Fun in the sun!

When Chris and Dani celebrated their June wedding, they only had one thing on their minds...Fun!

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Images courtesy of Steve Gerrard Photography

Early days…

Teenage sweethearts Chris and Dani met when they were just 14 and 15, after chatting online and finding out that they went to the same school. "We hadn't spoken before because we were both in different years, but over the space of about three months we became the best of friends," recalls Dani. "Six months later, just as I was about to move to Spain to live for a while, Chris asked me out. I said yes, but by that time we were only able to see each other every couple of months or so. After eight months of living in Spain, I decided to move back to the UK and live with Chris and his family."

The proposal…

Four-and-a-half years later, Chris popped the question while the pair were holidaying in Poole, Dorset. "It was Bonfire Night, so we decided to go and watch the fireworks over the harbour from the beach," says Dani. "After the display he got down on one knee and proposed. It was such a surprise!"

The venues…

The couple chose Priory Hall in Dudley as the venue for the ceremony, followed by a reception at The Granary Hotel in Kidderminster. "We chose The Granary because it is set in some of the most beautiful countryside," says Dani, "and the quality of the food and service from the staff were amazing."
After setting the date, the couple started planning the wedding, aiming to keep it relaxed and enjoyable for everyone.

The attendants…

Dani says: "My bridesmaids were my sister Natalie, and Chris' sister Helen, and a family friend, Millie, was the flowergirl. The girls wore beautiful tight-fitting dresses in cream, with a darker cream sash around the middle. Some people might suggest cream is an unusal colour choice for bridesmaids, but I wanted them to wear a similar colour to me. They looked gorgeous."

The dress…

"I didn't try on many dresses before choosing a favourite, but three months down the line, the shop went into administration and I was left without a dress. Luckily I managed to find another gown in The Dressing Rooms, in Halesowen, and fell in love with it straight away. It was a gorgeous ivory silk design with a huge skirt. I basically went into the store and asked to try on the biggest dress they had!
I finished off my look with tiara and veil from Richard Designs, and a necklace, earrings and a bracelet which were also from The Dressing Rooms."

The flowers…

"We chose a pink and burgundy colour scheme, with touches of cream. I'm a real girlie girl at heart and wanted everything to be pink! That really freaked Chris out, so he persuaded me to tone it down with the burgundy and cream. It sounds like an odd colour combination, but it really worked on the day."

The decorative touches…

"Chris and I are wedding photographers, so we've seen a few cutting-the-cake shots over the years. As a result, we thought we would do something slightly different. We had so much fun posing with a chainsaw; it's definitely a great shot for the album. The cake was also quite unusual. It featured a bride and groom sitting in the bath - with a camera around the groom's neck!"
The centrepieces were kept very simple, just a glass vase with three single pink roses in them, placed on a circular mirror. They set the tables off nicely.
We wanted the favours to be equally as simple, so we filled miniature gift boxes with our favourite sweets. They went down a storm with the children and the adults. In fact, we had to stop ourselves stealing sweets from other people's tables!"

The best bits…

"Looking back, we wanted to make the day our own, and that's exactly what we did. Getting married was a special part of the day, of course, but we also had so much fun dancing the night away with our guests - especially to Michael Jackson tunes!"

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