John & Steph – a Funfair Wedding

My first (and only!) wedding of 2013 was the wedding of John & Steph who got married on April 20^th at Oakwell Hall in Birstall, near Leeds. The intimate ceremony was held in the Grade I Listed Elizabethan Manor House, followed by a big old buffet style celebration in the 19th Century Oakwell Barn.

The bride and groom wanted to ensure their guests were thoroughly entertained throughout the day and they worked tirelessly for many months leading up to the wedding to create funfair style games for everyone to enjoy. These included old classics like Hook-a-Duck, Splat the Rat and Hoopla. I was asked to paint the signage for each ‘stall’ so supplied with carefully carved MDF by John, I hand painted each sign in rustic red and gold to complement the funfair theme. I received lots of lovely comments on the day saying how effective the signs looked and I think they worked really well with the rest of the funfair paraphernalia.

As an alternative to a traditional guestbook, the guests left messages on random postcards scattered around the barn and scrabble letters played a big part of the day, being used for the top table’s place names and also to make little personal messages for the bride and groom. Another highlight of the day was the incredible Cake Table! Guests were asked to bring a home baked cake so everyone could enjoy the delicious treats whilst celebrating throughout the day. The bake off entries were fantastic and they all went down very well. I made a chocolate and caramel triple layer cake which I will certainly be making again!

A band finished off the evening fantastically with everyone dancing and creating ‘interesting’ outfits with the photo booth props! The whole day was lovely, totally unique and enjoyed by all. It was fab to see a very happy couple so suited to each other get married. Check out the beautiful ‘professional’ photos by Mark J. Hillyer Photography. Congratulations John & Steph!