Crewe Lyceum Wedding Photography

I had the privilege of shooting the wedding of Adi and Stuart at the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe, Cheshire. There is no doubting who is centre of attention when you get married on a stage!

A picnic and two proposals

I really love their engagement story and want to share it with you. The couple booked their dream holiday to New York in July 2015. Adi had planned to propose to Stuart in Central Park on 4th July but mother nature intervened and it had to be postponed until the following day. Whilst having a picnic in the park, Adi was about to read his ‘engagement’ poem to Stuart, which he had been agonising over for months. Just as Adi was about to speak, Stuart rudely interrupted him and said “so…seeing as we have some money left over from the holiday, we have enough to buy you are ring, so yeah Adi, will you marry me?!” How romantic is that?! You really couldn’t write it that they would both choose the exact same moment to get engaged. No better place to get married then than on a stage at Crewe Lyceum Theatre!

Both Adi and Stuart got ready separately at Crewe Hall, a stunning grade 1 listed building in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. Stuart had an entourage of family with him whilst getting ready and Adi had a couple of close friends to help with his preparations. Having them both in the same location meant it was ideal for me to get snaps of both of them in their nervous excitement before the wedding.

A first look

Adi and Stuart decided to have some photographs of the two of them in the gardens of Crewe Hall before the ceremony. Their first look, peeking out from behind a hedge, was a unique and special moment. It was also a great way to ease the nerves and allow the couple to feel comfortable in front of the camera before seeing the rest of their wedding party.

Taking centre stage

Picking a theatre as a wedding venue may not be a conventional choice but it made a perfect setting for the happy couple. By getting married on stage, everyone gets a fantastic view of the proceedings from the stalls and the couple get their deserved limelight. The historic Edwardian auditorium provided a perfect backdrop for the main event on stage. Adi and Stuart found the theatre when researching ‘unique weddings’ and instantly fell in love with the idea.

Stuart really got into the spirit of being on stage during the wedding vows. The registrar asked as part of the vows, ‘Do you, Stuart, take thee, Adrian’, to which Stuart responded, ‘…take thee Rachel’ – emulating the famous scene from ‘Friends’ where Ross said the incorrect name at the altar. This was met with rapturous laughter and cheers. Luckily Stuart had pre-warned Adi he might do it, otherwise the rest of the wedding day may not have gone so well!

Speeches worthy of an encore

After the ceremony, we headed to the Lyceum Circle Suite for the wedding reception. Stuart’s Mum, Carol, spent months creating the centre pieces, table decorations and seat bows and they looked absolutely stunning. The room was filled with laughter and tears during the speeches and Stuart’s mother really captivated the audience and had everyone in stitches… a performance worthy of an encore.

There was dancing into the night and it is clear from the photographs that everyone had an absolute riot tearing up the dance floor.

Adi and Stuart wrote some really lovely words about me which I’ll share with you…

‘Mike arrived on the day, professional in appearance yet casual and welcoming in his manner and he made us and our guests feel instantly relaxed in a situation that is filled with so many nerves. It soon felt like Mike wasn’t there which helped to capture the natural reactions that we most wanted capturing and we received so many compliments from our friends and family about Mike’.

Thanks guys, I had a fantastic time capturing your happy day.