Hawkley Church and the Duke of Cumberland Arms
Lauri & Will

Perched on a breathtaking hillside with commanding views, the sixteenth century Duke of Cumberland Arms isn’t just any old pub. With its flagstones and fires in winter, and its long, proud history, it’s hard to think of a more enchantingly perfect venue for Lauri and Will’s wedding day.

The ceremony itself took place in the gorgeous Norman Church of St Peter and St Paul, Hawkley. It dates back to 1865, and is made from local stone. It’s what I would call ‘A right proper old church’ – Lovely to look at, lovely to be in. It’s one of those cosy churches.

Lauri walked down the aisle in the most detailed Jenny Packham dress I’ve seen to date. The brocading was gorgeous and she carried a bouquet of white, pink and purple blooms, attended by an impossibly cute gaggle of bridesmaids, flower girls and page boys, while her groom was in his morning suit.

Will and the guys were at the Hawkley Arms just a stones throw from the Church. If you’d ask me what I expected to see on the wall inside the pub…..a Moose Head wouldn’t of been the first thing I’d of answered… but there it was, staring at me.

Once at the Church Will looked thoughtful and, maybe, understandably, just a little bit nervous as all grooms should be!

Mark, the Vicar won my secret award of ‘Best Vicar of 2014’ as he said ‘I could do whatever I wanted’. This makes a difference, really. If you’re reading this and are getting married in a church always sound out your Vicar about photography. Some are really restrictive….but not Mark!

After the ceremony we nailed the formal photography on the church steps. Going back to how old the church was, it had a really wide staggered half moon step going on in front of the doors. Perfect for group shots.

The rest of the day was logistically simple. The church led to their reception at the Duke of Cumberland Arms where the usual mingling took place.

We used the lovely garden there for photos and dinner followed. Lauri is an accomplished chef so there were lots of surprises there. The kids had a tipi picnic outside and there were party games inside to keep them occupied.

For the grown ups there was a carvery but prior to that, the starters were served in terracotta pots and made to look like plants. (There’s a photo of this further down), very cute indeed.

Other foodies stuff was the nibbles but of special note were the chocolate brownies Lauri had made and I’d like to say this about them:

I’m pretty confident, that when my time comes to leave this beautiful planet, I will remember those Chocolate Brownies

I kid you not.

There was also warm, homemade doughnut balls, rolled in cinnamon sugar (proper ratios of sugar and cinnamon too) which were in endless supply along with ice cream.

Today…was a good day for my belly. By the end of it I felt like I myself, had been rolled in cinnamon sugar and hit with a spoon.

After dinner Will was embarrassed by the speeches and we had some down time before going into the first dance. The floor kept going for ages and my last thing to do before leaving was to capture the fireworks display.

Here are some more images from their day: