Natasha + Ben | Bleaklow Farm

Natasha + Ben had a double celebration for their stunning Peak District wedding. In fact, I think it might have even been closer to a week with a few other things to celebrate simultaneously, such as Tash’s dad’s Birthday and enjoying a long weekend at Bleaklow Farm. The celebrations began with Tash + Ben’s legal wedding ceremony at Bakewell Town Hall, and they wanted to ensure it was documented for posterity. I was there to tell their short story of them getting married and having a small, intimate family get-together afterwards.

While Ben and his best man finished getting ready at the town hall Natasha made her grand entrance along the high street through some brightly coloured scaffolding. It was a lovely ceremony and super relaxed with an amusing reading from Ben’s sister, Sarah, who recited ‘Row, row, your boat’, which had a humorous connection to the beginning of Natasha and Ben’s relationship. Accompanied by their two boys and family, they made a short trip to The Peacock for their small celebration meal. I accompanied them there to capture a few formal photos, some portraits of them both and the short story of that afternoon before they headed for their meal.

Just a few days later, it was time to join the more significant wedding celebration at Bleaklow Farm, an incredible and inspiring location for a wedding celebration, or any for that matter. Nestled high up in The Peak District above Bakewell alongside an old quarry, it has breathtaking panoramic countryside views. It was a chilled morning, with everyone getting ready and sharing duties to prepare the venue for the day’s fun. When I arrived, Tash, Ben, and the bridal party were using ChatGPT (a favourite of Ben’s) to come up with a suitable riddle for Tash to write on a mirrored frame. The riddle gave instructions on finding their seats at the tables, which all had wonderful caricatures of each guest. I have to say I think it’s such a great idea and gives all the guests such a wonderful memento to keep from the day too, plus the likeness of all of them was remarkable!

The whole team was moving chairs outside for the ceremony and generally buzzing around Bleaklow Farm to get everything ready. It was lovely to see Tash and Ben not being super traditional and spending time with each other to do everything before their big wedding celebration. It wasn’t long before the guests arrived, enjoyed a short drink, and were seated. Mum looked so proud of Tash in her dress while helping her get ready with her maid of honour. Then, she walked downstairs to Dad, who still looked at Tash with delight even though he’d already seen the dress.

Tash + Ben’s two boys walked the family dogs down the aisle and a friend of Ben’s who was brought in at the last minute to play the role of Flower Man down the aisle, too. Their whole celebration was conducted by a good friend who had written such a lovely piece and knew them both well. I loved his book choice to hold and keep his script in – The Dangerous Book for Boys!

After their ceremony, we took a few family photos before I whisked Tash + Ben away for 10 minutes to take some couples portraits ahead of them, enjoying their drinks, reception and canapés. They had some outstanding outside catering from Project DP, which looked stunning, along with music played outside in an acoustic setup from the band they had ready for the evening dancing.

After their hearty meal of burgers and chips (gotta say they were phenomenal!), it was time to head into the speeches, which got plenty of laughter and applause. We had a little downtime with the kids playing on the garden lawn with the entertainers, who had been brought in especially. Tash and Ben had many family children at the wedding and were keen to ensure everyone, from the kids to the parents, could have fun.

Ben also blinged up the family heirloom car in a wedding style so they could both have a photo of this Citroën, which had been in the family from New. Initially, Ben’s grandfather’s car was a car salesman and had made sure this car was well maintained from new; pretty impressive for a 52-plate car, which would stand it at 22 years old, I think!!

Finally, it was time for the cake-cutting and the evening dancing. Anyway enough from me, have a watch of their photo highlights video below or you can always scroll through the images underneath. Enjoy.

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