Chris Thompson - CRT Weddings

Jun 136 min read

The one with the cockerel... the story of an alternative Yorkshire wedding.

Updated: 13 hours ago

An epic Yorkshire wedding of heroic brides men, handshakes, the one and only BBB and ENDLESS SHOTS!

bride and groom stood laughing with cockerel in front of them

If there was one word I could use to describe Simone and Sean's wedding day, it would be LEGENDARY.

From the very beginning at bridal prep to Sean getting cake smushed in his face, this day had it all. Held at the one of Yorkshires finest alternative wedding venues Ponden Mill.

The go to venue for the couple that want their wedding to be "Far From Ordinary".

The girls and Simone's two brides men had a little suite to get ready in at the venue, whilst Sean and his grooms men took over The Old Silent Inn up the road, which they'd rented out for their guests to stay at. Epic. I had Andrew Heeley second shooting with me for the day, starting him off at groom prep whilst I spent the morning with the Bride and her entourage.

Ponden Mill's catch line sums this day up perfectly, it really was "Not Your 'Run Of The Mill' wedding".

Wedding venue ponden mill surrounded by trees

The theme for this October day was autumnal, with a strong dose of "Yorkshire". Yorkshire flags were waved, along with your standard "Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Yorkshire" being chanted at random times through the entire day. It's fair to say this couple and their whole entourage loves, live and breathe Yorkshire.

I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Sarah from Pink Ginger Flowers who created these phenomenal floral arrangements, she absolutely knocked it out of the park! The bouquets, table arrangements, little vases down the isle and backdrop were all exquisitely put together and matched the theme PERFECTLY.

BRIDAL PREP

Never have I had a bridal prep like it. I didn't wake up that morning thinking "I might get attacked and maybe even backed into a corner today" but you know what, maybe I should.

And even if I had been prepared, I couldn't have imagined that my attacker would be none other than a... Cockerel. That's right.

We were in the midst of the girls getting their hair and make-up done, drinks in hand and giggles heard from at least next door. When in wanders Eggy the cockerel, Ponden Mill's gate crashing bird, right into our bridal apartment.

Being the chance taking photographer I am, I leaped at this great photo opportunity! I could get a wicked shot of the cockerel with Simone (our wonderful bride) having her makeup done in the background.

With this thought I crouched down by the kitchen cabinets, camera in hand when Eggy decided I was his new enemy for the day and turned on me with some mad clucks.

I did a small but very manly scream, a tiny wee and chickened into the kitchen cabinets.

One of the bridesmaids were quick to say "oh you scared him" to which I squawked "he fucking scared me" and with that, we burst out laughing and one of the brides men very heroically turfed Eggy back out of the room. I was safe once again.

The girls promptly returned to getting their makeup done by Nicole Shaw and finalising their preparations.

CEREMONY

Sean and his groomsmen were in the bar taking shots awaiting their time to shine. They entered the ceremony room to the song "Bad to the bone" with so much energy, throwing confetti everywhere and dishing out sweets and beers to their guests.

Now THAT is how you make an entrance.

groom and groomsmen walking down the aisle throwing confetti and dishing out sweets and drinks to guests who are cheering and clapping

Ceremonies by Nikki was our awesome celebrant and boy she went above and beyond for this service. It was hands down the most interactive and funny service that I've ever been a part of, it was so incredibly special. The bride and groom kicked off with a special handshake. The wedding rings were passed around the room to be blessed by all of the guests in attendance. Simone referred to Sean as her BBB (Big Bald Bastard), it was fantastic. The story of them meeting was told so beautifully by Nikki, including how they met on a night out and had a snog by a big dumpster bin, classy and iconic.

Bride and groom doing a secret handshake at the top of the altar once bride walks down, bride is wearing a long white lace a-line wedding dress with a waist length veil over her hair and groom is in a black suit with brown shoes, celebrant is wearing a dress that is half zebra print on the right side and bright pink leopard print on the left laughing at the bride and groom

From the ceremony, we made our way outside into the glorious Yorkshire venues grounds to get some confetti shots and take some family photos. Andrew came through securing a glass of bubbly each for the bride & groom.

photographer andrew with a small beard and cool red sunglasses walking towards the camera holding out two champagne glasses for the bride and groom, surrounded by trees and deep greenery

COUPLES SHOOT

This couples shoot was just epic! Nothing but banter, smiles and laughter throughout, and of course my new sworn enemy just has to make an appearance once again At least this time when Eggy came towards me, I could see it coming, and we had more witnesses!

Towards the end of the couples shoot, I saw an opportunity to recreate the famous first meet snog, which we couldn't miss out on getting. Absolutely crucial that this was taken next to the gigantic waste bins. We all knew this shot was essential as soon as we had seen the bins. Who'd have thought that Bradford council would have such an important role in these two's love story?

bride and groom having a cheeky kiss infront of two big silver council dumpster bins, surrounded by trees, a stone wall and fallen autumn leaves

RECEPTION

As this awesome duo entered the reception room, the welcome from their crowd of loved ones was insane, everyone whooping and hollering. A round of shots were promptly delivered to everyone in the room. Then the speeches started, and let me tell you, they did NOT hold back. Shots were fired left right and centre, don't worry, not the liquid kind this time. One dig even included the brides sister boasting about how the bride has a five head. The room was alive, energetic with everyone laughing. The atmosphere was like no other, absolute impeccable vibes. Massive shout out to The Outside Kitchen for the food on this one, incredible stuff! Be sure to check them out!

edding top table with bride, groom, brides sister and mum and dad and best man all laughing hysterically as brides sister in tight fitting sage bridesmaids dress has the microphone and tells the guests how her sister had a 5 head (a very big forehead) and uses her finger and thumb so gauge how big it is for reference and to make guests laugh, groom in tears holding how face laughing

CREATIVE GROUP SHOOT

After food had been scranned, we rounded up Simone and Sean's closest friends to go and take some fun photos. they clearly have a lot of friends, as this was just pure and utter carnage. The energy was just unbeatable once again. Champagne was sprayed, smoke bombs were let off, and more Yorkshire chants were called.

champagne spray with bride and groom, bridesmaids, grooms men and lots of friends laughing with their hands in the air celebrating surrounded by grass and trees

PARTY

Then it was time to party! On our way back into the venue, I grabbed Simone and her BBB and posed them in front of Ponden Mill's iconic "Holla we want Prenup" neon light.

bride and groom looking at each other lovingly in darkness infront of brick wall which has neon red sign saying 'holla we want prenup' lit up

Once in the venue, the beautiful semi-naked fruity wedding cake was cut, sampled by the bride and groom and then smushed into Sean's face, lovingly. I had spied some left over confetti cannons earlier in the day and got them ready for this moment, rounding up four of the less drunk looking guests and recruiting them to fire those bad boys when I gave them the que, right in the middle of the first dance. My plan was secret, cunning even, and Simone and Sean didn't suspect a thing, so as the cannons went off it was such a genuine reaction and moment for them both. Resulting in some pretty fantastic photos.

bride and groom on dancefloor surprised with their mouths wide open bride holding grooms face as confetti flies all around them, making them happy but very surprised, lots of bright coloured confetti flying everywhere

Following this, we had some incredible music, played by SouthWestBand, they really went for it, resulting in a packed dancefloor all night long. Shots were being taken mid dancing, dance battles breaking out amongst the crowd. Dance moves that haven't (and maybe shouldn't have) been seen since the 60's were making an appearance. This band absolutely understood the assignment, the vibes were spectacular.

drummer in black tshirt and cap hitting the drums with lots of bright red lights floating around the photo

guitarist in a funky shirt and glasses holding his guitar with one handand pointing to the camera singing with the other with lots of bright red light trails floating around the photo

The worst thing about this day, was that it had to end. Amidst the chaos on the dancefloor. I made my goodbyes and made my departure from the wedding from the epic Yorkshire wedding of heroic brides men, handshakes, the one and only BBB and ENDLESS SHOTS!

Here are some more Eggy out-takes for your perusal:

We had some absolutely sensational suppliers for this day, check them out:

Second Shooter - Andrew Heeley - @andrewheeleyweddings

Celebrant - Nikki Billingham - @ceremoniesbynikki

Dress - Eva Joyce bridal - @evajoycebridal

Suits - Haworth Menswear - @haworthmenswear

Makeup - Nicole Shaw - @nicoleshawmakeupandlashes

Stationary - Sienna Mai - @siennamaiinvites

Food - The Outside Kitchen - @theoutside_kitchen

Flowers - Sarah Phillips - @pinkgingerflowers

Band - South West Band - @southwestbanduk

Loving this blog? Check out what Simone and Sean had to say about my work!

"We are so glad we booked Chris (CRT weddings) for our wedding day.

Prior to our wedding, we met with Chris and discussed exactly what we wanted from our photos and he delivered this perfectly. On the day, Chris was really organised and helped us to make sure that everything ran smoothly and that we captured all the shots we wanted.

Chris himself is a great calming presence to have around on your wedding day and so many of our guests thought he was actually one of our friends! And our second photographer (Andrew) equally put us at ease in front of the camera - something we were both nervous about.

Communication with Chris prior to and after the wedding was brilliant and within 24 hours of our wedding we had an album full of preview shots - all looking amazing!

We can't thank Chris enough for everything."