Relaxed Cheshire Marquee Wedding Reception

A cross river ceremony and then back for a Wirral  Cheshire Marquee wedding reception was organised to perfection and gave Laura and Dan just the day they had planned and envisioned.

Pre-ceremony Preparations

The girls were all getting ready at a new amazing Airbnb in West Kirby.  We were all blown away by the spacious rooms and décor.  It was such a great space with 6 en-suite rooms and a huge kitchen lounge area …confess my eyes turned green!
It was a relaxed easy-going morning with some really cute shots with Rebecca, Laura’s flower girl too.
Laura’s sister was a bridesmaid and 4 close friends also enjoyed the morning here with makeup and looking after Laura  – plenty of space for everyone.

Dan meantime was enjoying the last few hours a single man in the Ship and Mitre pub in Liverpool.
This was just a short distance from St Gorge’s Hall in Liverpool where the ceremony was to take place in the Grand Jury room

Liverpool Ceremony

Laura arrived driven by her father in his range rover. Knew she would look stunning as she had done a few catwalk shows for The Bridal Show wedding fayres.  Her dad however was completely bowled over and emotional when he saw Laura in her gorgeous dress from Tina Louise  – a Ronald Joyce design with beautiful crystal detail on the bodice and straps.
Always get a tear in my eye too at these moments – such a privilege to share.
With it being cross-river Laura had arranged a lift for Sandy with the girls so these moments could be captured whilst Dave was in Liverpool in the pub with the guys – the beauty of having two photographers.
Laura had even arranged a parking permit for Dave to park at St George’s Hall – underlining how every aspect for the day had been thought through with consideration for everyone.

Cheshire Marquee Wedding Reception

Laura and Dan wanted a home marquee so they could use their own catering company of choice and not have any curfew times on music.  Guests could hang out as long as they wished.  It was the perfect plan.
Big D cooked a delicious American BBQ – fitting the theme of the tables so named for Laura and Dan’s favourite American road trip.  The marquee was provided by Astra MArquees a fab local company and flowers to decorate inside were done beautifully by Oxton Flowers

The day just flowed – the ceremony beautifully including Rebecca to the group shot on the steps of St George’s Hall
The confetti coming through the flower arch at home – a few family formals then plenty of mingling time before speeches and then the BBQ.  hey we even had dancing before the speeches!

After the meal, we wandered over to the sea wall accessed from their property for some gorgeous golden hour and sunsets shots.  Shots as planned and a contrast to the architectural shots in Liverpool.
It was also a perfect impromptu time for this family to enjoy the setting sun on their wedding day  – complete with the family pet dog
Then it was back to cake and dancing, sparklers and cheese, chutney and chunky bread if anyone was still hungry.
The hay bales with lace throw overs,  fire pits for toasting marshmallows and provided blankets were a lovely touch to allow guests to continue to enjoy the outside space.

Laura’s Tips for a Home Wedding

If you can having a home wedding reception has lots of advantages, but does take some planning.
Laura has kindly added some of her own thoughts and suggestions for a home marquee reception and how to make it personal to you.

Really make the most of your friends and families creative side. Let close friends and family really put their stamp on the day. For us what was great and that we wouldn’t have been able to do at a venue is allow our friends to do a bar as a wedding present for us. They brought a range of different drinks from Scotland for people to try. In addition, we were able to have our friend bring two kegs of craft beer from his newly opened brewery in Wales. When it came to the evening, Dan made all the chutneys for the cheese cake and my uncle made fresh bread for everyone. These individual touches really made the day so special to us
Secondly, if you are doing everything yourself don’t underestimate how long it takes to decorate a marquee!
I’m not sure how venue decorators and florist do it in one morning – we spend two whole days!
Thirdly, if you are having a wedding at home then really give people an insight into your life. We had many pictures decorating the tables of our unforgettable Californian road trip ?
We even had our dog escaping and joining in the party which wasn’t planned but made the day much more special.

Also one of the most amazing things about having a wedding at home for us is that we get some beautiful pictures at our home
and also places like the seawall where we enjoying walking the dog everyday. It makes those beautiful places that we already love even more special

Finally I think I owe so much to my Mum – she was much better at visualising the day and the decorations – her whole spare room was full of wedding decorations for at least a year before the wedding. Little additions such as the personalised sparklers and  individual charms for glasses -were all her idea and went down so well.
I think bringing out the fun side of the guests with lawn games, bouncy castles, toasting marshmallows on fire pits and sparklers made everyone leave at the end of the night with a big smile on their face!

What an awesome day! Just the type of wedding we really enjoy. The bond between this family was a real joy to behold .
Laura and Dan we so enjoyed this wedding journey with you and know we will keep in touch.
Wishing you many more years of happiness.  Enjoy your highlights xx

Laura planted flowers in wellies and wheelbarrows to make it more personal because horses are her life outside work!
and wellies are the order of the day here.

watching the sunset on Wirral marquee wedding day

evening dancing at Wirral marquee wedding

Dress Tina Louise – Ronald Joyce Design
Hair (bridal party) : Hairby Kathleen
Make up Georgia G MUA
Flowers: Nicola Saverimutto Oxton Flowers
Music : Jason Allan
Photography : Pixsmiths Creative Photography
Marquee : Astra Marquees
Bar : Katie Graham Diorbhail Wentworth Calum Graham Tom Anderson
Beer: Wilderness Brewery
Cake : Liverpool Cheese Company