Highlights from Naomi & Piotr’s Home Marquee wedding in Manchester

“Just wanted to say how much we love the photos, thank you for capturing the moments that made our wedding day special”

Chadkirk Chapel Wedding

Naomi & Piotr booked me for their Chadkirk Chapel Wedding about eighteen months ago. Theirs was to be a brilliant ‘hand-made’ marquee wedding at home, with their main wedding ceremony a few miles away at Chadkirk Chapel. This was to be my first visit as a Chadkirk Chapel wedding photographer, and one I was really looking forward to. A Chadkirk Chapel wedding takes place in Chadkirk Estate in Romiley. The chapel itself is a Grade II listed building, dating from the 16th Century, having been renovated several times throughout the years. A simple design, set in the calm surroundings of Chadkirk Estate, this really is a hidden gem of a location to be married in. It took me two attempts to find the chapel on a dry run a week before Naomi & Piotr’s Chadkirk Chapel wedding! Let’s hear it for rehearsals…

Chadkirk Chapel is run by Stockport Events, a department of the council, and you can book it for your Chadkirk Chapel wedding all year round (bar the usual religious & public holidays). The registrar were brilliant to work with, relaxed and accommodating so I could wander slightly, subtly capturing Naomi & Piotrs’ big day in silence. I cannot wait to photograph another wedding at this stunning wedding venue.

This Chadkirk Chapel wedding was going to be an Anglo-Polish celebration. With Piotr hailing from Poland, this intimate family wedding featured some of his family as wedding guests, and preparing the food for the home marquee wedding back in Manchester.

Home Marquee Wedding in Manchester

The whole family had a part in making this home marquee wedding in Manchester. Luckily the September weather was gorgeous, and this Chadkirk Chapel wedding was going to be brilliant day. I do love a good home marquee wedding, and with thirty or so guests at Naomi & Piotr’s big day, I was in my element. Very different from a Country House or Hotel, a home marquee wedding has a real intimacy to it. Naomi & Piotr’s home marquee wedding was simply brilliant. Nothing fancy, nothing ostentatious, just a simple, functioning marquee, complete with a plywood floor. I loved it. And I loved what they did with the bar area, leaving room for their first dance later on in the day (I wasn’t going to be photographing this as it was still undecided if it was going to happen!). Having fewer wedding guests too, means I have to work harder, and be even more unobtrusive than normal. There is less space to hide, and I have to be more aware of not standing in anybody’s way during speeches etc. My new silent shooting cameras helped immensely with photographing this home marquee wedding in Manchester. I think we nailed it, collectively. The guests were brilliant, all cheering and clapping as Piotr carried his new bride through the alley and into the garden, to then bombard them with hugs and kisses, oh…and the odd handshake.

Emotional Dads at a wedding

Naomi’s Dad was in great form - fully ‘briefed’ by his daughter, he knew what was expected. His speech was all written and rehearsed, and he was good to go. Photographing emotional dads at a wedding is part of our job, and as Naomi & Piotr’s Chadkirk Chapel wedding photographer I kept an eye on him, just in case I needed to ‘pull out the onion on a stick’ to get a reaction. I was not to be disappointed. From early morning bridal preparations he was unflappable, and really quietly excited for his daughter’s Chadkirk Chapel wedding. This proud dad walked his daughter from the stunning vintage Bentley, down the lane to the chapel to meet the bridesmaids. During the ceremony he was stoic and upbeat, as he was during the speeches back in Manchester.

Wedding Speeches in two languages

As part of the wedding speeches for this Chadkirk Chapel wedding, Naomi & Piotr stood together at the end of the home marquee to speak to the guests in turn. Naomi had practised her speech in Polish…and did very well! Very well indeed it seemed - as everyone was smiling and laughing at the right times, and Piotr was impressed with her timing too! Several other guests took their turn to congratulate the couple and toast their happiness in two languages too. All very emotional too as several guests blamed my ‘onion on a stick’ at this home marquee wedding. All in all, this was one of my favourite weddings of 2022. Simple, wholesome and intimate - a brilliant Chadkirk Chapel wedding with a home marquee reception.

Wedding Photos in a Tree House

My one request from Naomi & Piotr was to have a photograph of them with their tree house at the end of the garden. No Problem! After the speeches, the happy couple climbed (struggled!) into the gorgeous teee house for a few wedding photos. It seemed every guest stood with me as if this home marquee wedding was a press conference. Brilliant. And, on cue both Naomi & Piotr gave us all the shot we’d been waiting for…then slid down the slide for more champagne! Wedding Photos in a Tree House. Who knew?

Here’s some of my favourite photos from the day…