was no sadness, or even “macho” man behaviour, just pure affection and appreciation for the groom and his new wife, whilst we all silently reflect on our own fortunes. I was humbled to be chosen to do this wedding and that they trusted us to do it right. Though it’s strange to think what could be seen as such a sad occasion is actually one of my favourites as I saw first hand the love felt through family and friendship.

Wedding 2

We all know COVID has been a nightmare for the whole wedding industry and my heart goes out to all of the couples that have to keep rearranging and then rearranging again. You can still see brides even now losing heart in the day they have wished for their whole lives, through no fault of their own. Recently, we had one bride who was so determined to get married after her 3rd wedding date was postponed, she actually did, in front of 13 guests at the Courthouse in Knutsford, just before Christmas.  For personal reasons it felt amazing to do a wedding for the first time in 8 months and coincidentally it was the venues first as well. So behind the scenes there was already a bit of a buzz. I was happily setting up their surname in lights when in came a lovely bubbly, excited bride. Due to the day being so intimate I would never normally be greeted by the couple as we set up early in the morning but naturally there was less to do and she had time to come and see the venue. We, the venue and the other suppliers all had a really good chat with the bride and had a laugh, the bride was so excited to finally have her day and we were all so pleased for her. Despite all the bad news of 2020 you could see she loved her future husband with all of her heart and simply the vows took presidency over the “big day”.  We see so many couples wanting the big day of partying and celebrations and sometimes forgetting the reason behind it. There was a kind of purity to the day, with a hint of an “up yours” attitude to COVID-19. It was nice to learn about the couple when on a normal occasion I may never have seen them.