Wedding photographs from Sandhole Oak Barn

I could not have enjoyed Megan and Ed’s wedding at Sandhole Oak Barn more. They are the nicest, funniest and most loved up couple you could meet and capturing their big day was such an honour.

I already knew how relaxed and brilliant Megan and Ed were in front of the camera from their pre-wedding shoot in Manchester and I had been looking forward to their wedding ever since. The whole day was absolutely perfect, from seeing both Meg and Ed in the morning with their friends laughing away, to the emotion and excitement of the beautiful church ceremony at St Andrew’s Church in Cheadle, to the laughter of the speeches and the non stop dancing in the evening at the stunning Sandhole Oak Barn – they made my job so easy! Ed very kindly even set his speech alight on a candle during the speeches for, what I’m sure was purposeful comic effect 😉 it was just all so much fun!

To Megan & Ed, thank you so much for asking me to be your wedding photographer. It was has been so nice getting to know you both and I know you will have a very long and happy marriage together. You are such a lovely couple and I wish you all the very best for your future together x

A huge thank you to you both too for sharing your wedding story!

How did you meet Ed?
We met at University in Canterbury, we were friends for a long time then 5 years later I was living in Didsbury, Ed was in London and I invited him up to see The Streets (we originally bonded because we were both singing the words to ‘You’re Fit But You Know It’!) The rest is history!

What was the proposal like?
I’d had a really busy summer starting a new job and I’d danced in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games so hadn’t had much time at home. I couldn’t wait for a weekend in our flat but Ed surprised me with a weekend away – I was livid and made that very clear! Once I’d calmed down…! We went back to Canterbury and Ed proposed on the top of the hill on Campus where we first met, I mumbled a teary yes!

How did you find wedding planning? Do you have any tips for other brides?
Hmmm…. I’d describe it as a rollercoaster! You go from so excited, to daunted, to stressed at least once a day! The majority was fine though, it was only the week before that was really bad. My advice would be to do a bit at a time then have a break for a few weeks. Try and do as much as you can before the final run up to the day; because I had the week off before I did a lot of ‘oh I’ll just do that nearer the time’ Those things ad up!! It did mean I was really chilled out for the final couple of months though!!

Why did you choose St Andrew’s Church and Sandhole Oak Barn as your venues?
We knew we wanted to get married in my local church, I went to playgroup there and the youth group and my dad is also the treasurer… so that bit was easy. We knew we wanted a venue that was just going to be ours for the day and had accommodation but didn’t want a hotel so it cut out a lot of choices. The minute we saw Sandhole we almost didn’t need to look anywhere else! It ticked all the boxes and had such a laid back feel, it was perfect!

What was your favourite part of your wedding day?
I think it has to be the service at the church – well the whole time we were at the church really! Walking down the aisle at that church was just a dream come true and it’s where I actually married Ed, that’s what it’s all about really!

Who were your favourite wedding suppliers?
I didn’t have a bad one – me and mum kept calling them the dream team!

The guys at Sandhole Oak Barn are just incredible, nothing is too much bother and they make you feel so welcome.

Annette and the team at Top Table just go above and beyond. They’re more than a caterer, I don’t think we would have had the day we wanted without their help and advice. It was Annette who recommended we have a videographer which we weren’t going to have.

I found Hannah at GOSH! Weddings and she was amazing, how she managed to be in two places at once for most of the day will always baffle me! Having a record of the ceremony and speeches is priceless, it was such a whirlwind I didn’t really remember what was said and watching it back is so special.

Annette recommended Clare Thompson for our flowers and from the minute I met her I didn’t even need to see anyone else! She just completely got what we wanted, right down to the beer bottle tops on the button holes!

Claire Barton did my make up and it was like having an old friend in the room! The airbrush make up she does is like magic! I have to admit I woke up the day after the wedding with a full face of make up on… including eyelashes… and it still looked perfect!

I had a bit of a nightmare with my dress as the shop I ordered through ceased trading (that was a panic day!) so I ended up dealing directly with the designer Sabina Motasem, again it was like going for a cup of tea with a friend when I went for fittings. And the dress was just beautiful, the material made me feel like a million dollars!

Then last but certainly not least, the one and only Neil Redfern! I wanted to book Neil before we even met, his photos are just so incredible and unlike anything else we saw. The engagement shoot idea made me cringe a bit at first but it was so vital looking back. We both got to know Neil better and he made us feel so comfortable so by the day it was just like hanging out with a mate and it felt like we sped through the photos because we knew what we were doing. And the end result is amazing, can’t thank him enough! >> So kind, thank you very much Megan!

“My mum was pretty stressed out in the run up to the day, I love this picture because she looks so relaxed!”

“I went to playgroup in that hut! I love that my now husband is stood by it with his best friends on our wedding day!”

“Ed loves nothing more than spending an afternoon with his best friends at the pub, how awesome he got to do that on his wedding day!!”

“Me, my cousin and my oldest friends – when I look at this I just know I had the best bridesmaids in the whole world.”

“I think mum actually spat on a tissue to clean my face, some things you just don’t grow out of!”

“Paul had wrapped the rings so carefully they took ages to get out!! It was so funny! We laughed and smiled all the way through the ceremony and this just sums it up!”

“Walking through a confetti storm is the most fun I’ve ever had! Every day should feel like that!”

“My Uncle Richard’s first car, Lady Pru, is a member of the family. She was more excited about the day than us I think!”

“We’re so relaxed and happy, it’s just how I wanted the day to be”

“We had a nightmare deciding on the best way to calve enough chickens at the table to feed over 120 people while keeping it hot but on the day it just worked out and everyone got so involved, we couldn’t have planned that if we tried!”

“My family end every meal with the After Eight game, I loved how everyone embraced it… even my boss!!”

“Everyone told me before the day to take time out and take it all in. After dinner I spied an empty terrace and sneaked Ed away for a quiet moment together, it felt really special. I didn’t even know Neil had spotted us!”

“We had such an amazing wedding party who made every part of the planning and the day so much fun, this captures the laughter perfectly!”

“Me and all my best girls in one place, when does that ever happen in grown up life! I’m really glad I sneaked this one in just before Neil left!”