In November last year I had the huge pleasure of photographing Kayleigh and Phil’s amazing wedding at Nunsmere Hall in Cheshire. A brilliant day full of laughter, smiles, emotion and lots and lots of fun!!

From the moment I arrived in the morning the atmosphere was so relaxed and happy, it was truly a pleasure to be able to capture such an amazing day. I will always remember Kayleigh and Phil’s first dance – a medley of old skool songs finished off with a big group dance with all their bridal party, so funny and so amazing – typical of the whole day.

Nunsmere Hall is one of my favourite wedding venues but this is the first time I had photographed a wedding there in the winter and it looked absolutely stunning – the colours of the trees and the frost on the ground gave it such a lovely feeling and put that together with a bride and groom as loved up and happy as Kayleigh and Phil and it was always going to be an incredible wedding day!

Here is Kayleigh with the story of how Phil proposed and their wedding day 🙂

How did you first meet Phil?
“Well, when Phil and I met there were fireworks. Quite literally, as we met on bonfire night aged 15. Phil was cheeky, good looking and so very flirty, how could I resist? I was literally a giggling school girl with a major crush.”

How did Phil propose?
“We were away celebrating New Years Eve 2011 in Rome. I know now that Phil had intended to propose on New Year’s Eve outside the Coliseum, after an amazing firework display. (See the connection there 😉 ). Unfortunately though, after the fireworks stopped, riots started. There were smoke bombs and bottles being smashed everywhere – quite possibly the most unromantic atmosphere ever. Safe to say the proposal didn’t happen that night. It happened the following evening on New Year’s Day, after a beautiful romantic meal at a small restaurant close to our hotel. We had such a lovely meal, and looking back now Phil was on fire with the smooth talk. He proposed on one knee when we got back to the hotel room, I couldn’t have been happier, I accepted and we celebrated with champagne.”

Did you enjoy wedding planning?
“I found the wedding planning really enjoyable. I had Phil, my Mum and great bridesmaids and friends who were all around to help me. My advice would be don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Enjoy the planning.”

Why did you choose to have your wedding at Nunsmere Hall?
“We wanted a close, intimate atmosphere for our wedding. We were sure we wanted a house/hotel with vintage features, log fire and beautiful grounds to tie in with our Autumn wedding. Everything we wanted we found at Nunsmere Hall.”

What was your favourite part of the wedding day?
Kayleigh: “I had the most amazing day and it’s so hard to choose a favourite. But the speeches were very special. They were the only thing out of the entire wedding that I hadn’t been involved in, or knew anything about. With my new husband, brother (best man) and my Dad all doing speeches I had no idea when to expect and was so nervous – they had all been winding me up for weeks. But they were all incredible, so witty, loving and creative, I loved them all.”

Phil: “My favourite part of the day was seeing Kayleigh walk into the room. She was 25 minutes late, but more than worth the wait. Seeing her look so beautiful in her dress, and so happy walking down the aisle with her Dad was perfect.”

“We had the most amazing wedding day. We wanted the day to be not only special, but really enjoyable. That’s why doing the superhero photos, playing with sparklers, having little messages for Phil as the bridesmaids walked down the aisle and our crazy good first dance made it all the more incredible, and truly unforgettable. ”

Thank you so much to you both for sharing your wedding story and also for asking me to photograph your wedding! It has been so nice getting to know you both and I wish you both a very long and happy marriage together – which I know it will be!

Kayleigh: “Phil looks so handsome. So do all the boys. I love all the photos of them outside. To be honest I think they loved posing. ”

Kayleigh: “A couple of the bridesmaids had nipped down to see the room before the ceremony and told me how beautiful it looked. But this picture is a wonderful memory of all the planning paying off. ”

“This is one of Phil’s favourites, he thinks I look really happy. And I was.”

Kayleigh: “This a favourite because it’s so natural. We are all naturally smiling and happy.”