Hayley & Chris: A Thornton Manor Wedding
Listen, I try so hard to be edgy and a little bit cool. I have tattoos, spent some time in proper grungy indie clubs, can tell you where to find the best street art in most major cities, am a sucker for a leather jacket...But here are a few secrets (and confirmed facts as my mama will atest!) about me: my favourite books growing up were the Anne of Green Gables series (I re-read them all last year and OMG have you watched the show on Netflix yet?? Do it! Seriously!), I had a dress-up box to rival the costume loft in my university theatre department filled with my mama's old cocktail dresses and discarded former prom and bridesmaid dresses we found when we scoured charity shops - and this was the early 90s when shoulder pads were BIG, I played with Barbies until I was maybe 13, and I was OBSESSED with fairytales - modern, Grimm, classic Victorian, you name it.
So when I managed to book a wedding that had the potential to feel like a real-life fairytale, 10-year-old Kate was nearly bursting with all that unbridled energy that used to make her a nightmare in the classroom. Thornton Manor gave me GOOSEBUMPS when I pulled into the drive. The architecture of this stunning building! The perfectly placed random archways and ornate moulding! The avenue of trees, perfect for a bride to sneak up on her guests and approach her groom from the front of the room! The details and the colours and the ON POINT staff and capped off with the MOST stunning grounds I've seen at a wedding venue to date. I was positively SWOONING.
You may remember the wonderful Hayley & Chris from their pre-wedding shoot at Dunham Massey Country Park back in October (that blog is HERE if you missed it!). These two people share that magical connection that you only get when your soul meets it's match. And I got all that simply from meeting them once! I knew this was going to be an incredibly emotional wedding but I wasn't prepared for the sheer exultant joy of their family and friends, for the way the day felt like one big hug, for the MOST earnest and beautiful speech by a groom who apologised to his parents for not settling down sooner but, 'he took a while to find her.' And she was clearly worth the wait. Kind and hilarious, warm, and SUCH a beautiful bride. I think the whole room fell a little bit in love with Hayley through Chris's adoring gaze.
Thornton Manor weddings feel like the most incredible dream, and I loved every second of my day working alongside their amazing staff, capturing a beautiful day that came down to two people who managed to find each other in this world. What an amazing thing that is, almost like a fairytale. This was Hayley & Chris's day at Thornton Manor, enjoy.
