Bluecoat Liverpool wedding photography
My 2018 wedding season started way back in March (where has this year gone?!) with the amazing Bluecoat and Oh Me Oh My wedding of Erangi and Ben!
I would have struggled to put this corker of a day into words so I asked Erangi for a few, and boy did she deliver! Make a brew and read all about it!
The day was a whirlwind and gone in the blink of an eye. It started quietly and slowly as the best ladies kept arriving from 08:30am, and then it was a lovely atmosphere as we were all getting ready, dressed by the sari dresser, getting our hair done, and quite chilled. Then suddenly it was a rush for me to get dressed, get my hair and make-up done, and when everyone had left to go to the venue to help out, and it was just me and my mum, I started to feel rather nervous.
Waiting to walk in to Bluecoat was also pretty nerve wracking, and it felt surreal as my mum and I walked in hand in hand, and saw all our guests there. I don’t think I really listened to what the registrar was saying, as my head was all over the place. Ben’s mum and my friend Vicki did the 2 readings beautifully and made us so proud. During the vows, Ben was so overwhelmed and I just didn’t know what to do as he leaned in to me saying he couldn’t quite get through his vows, so I just kept trying to hold him or stroke him to get him to relax. It was really beautiful and such an emotional moment that I hadn’t expected. You see these situations and hear about them, but it was surreal and just so overwhelming when it was us.
It was lovely then being married and walking outside in to the cool air and getting a moment before speaking to everyone. It was such an amazing atmosphere and everyone was smiling and seemed so happy. We then got a moment to relax with you, away from everyone, while we got some photographs taken, which was great, because it was a moment toactually think and take everything in.
Oh Me Oh My Liverpool wedding photographer
The Poruwa ceremony at OMOM was hilarious. Of course the Sri Lankan part was bound to not go perfectly because no one knew what was going on (except my mum ha ha!), but it added to the enjoyment and it was really relaxed. It was also great that we could include both our parents in the ceremonies. Ben and I both decided to walk down the aisle with our mums as that’s what we always wanted. But then we got to include our dads in the Poruwa ceremony, and my dad got to tie the knot around our fingers and do a lot of the symbolic parts, so that was super nice.
And then the smoke bomb shots on the roof with all the best ladies and men were great. Again, another chance to get away from the midst of the wedding for a laugh and a chill. Even though it was freezing.
Just seeing everyone there at the wedding and seeing their joy and happiness for us was amazing. It was only on the day that we really understood what all the fuss about weddings was. We are both pretty cynical, me definitely more than most, and it’s easy to lose sight of things and keep adding stuff to the wedding, spend more money and wonder why we are doing what we’re doing. But on the day, it really was just beautiful, seeing all the people that you love and that love you, supporting you and just being there for you. Yeah, it was pretty special. And I stopped being sarcastic about it. Not only has it brought me and Ben closer (which I didn’t think was possible), it has brought other people together as well and we feel so much closer to everyone, so much more than we ever did before. And everyone is super happy for us, especially our families. When we were seated for dinner, I wanted to eat so badly (I had been looking forward to all the food for so long) but my stomach was in knots, and I just couldn’t eat much. Which is really annoying, cos I could eat it all now, if only!
The speeches were great, although no one could come close to my sister. She really REALLY did me proud. She had crafted the speech so beautifully, and timed the images and videos so perfectly, I just couldn’t second guess what she was going to say next. I laughed SO HARD. I could have listened to her forever, and I think all our guests felt the same. She really was amazing. Once all the speeches were over we got to speak to a lot more of our guests and relax even more, especially with the cake cutting and the awesome band starting. It got a lot of people up and dancing, like Ben’s mum who owned the dance floor all night and my dad who I don’t think I have ever had the opportunity to dance with publicly before. I did feel terrible that I didn’t get to speak to all the guests. Even those I did speak to, it felt so brief. I don’t think I even got to drink much, cos I felt pretty sober (and dehydrated). I was handed drinks time after time, but I kept putting them around the venue as people kept coming to talk to me. It really was difficult to focus on anything all day, even though Ben and I had spoken in length beforehand, that we would be mindful of every moment of the day. It really was a whirlwind and went super fast, but I don’t think it would have happened any differently.
Favourite moments – Erangi
* Standing with Ben as he read his vows, it was really heart-warming and just beautiful.
* Ben’s mum and Vicki doing the readings. They were so heart felt and I really felt their love and warmth.
* Getting to do a Poruwa ceremony – Ben trying to fake-dress me in a sari! and my dad tying our fingers and pouring water.
* Paying respects to our families during the Poruwa Ceremony – it was lovely to include everyone.
* Up on the roof with the besties and smoke bombs.
* My sisters speech – I wanna watch it again!
* Dancing with my mum and then my dad (who I’ve never danced with before in a public setting 🙂
Favourite moments – Ben
* Walking down the aisle with my mum to The Cure tune.
* The Poruwa ceremony, and the drummers and dancers – it was a really fun part of the day.
* On the roof with the smoke bombs and everyone – it was great to get some time away from the bustle of everything.
* Erangi’s sister’s speech.
* After the wedding, seeing Erangi so happy on all the photos.
Advice:
* You care less about the little things as you get closer, so just don’t worry about it.
* Ask for more help from people during the run up. Even though so many people helped us, we felt like we needed a lot more people helping on the few days before and on the day, as we were still having to be responsible for things even on the day. Give people specific jobs with details so they know exactly what to do and when to do it.
* Having someone film the day. This is something I kind of wanted before the wedding, but didn’t book it as it was another expense, but I think it would have been great to look back on the ceremonies, speeches and little moments that we may not have been present for or aware of.
* Get everything that you can get done as early as possible, so you are not rushing around in the last month leading up to the wedding. This will greatly reduce stress levels.
* Have a trial of make-up and hair (bride) if you can afford it and have the time. I didn’t have time and I didn’t end up looking how I would have liked, but it’s really not a big deal.
* The day is so amazing and beautiful, and you really don’t care about anything on the day, only about being with the one you love, and everyone else you love as well. I don’t think I got upset about anything, and was totally chilled, except for the nerves kicking in here and there.
* Get an amazing photographer (like we did). After the wedding, you are still on a high and want the celebrations to continue and getting to see the photographs, really helps to continue that and everyone we know loves the photos and has gone on about how great the photographer was on the day. So yeah, get an ace, chilled out, super friendly photographer who is
super skilled 🙂
Suppliers:
Leading up to the wedding was really hard, we had SO much to do and Ben and I were running around trying to get everything sorted. We barely had time to eat or have a drink! I don’t think we realised how much work would be involved, but we decided to do so much ourselves, so it was to be expected. We did have a lot of help though.
* My mum got mine and the best ladies blouses made in Sri Lanka. My mum sewed my sari with all the lace and sequins and she also sewed all the best ladies saris in the 2 weeks leading up to the wedding.
* I had my head jewellery made by a jeweller called Bella in Sri Lanka.
* Ben did all the printed material – menus, table numbers, welcome/order of events board, wrote all the name tags for place
settings, and the cards for the seating plan.
* Ben’s mum and her husband John arranged all the plants and flowers in the seating plan crate which we bought.
* Ben’s dad hand made the Poruwa to our design, the origami elephants and cut all the table runners from fake grass we bought.
* We bought vases and then flowers from the flower market (on the morning that it snowed) and arranged everything that day with the help of Anushya, Jamie and Vicki.
* We bought little brass lamps from Sri Lanka for table decor.
* The day before we set up everything in OMOM and Bluecoat, and did all the flowers for the Poruwa.
* My sister did all the cakes in Glasgow and did last minute bits the day before. Meringue kiss favours were made by her, and the teabag favours we bought in Sri Lanka, and I made the sweet cones for the kids.
* Sweet Pea & Ivy – we hired brass candlestick holders for OMOM and a runner for Bluecoat.
* Add a touch of sparkle – we hired a light curtain from the Bluecoat.
And just in case you were unsure, it was a BRILLIANT day!!!! Thank you E&B, I loved every minute with you guys! xx
