Ansty Hall Warwickshire Wedding Photography – Jazz & Dan

Touches, Tears & Twerks

I walked into bridal prep to cheers from Jazz and the girls as they congratulated me on the arrival of our baby boy Arthur just 24 hours earlier. “Stop taking photos we want to talk about the baby” were the Mother of the Bride Gail’s first words to me. And that’s just how these guys are, the most welcoming people you will ever meet, treating everybody as if they are family.

I always knew this day was going to be an absolute beaut from when I first met Jazz and Dan the year before, we spent at least 20 minutes chatting about everything and anything before we realised we should probably talk about wedding photos. These are my kind of people, they love hard and laugh even harder and you can’t help but get caught up in all of the fun.

The big day was held at Ansty Hall in Warwickshire on the kind of beautiful summers day we had almost started to take for granted in this country. The nerves were building during the morning bridal preparations so Jazz and Dan decided to have a ‘first touch’, a chance to hold each others hand and have a quick chat without seeing each other just before the ceremony. Emotions ran high during this beautiful moment but getting to hear her future husbands voice relieved any of the nerves Jazz had… it was time to Wedding! Let’s do this!

St Mary’s Guild Hall situated alongside Coventry Cathedral was where the ceremony took place, an immense building with some strong Hogwarts vibes and the perfect setting for a beautiful ceremony with plenty of happy tears. But enough of my rambling, I will let the photos, along with some insight from Jazz and Dan, do the talking….. oh yeah, there was a Bride and Groom twerk off, that’s all I’m saying for now, you will need to scroll to see more.

A big shout out to my boy Greg Milner who was my awesome second photographer on the day.

So Jazz & Dan’s big day, here is a little of what I saw:

Jazz & Dan’s Dream Team

Florist- Greenery and Co

Hair and Make Up- Perfect Image

Wedding Dress- Dress Me Pretty

Bride & Groom Q&A

Where did you meet?

We met at school when we were 11 years old. Dan did a fair bit of chasing and when we were 15 I finally agreed to be his girlfriend. We were on and off in the early days as teenagers usually are, until one day something clicked and the off stages disappeared. We had a long distance relationship for 3 years when I went to uni in Sheffield but I was home most weekends to see him and he did the odd drive up north at 1am after a waitering shift. 

The Proposal

We’d originally planned a trip to Chester but the hotel cancelled last minute. I’d never seen dan so annoyed- my usually laid back boyfriend was ranting and raving. 

We changed our plans and had a picnic in Stratford-upon-Avon instead. We hired a rowing boat, had a bottle of fizz in plastic flutes and a punnet of strawberries – it sounds crazy to think I didn’t suspect a thing but Dan was always a romantic type. I was told to close my eyes and all I remember thinking was ‘why is the boat rocking, I’m going to fall in and ruin my dress’. Ta dah- I opened them and Dan was on one knee. I don’t know how we both stayed inside the boat- a 6ft 3” guy getting on his knees in a tiny rowing boat is not an easy task. 

I accepted the ring on my right hand (ooops) and funnily enough Dan did the exact same thing on our wedding day

How did you choose Ansty Hall and St Marys Guild Hall as your wedding venue?

We knew we didn’t want a religious ceremony but we both desperately wanted the elegance and beauty of a church. We found St Marys Guildhall and it was all we could imagine and more. The high ceilings and stain glass windows were exactly what we wanted. And the cobbled street outside was perfect for the confetti shot that I wanted so badly- unfortunately the ushers were pants and forgot their one job – to remember the confetti!! 

The Vibe and Style

We wanted the whole day to be totally laid back and relaxed. We wanted a big party with all our friends and family, a full dance floor and games to keep the little ones entertained. 

We wanted to go for a rustic theme but weren’t too fussy. We were more bothered that everybody had a great time rather than what the venue looked like.

What was your best decision during planning?

If we’re totally honest (and without sounding too cliche)…booking Roo. Photos are so, so important to us and we wanted to capture the moment without standing with forced smiles. We wanted pictures of the fun we were all having and the natural candid photos bring back so many memories. 

We were slightly worried about having photos taken of us all day but Roo put everyone at ease and it was so relaxed. There’s nothing that wasn’t captured! We loved every single photo. We’ve watched our slideshow more times than we care to admit and the music he put to it was absolutely stunning. We’ve had hundreds of comments from friends and family about how natural and beautiful the pictures are.

What was the hardest decision during planning?

The hardest decision was sorting a playlist. Music can make or break a wedding reception and all we wanted was a cracking party with a full dance floor. 

What are your favourite memories from the day?

One of our favourite memories was speaking to each other before the ceremony. It calmed our nerves and made it all feel real. From then on the excitement grew.

The twerk off – I needn’t say anymore. 

What advice do you have for couples planning a wedding?

Enjoy it and don’t sweat the small stuff! There’s so many little things that didn’t go to plan (confetti!!!!!!) but in the end we spent a whole day with the people we love most and we got married.. and that’s what it’s all about.

There’s loads of details that you focus on when planning a wedding that you can obsess over but the only people that really notice them are the bride and groom. 

Chill out and enjoy!