since getting together almost a year and a half ago karen and liam have taken on each others families completely and have an impressive 6 kids and a grandchild between them! it was clear throughout the ceremony and the whole day that they were already a very cemented family, and this was making it official.
i'd never been to a humanist wedding before so was really interested to see what it was like, but from the minute karen and the bridesmaids came down the isle (to the gorgeous feels like home by edwina hayes) all beautifully coordinated in black and ivory, i got the feeling it was going to be a really lovely relaxed service and it was. the emphasis was very much on the joining of the two families and everyone seemed really involved, from their little grandson mckenzie helping out with the rings, to one of their daughters chelsea reading an amazing poem she'd written for them, which had more than a few laughing and welling up.
after coming out of the ceremony to "we go together" from grease i then got another feeling the family photos outside were going to be more than good laugh, and i was right with that too! bit of madness getting everyone together but it ended up in some great natural photos of everybody, as well as some really genuine shots of bride and groom.
after the official pics i milled around taking photos of all the guests in the bar who were eating drinking and having an amazing time- and all before the reception had even started! everyone was so friendly and happy, including a few who were very eager to pose for shots! i really did have a lot of fun. they also had a magician there which i thought was a great idea and he really did have some people baffled, myself included, however other peoples reactions were definitely my favourite part of the tricks! i was only there for the ceremony that day as karen and liam had hired a photobooth for the evening (which produced some very memorable shots!) so when the guests started to pile into the main hall i snuck off to reception to collect my bags...
i then discovered one of my favourite parts about karen and liam's wedding, when i was waiting at the desk all i could hear above everything else was them and their guests laughing and joking despite the fact i was literally at the complete opposite end of the hotel, brilliant :)
xx
