Combermere Abbey Photographer // Hannah & Dean

Combermere abbey photographer

Describe your wedding in three words

Lucky, magical, happy

Why you chose the date of wedding (did it have any meaning?)

Our 12 year anniversary

Anything about how you met/proposal story

We met at Sir John Deane’s College in Northwich in 2011, and got together 6 weeks later when Dean asked me to be his girlfriend at a Halloween party. Fast forward a decade and many trips to Cornwall later, Dean proposed to me on our favourite beach in Padstow in April 2022 (coincidentally, also Dean’s parents’ 25th wedding anniversary!) with our dogs by our side.

Your inspiration/style/aspirations for the day

As Cornwall is our favourite place, we had to have a Cornish influence – the table names, the seating plan, the Cornish fudge favours, even our stamp (used for the invitations and favour labels) was made in Padstow. Also, Dean’s favourite colour is red, so we knew there had to be red involved in the day somehow, which ended up being the bridesmaids’ dresses and the groomsmen’s pocket squares. Roses are also very significant in my family, which is why they were in my bouquet and the button holes, and also why we wanted photos in the rose garden.

Memorable/emotional/funny moment on the day

The whole day was incredibly special and happy, everyone enjoyed it so much and there are so many special moments…

There were lots of emotional moments – when Dean and I saw each other in the ceremony room, Dean’s little sister Ally’s emotion, both our Dads in bits!

The weather has to be one standout element of the day – it was raining until 6am following Storm Babet, and the roads were flooded, it’s amazing that more people weren’t late! On the radio, it was even saying not to travel. We were so unbelievably lucky, it was clearly all meant to be.

Another special moment was when my parents gave us the rose ‘Blessings’ during my dad’s speech. My grandpa (who passed away quite a few years ago) grew roses and after my dad asked for his blessing to marry my mum, he gave them ‘Blessings’ on their wedding day, and so my parents did the same for us.

Dean’s grandad also joined in my dad’s speech – we think it’s because he’s deaf and couldn’t hear my dad, and so couldn’t understand why he was at a party with no music, haha!

Another really funny moment was when the DJ put on the Hokey Cokey on and a massive circle of us joined in – lots of laughter particularly from Dean!

We could go on!

How did you discover me and why you chose me to photograph the day

I was at school with Nancy Clare and I saw the wedding photos she shared.

Wedding song?

Amazed – Lonestar was our first dance, Yellow – Coldplay was our last.

Any advice for couples planning their wedding?

Get the main suppliers sorted early as all the good ones (like Jess) get booked up. Make a list. More importantly, enjoy it!

Are you going on a honeymoon?

We went to Mauritius straight after the wedding – a beautiful place we’d definitely recommend.

Anything else….

We loved having Jess and Chris there with us on the day, they made us feel so comfortable and the preview photos are already looking amazing. We’re so glad we got it filmed, and can’t wait to see the finished results 🙂