A beautiful North Wales wedding story
Sabrina and Callum’s, personal and relaxed North Wales wedding photography story, by photographer Wes Simpson.
After 10 years of engagement, these newlyweds surprised family and friends by planning a relaxed, fun and personal wedding in just 6 months.
They married in Gwaenygsor, North Wales, at their village church, followed by a marquee reception on the groom’s family estate.
A laid-back vibe set the scene for this North Wales wedding with rustic decor complementing the couple’s personalities, creating a welcoming atmosphere for family and friends.
North Wales wedding photographer
When Sabrina and Callum contacted me to be their North Wales wedding photographer for their rustic marquee wedding, they referenced a photo I took previously at a wedding in Tuscany, Italy.
The photo below, which I call an “in-between moment,” was taken at Cassie and Adam’s destination wedding at Castello Di Bibbione. Sabrina and Callum were impressed with the photograph and wrote –
Hi, Wes, Sabrina and Callum here. We were wedding guests in Italy. Your documentary approach to wedding photography impressed us.
You took a photograph of Callum’s nephew holding a polaroid. We love the photo! We are actually in it, in the background.
Anyways, we are getting married this year and would love for you to be our North Wales wedding photographer.
Here is their North Wales wedding photography story…
Rustic and relaxed North Wales wedding
Hi, we are Sabrina and Callum, and this is our rustic and relaxed church and marquee North Wales wedding photography story.
I was working as a waitress in a village pub in Gwaenygsor, North Wales – my parent’s pub – when Callum came in one lunchtime, and as they say, the rest is history.
We have been together for 15 years this September. Engaged for 10.
A village Church wedding in North Wales
Because we have been together for so long and previously had a wedding date that didn’t work out due to moving and having our second child, we decided that if we didn’t do it now, it would never happen.
In January, we contacted the vicar of our local church in Gwaenygsor, North Wales, and asked what dates he had available to marry us this year. He replied, “July 23rd,” so we booked it right away!
Our families didn’t believe us at first because we’d been engaged for nearly ten years and were now planning a wedding in less than six months.
North Wales wedding venue
We chose to have a North Wales marquee wedding as we wanted an outside rustic setting and for the day to be chilled, relaxed and fun.
We didn’t want to be ushered from one room to another or be on a strict schedule, which we discovered is common at many North Wales wedding venues.
Our North Wales marquee wedding was intimate and private. Callum’s family own a farm, and the marquee was set up in their field, which is just a short distance from the village church.
We chose Gwaenygsor church because it is a beautiful little church in the village where we met, which means a lot to us. This is also where we lived when we first met.
Marquee wedding in North Wales
Having a North Wales marquee wedding gave us a blank canvas for a venue. We could have done anything, but we chose to go for rustic decor, with wooden tables and chairs, jam jars with twine and gypsophila flowers on the tables and blush pink florals.
We wanted to give our rustic North Wales marquee wedding venue a relaxed country feel to match the location and our personalities.
Relaxed and rustic wedding theme
We wanted a rustic North Wales wedding theme. Pink blush dresses were the colour scheme, which went well with the countryside theme.
The goal for the day was to have fun and enjoy ourselves. We didn’t want it to be traditional or stressful, and we didn’t want to be watching the clock and being forced to move on to the next part of the day.
We had a loose plan of the day with estimated times for things, but we weren’t strict. We wanted our guests to enjoy the day and for us to relax and have time to catch up with family members.
Wedding guests
In keeping with our personal North Wales wedding theme, our bridal party was 5 bridesmaids and 5 ushers, and we had our son Leo as pageboy and our daughter Ruby as a flower girl.
We had 65 adults and 26 children in the day. At first, we thought Ahhhhhh so many children, and we did consider not inviting children as it was a lot.
However, they play a big part in our lives. Some of them are our nieces/nephews with whom we spend a lot of time. So we thought, go for it! invite them all.
Wedding outfits
I’ve always loved a man in a Tux; something about it makes me just think Ooooh! (Haha) So Callum and the boys were dressed in black-tie.
I thought the Tuxedo style and Bridesmaid dresses looked great together. I loved the detail on the bridesmaid dresses, the sequins and the colour. The styling suited our North Wales marquee wedding.
I just loved my dress!!!! It’s as simple as that.
Bridal dress – Wed2b in Wrexham
Bridesmaids dresses – Silkfred
Groom and Groomsmen – hired from Mossbros Chester
My favourite part of the day
Our North Wales wedding was perfect. I don’t think we have one favourite part of the day. We are blessed to have so many magical memories from our North Wales wedding day.
I felt very emotional when I arrived at the church and saw so many work friends, customers from the pub and villagers standing outside the church waiting to see us.
I felt like a local celebrity arriving at the church, and it was overwhelming to see that so many people had made an effort to come over and see us and wish us well. – That was very special.
We genuinely loved the whole day. Seeing our plans finally all come together and spending the day with family and our closest friends really meant the world to us.
Looking around the room and seeing the smiles, the happy tears, the hugs and the laughs that happened throughout the day from the guests was very special to see.
Wedding suppliers
Hair – Bianca Simone of Russell Paul & Co
Balloon decor – Dollymix Events
Entertainment – The Hustle Band
Food – Offas paddock
Toilets – Waterloo
Bridal Flowers – Teresa Taylor
Brides dress – Wed2b
Cake – Jodie Gibbs
Marquee – Up marquees
Rings – N.Cumberlidge Jewellers
Wedding photographer – Wes Simpson
Wedding planning tips
Enjoy every second of the day – it goes way too fast.
The day is about you, do what you want to do, not what social media, blogs and magazines tell you you should do!! (This played a big part in our planning.)
When planning our North Wales wedding, we could have gone crazy with more decor, props, more people, kids’ entertainment, ice cream vans, a change of outfits, and the list went on!
But in the end, we stuck to our guns and were true to ourselves. We kept it simple, as we are very simple. We wanted the day to reflect how we are as a couple, and we feel we did just that!
Don’t get stressed about it.
Lastly…
Don’t drink too much or you won’t remember it :-)
North Wales Wedding Photographer
Why did you choose Wes Simpson Weddings as your North Wales wedding photographer?
Wes. you were the only one free on this date 🤣 Just joking!
It was actually quite the opposite. We didn’t even bother searching for a local North Wales wedding photographer.
We had previously seen Wes at work at a family wedding (Cassie and Adam’s destination wedding in Tuscany, Italy). We liked his style and approach to wedding photography; a lot!
We like how Wes Simpson captures natural moments. His wedding photography is not all staged and fake.
We wanted a professional wedding photographer with a documentary style, so we hired Wes to be our North Wales wedding photographer.
We both love photography and believe that wedding photography is important. However, we didn’t want to spend the day posing for photos. Wes’s personality and approach were ideal for us.
Testimony –
“Wes, you have an amazing ability to capture special moments. You captured the most magical memories and revealed occasions that we were unaware of.
We appreciate all of your efforts and can’t wait to see the wedding album.”
“P.S. – Not sure if we mentioned this, but we had a fantastic day, and you are Amazing!”
Sabrina and Cullum.
North Wales wedding photography
I hope you enjoyed Sabrina and Callum’s North Wales wedding photography story as much as I enjoyed capturing their day.
I am based in Liverpool and Lancashire and travel for weddings. If you are looking for a documentary-style North Wales wedding photographer to capture the magic of your wedding day. I would love to hear from you.
I was awarded Wedding Photographer of the Year 2022 at the English wedding awards. And I have photographed more than 450+ weddings in over 10 countries. If you hire me, you can trust that your photography is in safe hands.
Feel free to check out the highlights page for a selection of my favourite images, my portfolio for complete wedding galleries and the blog for the latest wedding news and stories.
Contact me today to be your North Wales wedding photographer.
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