Katie and Gordon’s Wedding was very special for a lot of reasons. Katie is one of my old friends from my Charity fundraising days, it’s always an honour to journey through my couples wedding day with them, but when it is already someone you know and have love for it makes it extra special.

Katie and Gordon had also been through a lot to get to this day. Their original wedding date was the weekend just after the Covid restrictions came in, meaning that they had to cancel their wedding and deal with the scary reality of a global pandemic all at the same time. After rescheduling their date the venue that they had booked went out of business, then there was more new waves and restrictions… I think we maybe had 3 dates in the diary before getting to Katie and Gordons actual real-life wedding day. In that time some wonderful things happened. Nora their beautiful baby girl had entered the world and they had found the perfect wedding venue close to Katie’s Family home in Didsbury.

It wasn’t all plain sailing, just a few days before the wedding Queen Elizabeth II died, the country was in mourning and I was scared for a moment that this would mean another postponement. Luckily such traditions like cancelling everything for 2 weeks when the head of the monarchy dies are no longer in place in the UK, so Katie and Gordon could finally have the wedding they had been waiting for.

Getting Ready

Katie got ready at her family home in Didsbury. I love it when my couples choose to use their family homes to get ready, it adds an extra layer to the story. I was able to photograph Nora’s beautiful little daisy dress hanging in the window of Katie’s old childhood bedroom, maybe Katie had daydreamed about what her future children would be like looking out of that very window. Katie also got into her wedding dress in her old bedroom, with her best friends surrounding her, old books, CD’s even an old childhood teddy watching on from the surrounding shelves. The life lived in this room, the songs listened to, books read, homework done and tears shed all leading up to this moment…

Brides wedding dress hanging up in brides family home in Didsbury.

Brides daughters tiny white floral dress haging up in the brides childhood bedroom window.

News on the Queens death in The Guardian Newspaper

Bridesmaids chatting in the hallway of the brides Didsbury family home.

Brides daughter looks at the camera suspiciously.

Bridesmaids and brides mother having a drink and chat on the teal sofa.

Bridesmaid helping to feed Brides young daughter.

Bride is filmed by a family friend while having her make up done by Rebecca Anderton.

Brides laugh as they pour glasses of Champange for the bridal party

Bridesmaids claps as her friend poses with wet hair in doorway.

Bridesmaids and Brides mother playing with the brides daughter

Brides daughter watching her mother get ready

Bride playing with her daughter on the morning of her wedding day.

Bride has a glass of Champagne with her bridesmaids.

Bridesmaids look at brides daughter cute tiny dress

Bridesmaid holds up brides wedding dress

Bride standing in her wedding dress in her childhood bedroom smiling.

Bridesmaid helping bride with her dress.

Bride checking herself out in the mirror.

Brides mother pops her head in the door to see her daughter wearing her wedding dress.

Bride looking at her hair in the mirror as her bridesmaid fastens her dress.

Bride looks at her full length reflection in the mirror.

Didsbury House Hotel

Didsbury House Hotel is a beautiful Victorian Town House, with elegant arching Victorian door ways and huge windows to let all of that beautiful daylight in whatever the weather. Didsbury House comes fully equipped with it’s own bar and heated and sheltered outdoor space so that your guests will be properly looked after, but it does have a nice house party feeling to the place for those that are looking for a wedding venue with a more relaxed and informal vibe .

Groom and his groomsmen standing in bar at Didsbury Hotel.

Groom puts button hole flower on his Father's suit.

Grooms Father puts button hole on on groom on his wedding day.

Groomsmen help one and other with cufflinks

Father of the bride has help with his button hole.

Groomsmen laughing at something on iPhone.

Grooms mother wearing amazing colourful dress and head dress gives her son a meaningful look.

Man wearing keffiyeh holds smiling baby.

Bride walked down the aisle by her father at Didsbury House Hotel

Bride and Groom stand together holding hands at Didsbury House Hotel.

Brides family watch the ceremony from the front row at Didsbury House Hotel.

Groom gives a confused look as Bride looks back at the guests and laugh.

Bride and Groom laugh together holding hands during their wedding ceremony at Didsbury House.

Bride and Grooms daughter watching her parents getting married.

Bride laughing and holding her wedding ring.

Bride and Groom laughing as they leave the wedding ceremony.

The Ceremony

One of my favourite photos of the day is Katie and Gordon leaving the ceremony, the joy and happiness on both of their faces, everything it took to get here, getting through Covid, numerous cancellations, wedding venues going bust, all of that excitement, disappointment, stress, planning and in that tempestuous journey to this moment they morphed from a unit of two into a family of three and brought their beautiful daughter Nora into the world and now finally, FINALLY they are husband wife. I feel this last photo so much. “We made it!”

Black and white photo of Bride and Groom sitting on the sofa together at Didsbury House.

Bride and Groom having a glass of Champagne after the ceremony.

Bride standing in door way waiting for groom at Didsbury House. Photo in black at white.

Bride and Groom stand in doorway together at Didsbury House Hotel.

Wife fixes her husbandss button hole on their wedding day.

Bride and groom have a cuddle in the doorway at Didsbury House Hotel.

Bride and Groom stand together in front of Didsbury House Hotel.

Bride and Groom walking in front of Didsbury House Hotel.

Groom kisses bride on the head in front of Didsbury House Hotel.

Bride and Groom, Hello magazine portrait.

11 Didsbury House

After the Wedding Katie and Gordon had a bit of time to chill out and have some nice informal portraits done while the wedding guests made their way to Didsbury House’s Sister Venue; 11 Didsbury House, the venue is just a short walk away and has a beautiful terrace and walled garden with borders bursting with seasonal flowers. 11 Didsbury House also has a large getting-ready space for the bridal party in the morning if you need it. While we made our way to the reception venue the guests organised themselves to ambush Katie and George with confetti on arrival and a great ambush it was!

Bride and groom approach the confetti ambush that awaits them at 11 Didsbury Park.

Wedding guests laughing holding confetti.

Bride and Groom are ambushed with confetti.

Bride and groom smiling together with confetti in the air around them.

Small child with blue glasses holding confetti.

Group Photos

After the confetti ambush Katie and Gordon’s guests enjoyed the garden, played games, had some drinks and canapes and we were able to grab some quick group photographs. Gordon’s best man had travelled to the wedding from down south and had been stuck in traffic during the ceremony so arrived later in the day. Gordon and his Groomsmen decided to mark his arrival by throwing confetti at him and luckily I was there to capture this fleeting moment.

Bridesmaids have photo together in front of greenhouse.

Bridesmaids laugh holding their flowers.

Bridesmaid playing with children on garden bench.

Sofreh

In honour of Katie’s Iranian heritage one of her aunts put together a beautiful Sofreh, which is a Persian tradition of a table put together for the couple with lots of symbolic elements to bring the couple good luck and fertility in their future lives together. The table was comprised of lots of beautiful herbs, sweets and, spices and looked and smelt wonderful. You can find a list of the components and their historical and cultural meaning below:

The Mirror (Ayneye-Bakht) is symbolic of purity, light and brightness. In a traditional Sofreh Aghd Ceremony the first thing the groom would see in the mirror is his new wife removing her veil, Katie and Gordon didn’t do this put they did have a photograph together reflected in the mirror instead.

Two Candelabras (Shamdan) are placed next to the mirror and symbolize clarity and energy in the couple’s life together.

Traditional Persian Embroidered Cloth (Termeh) Traditional Persian silk or embroidered cloth usually handed down from generation to generation as part of the Sofreh Aghd and symbolises family and traditions.

The Holy Book A symbol of God’s blessing for the couple.

Spice Tray (Sini-Ye Aatel-O-Baatel) A beautiful decorative tray of seven herbs and spices to guard the couple against the evil eye.

Decorated Persian Flatbread (Naan Sangak) is a decorative display of flatbreads and symbolises prosperity for the feast and the couple’s life together. It can be accompanied with feta cheese and fresh garden herbs.

Decorated Eggs, Almonds, Walnuts and Hazelnuts Symbolic of fruitfulness, fertility and abundance. It is the hope to have a marriage as strong as the nut shells.

Rock candy (Shakheh Nabat): Symbolizes a sweetened life for the newlyweds.

Honey (Asal): The honey represents sweetness in the couple’s life together.

Two Sugar Cones (Kalleh Ghand): This is to shower the couple with sugary sweetness for happiness for a good life together.

Wild Rue (Espand) is a herb burned as part of a ritual for purification. It is believed to keep away the evil eye and bring good health.

Sweets and Pastries (Shirini): This is to symbolise the sweetness of life.

Rose Water (Golaab): Rose water is part of the immense history and culture surrounding a traditional Persian wedding ceremony. With its distinct taste, fragrance and influence in Iran, Golaab is the perfect fragrance to accompany the Sofreh Aghd. It is symbolic of the love that flows between the couple.

Sugar Cloth (Tureh Ghand): A piece of material, made of silk or other fine fabric, to be held over the Couple’s heads throughout the ceremony by happily married female relatives and friends.

Sofreh table with Bride and Groom reflected in the mirror.

Bride and groom enter their wedding breakfast to a round of applause.

Brides and groom listening to the speeches.

Bridesmaids laughing and raising a glass during the speeches.

Speeches and Portraits

After the speeches Katie and Gordon braved the rain and headed out again for some portraits. I like to keep my portrait sessions short and snappy with 10-15 minutes after the ceremony and then the same again later in the day (if we have time) and you like it. The second portrait session can be loads of fun as you have eaten, drank and had a good time with all of your guests already and to be honest a lot of couples comment on how it’s nice to get a little break from the day. Katie and Gordon had a little mess about in the door way and then we retreated to the greenhouse for a few more photos before making our way back in and getting the party started!