Bride and Groom enjoy a walk together at Mytton Fold

Mytton Fold Hotel

Gemma and Ben contacted me after I shot a friend of the families wedding, they wanted a really chilled out affair with friends and family and they had chosen one of Lancashire’s hidden gems, family owned hotel Mytton Fold. Mytton Fold has been run by the Hargreaves family for over 30 years and boasts 43 bedrooms, making it perfect for a wedding party that might want to stay the full weekend. Set within the rolling hills just outside Whalley, Mytton Fold is situated in the Ribble Valley and surrounded by a massive golf course (100 acres if you are interested). There’s ample grounds for guests to roam and plenty of beautiful places for photographs with the sun setting just behind the fields at the back of the hotel. Perfect!

Around the hotel there are loads of interesting little roads, benches, Lilly ponds and gardens making it an interesting place for guests to explore and beautiful place just to sit back and relax in.

As if things couldn’t get any better the hotel is also dog friendly!!! So if you are thinking of bringing your pooch along on your wedding day, it might be one to put to the top of your list.

Getting ready

Gemma and her family and friends were getting married in a huge room with loads of lovely pockets of light (ask for 228!) and space for them to get ready together. There was hair going on in one corner, make up in the other and everyone seemed really excited for the day ahead. The girls were trying out a new method of taping their toes together so their high heels didn’t hurt, apparently this works?! See the photo in a bit. It was a lovely relaxed morning full of loads of smiles and laughter.

Lilly pond, with pink Lilly flowers floating on the water.

Window of a blue mini, with Mr and Mrs Smith written on it.

Girls smiling with wedding dress in background.

Bride gets her hair done while looking at her wedding dress.

Woman cellotapes toes together to wear high heeled shoes.

Mother of the bride has her make up done.

Beautiful thick shiny hair platted in Greek style braids.

Bride has a moment before getting into her dress.

Female family members share a laugh together.

Patch of light with the shadow of a high heeled shoe.

Grandma sits smiling in a patch of light.

Female wedding guest is helped into her dress.

Ladies beding over to get ready all wearing wedding hats and making a triangle.

Nan swaps her slippers for her heeled wedding shoes.

The bride to be is helped into her dress by her mother at Mytton Folds.

Mother of the bride fixes her daughters hair.

Bride smiling ready to get married at Mytton Fold.

The Ceremony

The wedding ceremony was held in the Abbey Suite at Mytton Fold Hotel. The large room holds some rustic character with stacked stone pillars either side of the room and Tudor style supports holding up the roof. Gemma and Ben chose to decorate the chairs with white covers and blue ribbons and had blue petals scattered down the aisle. Maybe this theme of blue came with Ben’s love of his blue mini?

As Gemma was walked down the aisle by her Dad and looked to Ben she was overcome with emotion. Then once the tears had stopped they couldn’t stop smiling at one and other. It was then out of the Abbey Suite and into Mytton Fold Hotels front garden where Gemma and Ben were congratulated by their wedding guests and pelted with heart shaped biodegradable (important detail) confetti.

After being pelting with confetti and having a drink or two we headed off to grab some photos of Gemma and Ben’s family and friends and some of Gemma and Ben. Gemma and Ben had been worried about both of them being a little camera shy, but as you can see they nailed it!

Abbey Suite Mytton Fold etched on a glass window.

Bride is walked down the aisle by her father.

Bride is overcome with emotion as she reaches her groom.

Bride and Groom put on their wedding rings.

Bride and groom laugh while putting on their rings.

Bride and Groom walk back down the aisle at Mytton Fold as husband and wife.

Bride and groom have confetti thrown at them.

Bride and groom have confetti thrown at them outside the ceremony room at Mytton Fold.

The trail of the Brides wedding dress is covered in heart shaped confetti.

Bride is presented a horse shoe by wedding guests.

Bride and Groom walk down a country road chatting.

Bride and Groom laughing at one and other.

Bride and Groom sitting laughing together at Mytton Fold.

Bride and Groom take a walk down a dirt path.

Wedding guests

While waiting for the Wedding Breakfast and speeches Gemma and Ben’s immaculately dressed wedding guests roamed the impressive grounds at Mytton Fold while enjoying the sunshine and a drink or two.

Wedding guests sit on a wall together laughing and drinking.

Mother of the bride sits with a friend having a cocktail and smiling in the sunshine.

Empty beer bottles and champagne flutes are left in the flower bed. Red flowers.

Four wedding guests sit together, one has given up on her shoes already.

Father of the Bride and Father of the Groom share a drink at the bar at Mytton Fold Hotel.

The Wedding breakfast and speeches

Gemma and Ben had decorated the room with plane models and books and left personalised gifts on the tables for wedding guests. The wedding cake was topped with a model of them both and Ben’s mini of course!

The speeches were a roller coaster of emotion. Getting laughs and tears from many of the guests and wedding party.

Wedding cake topped with bride, groom and blue mini.

Wedding guest wears a red dress and black hat while laughing.

Male wedding guest enjoys some champagne while smiling.

Wedding guests stand teary eyed during speeches.

Bride laughs as her father gives a speech.

The Party

After the speeches as the sun was getting lower in the sky we hoped out for 5 minutes to grab a few more photos of Gemma and Ben together before they headed back in to do their first dance as husband and wife and get the party started, and what a party it was!

Bride and Groom share a kiss at sunset at Mytton Fold.

Bride and Groom kiss photo in black and white.

Bride and Groom walk past a derelict house.

Wedding guests cheering at table together.

Bride and Groom alone on dance floor together at Mytton Fold Hotel.

Groom smiles while Dancing with his Bride.

Wedding guests make shapes on the dance floor.

Bride and Groom look into each others eyes while dancing together.

Wedding guests laughing and dancing together.

Bride and Groom dance next to the brides sister and her partner, both laughing.

Wedding suppliers

I do not currently have a list of wedding suppliers for this wedding. If you were a supplier please get in touch and I’l be more than happy to link back to you.

Venue: Mytton Fold https://www.myttonfold.co.uk

Daisy and Phil's Story in Daisy's words...

"Me and Phill met at college, I fancied him because he had really big muscles and after our first date I realised he was sweet and unlike any other guy that I’d met.
Phill proposed in Croatia, I knew something was wrong because he said we’d go for a walk the first day we got there (he hates walking). I thought nothing of it after that. We were sat next to the sea after our walk and I was distracted by 2 guys jumping into the sea, I thought they’d not come up for air for a while and maybe something had happened to them. Phil was telling me he loved me and then reached into his swimming shorts and pulled out the ring box because he had no where else to put it without me seeing I said yes apart from I couldn’t wear the ring for the next week as it was too big!"

Why Stanley House?

We went round 2 venues and when we went to Stanley house we both fell in love it was the prefect size and the staff were fantastic from the beginning.

Stanley House

Is a Hotel and Spa wedding venue in the beautiful Ribble Valley, Mellor, Lancashire. With stunning scenery and it’s own hotel and spa on site, it’s a great venue for you and your guests to relax for the whole weekend if you want to.

The Wedding Day

Daisy and Phil had a civil ceremony at Stanley House and enjoyed the rest of the day and night there. The weather and setting were beautiful. Daisy and Phil both looked amazing, the only problem was the wedding party had gone to a restaurant together the night before and half of them were struck down with food poising including poor Phil! Meaning he was running back and forth to the toilet during speeches and lasted long enough to get some confetti thrown and have a few photos before he sent himself off to bed. The evening guests arrived and the party went on, Daisy had a dance with her Dad and then her Dad surprised everyone by dressing up as Elvis and doing some amazing Elvis performances that really lifted everyones spirits, it looked like we might have seen the last of Phil, but like a true trooper he made a grand entrance just in time to cut the cake and have his first dance with Daisy.

Thank you for having us Daisy and Phil, in the face of adversity you guys still nailed getting married and had an awesome fun packed wedding day, I'm just so sorry Phil was ill for a lot of it.

Also a big shout out for my wonderful second photographer Katy Mutch for being a photographic and general legend as always!

Wedding Advice for Future Couples from Daisy and Phil

Make sure you get a cracking wedding band.

Get a parent to pay for the bar.

Don’t let your husband get food poisoning.

Enjoy every moment of the wedding and take 5 minutes to take it all in with the person your going to spend the rest of your life with (in between them being sick in the champagne bucket ).