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Gillian & Tom live and work in The Congo, and in December they flew over to have a cosy winter wedding blessing in The North East, where Tom is from. They are both big on adventure, travel & helping others.. and they live their lives very much this way.
Gillian is originally from Australia, and they officially tied the knot back in October on the beach in Sydney, but decided on a church blessing at All Saints in Gosforth so that their friends & family on this side of the world could share in their marriage celebrations.
They decided to have a late afternoon ceremony and then head over to The Feathers Inn at Hedley On The Hill, Northumberland. Being a small & cosy Northumberland pub, it wasn’t a traditional setting for a wedding, but certainly fitted perfectly with what the couple were looking for: food, fun & family.
I didn’t actually meet Gill & Tom in person until the wedding day, but we got to know each other a little more via Skype and had a good time chatting! They chose to meet prior to the ceremony for some relaxed photographs of them around the church in natural light. This also meant they got more time to party! Here’s the highlights of their day….
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The couple repeated their personal vows they made in Sydney, and reaffirmed their marriage commitment. It was a very beautiful & personal service. A close family friend, who is an opera singer sang throughout the ceremony.
It was just so wonderful!
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After many hugs and a few family group photographs, (See above example, children are so amusing to work with!) we headed off to The Feathers Inn. By this point it was dark and very foggy outside, and the lovely country pub all lit up in the darkness was a very welcome sight!
The Feathers Inn was such a fantastic choice for their wedding reception. There was no formal sit down meal, instead Gill & Tom opted for ‘bowl food’. The staff walked around for much of the evening dishing out three courses of unbelievable food.. ( I know because I was able to partake in this too haha!)…. the guests were blown away by it, the mini pies were a particularly big hit. (As a side note…I am so lucky that this pub is not far from where I live, so – probably to the jealousy of any of the Australian contingent who are reading this, I shall be returning for a meal as soon as possible!!)
Without any of the usual formalities, guest were free to mingle, drink and eat… and I basically captured the fun!
See – there’s the PIES!!!!
When it was time for the speeches, Tom came up with the idea of getting the speakers to stand behind the bar, so that both sides of the pub could see and hear them. It would have been impossible to have everyone in the same room at the same time…..and it just worked so well.. and made everyone laugh!
Later in the evening, just before I left I grabbed the happy couple for a few outdoor photographs. They braved the freezing cold fog for some night time shots. Amazing what can be done with a lamp post and a little flash wizardry !PINIMAGE
PINIMAGE A huge congratulations to Gillian & Tom on their marriage and a huge thanks for having me!!
Here’s to their next adventure!
<3
All photographs & text copyright Katie Byram Photography and must not be used without written permission from the photographer.
