Woodhorn Museum for Emma & John’s Wedding
Woodhorn Museum in Ashington is a relatively new venue. Emma & John chose it partially because of their family history with the colliery, it was local enough for the whole family to join them and get home safely, and they also took into consideration that a number of their guests were visually impaired & elderly. Woodhorn Museum’s layout is extremely accessible and they wanted everyone to enjoy this wonderful day.
This was our first time at Woodhorn Museum. Photographing a wedding at a new venue is exciting and fresh. The venue is unusual as it’s quite a blank canvas. It has a strong industrial heart but also a lot of clean white walls. Emma & John wanted a simple laid back look to create a relaxed atmosphere. Emma & John are a fab couple. Easy going, warm and extremely generous and we knew we were going to have a fun day.
Lisa & I arrived at the venue together for once. Emma & John didn’t want any of the wedding prep photographed so we met them when they arrived. It might not have been the best of ideas to inflict both of us on John & his best man. Until the guests arrive they were at our mercy. John is a reluctant model but easy-going enough to just go with the flow. His guests’ arrival blew away any nerves he had. Especially his niece & nephew who looked a bundle of energy.
Emma arrives at Woodhorn Museum
Emma surprised us by arriving at Woodhorn Museum in a beautiful white vintage Rolls-Royce. It was a wonderful surprise gift from her grandmother. Escorted by her sister & mum who would also be walking her down the aisle. Oh, and not forgetting Emma’s mum’s gorgeous guide dog, Leider.
As Emma was walked down the aisle by her mum, emotions ran high. The tears were flowing and tissues were passed about. But Emma composed herself with John’s support and the tears soon changed to giggles.
Woodhorn Museum’s service room reminds us of weddings at the Baltic Centre. Its industrial minimalistic style is a blank canvas for you to dress however you want. Emma & John’s sunflowers were beautiful stood out in this wonderful space.
Vintage Cars and Grandma’s
After the beautiful service, we backed off and let Emma & John greet their guests. Emma’s grandma wanted John to see her gift but rather than take more photos in the carpark we organized for the driver to pull into the museum to make the most of it for them. Emma’s grandma was extremely proud to be part of the moment.
Groups & Family Photo’s at Woodhorn Museum.
When Lisa & I plan a big group wedding photo we always try to avoid a flat line of people. Whenever possible we look for a vantage point to look down on the group or use the terrain to give the group different heights so we can see everyone. There’s a natural courtyard surrounded by the old colliery buildings. It’s a short walk but we had a number of visually impaired guests we wanted to partake safely. Everyone co-operated beautifully and while Lisa set up the immediate family groups, I took Emma & John the long way around and took advantage of the alone time with them.
Any other time Lisa would have taken ages to get the rest of the family from A to B. The one time I wanted her to take her time of course, I got an earful from her for keeping the family waiting. The huge pit wheels towered majestically above them.
A Tour of the Museum
The museum staff were great on the day. Emma’s favourite part of the museum was an exhibit that consisted of hundreds of suspended paper birds. Once the rest of museum had closed we got a private tour to get some more photographs of our fab bride & groom. While the rest of their guests were invited to take their own photographs we also got to use the wonderful architecture around the venue.
Speeches, BBQ & the Singing Waiters
After some heart felt speeches, especially from Emma’s mum, everyone went back out into the beautiful sunshine for a great barbeque. Once everyone had had their fill of burgers the Singing Waiters surprised the guests by started their act with a scuffle with a member of staff. We’ve attended a number of wedding with the Singing Waiters and always have a good laugh with them. Talking to them before hand they were wondering if the older guests would join in. Oh they joined in alright. One elderly uncle was straight up on his chair. After the initial shock, everyone dashed to make sure he didn’t fall but he refused and continued to boogie away.
We had a great day with John & Emma. We left them to have a great night after taking these twilight photos. The very next day Emma & John surprised us with a visit at the studio with some thank you prezzies. We were so grateful and wish them both an amazing life together and hope that we can be part future moments with them.
Here are some of Emma & John’s suppliers that made their wedding day unique.
- Bride Dress and flower girls – Web2be
- Bridesmaids – ASOS
- The Suits including Grooms – Debenhams
- Hair – Beth from The Hair Forum
- Makeup – Stephanie Duff
- Flowers – Homemade by Emma
- Venue – Woodhorn Museum
- Cake – Anne-Marie (family friend)
- Caterers – Kings Catering
- DJ & Entertainment – No.1 Singing Waiters
- Rings – H Samuel
- Wooden Decorations – HandmadeByRoseStudio