Ema & Tim | Holdsworth House Wedding

Every table at Ema and Tim’s wedding was named after a cocktail. Among their friends they’re known as the couple who always end up at a cocktail bar, so when they married at Holdsworth House in Halifax this June, the Espresso Martinis and Moscow Mules came along too: on the table names, in the centrepieces and as the favours.

Add emerald green, a bouquet of auburn roses and a first dance borrowed from Pulp Fiction, and you have a day that was completely theirs. The weather threw a bit of everything at us, from a damp morning to blue skies in the gardens and a proper downpour after dark, and Ema and Tim made the most of every bit of it.

Back-to-Back Desks and a Valentine’s Card

Ema and Tim met at work, with their desks back to back in an open-plan office. Ema didn’t notice Tim at first, but they started catching the same bus in the mornings and chatting about work, life and everything else before the day began.

Then one Valentine’s Day, Ema got to her desk to find a personalised card from a secret admirer. Tim had designed it himself and filled it with all the things they’d been talking about on those journeys. A date followed, they got on really well, and six months later they’d moved in together.

Less than a year after that the pandemic arrived, and the two of them were cooped up in a flat in Halifax. Their answer was a pub crawl around the flat one weekend, just for the fun of it. Seven years on, they’ve learned to drive, bought their first car and then a house together, so as they put it, getting married was “naturally the next step”.

Down on One Knee on a Beach in Cyprus

Tim proposed in Cyprus, on a birthday trip for Ema. They’d gone down to the beach to watch the sun go down, and as it dipped towards the sea, Tim got down on one knee. “It was a very, very emotional moment, just the two of us, it was perfect,” they told me. They stayed for the last of the light, then went back to the hotel for a drink and started ringing their families with the news.

Creaky Floorboards and Wood Panels at Holdsworth House

Halifax means a lot to Ema and Tim, as it’s where they lived when they first got together, so a manor house with real history on the edge of town felt right. They loved “the wood panels, the creaky floorboards” and the rustic feel inside, and the gardens and flowers outside. They also reckoned it would make for nice pictures, and they weren’t wrong.

Espresso Martinis, Emerald Green and Auburn Roses

Their personal touches all came from things they love. Every table had a cocktail name instead of a number, Table Espresso Martini, Table Moscow Mule and so on, with a different cocktail glass as the centrepiece, and the favours were cocktails too. It’s a running joke in their group of friends that a night out with these two always ends in a cocktail bar, so it couldn’t really have been anything else.

Emerald green is Ema’s favourite colour, so the bridesmaids wore it and the chair sashes and chiffon matched. Roses are her favourite flower, and her bouquet was full of auburn ones, which looked lovely against all that green.

Got a running joke of your own you’d love to work into your day at Holdsworth House? I’d love to hear about it.

Pink Robes, Green Dresses and a First Look with Dad

Everyone got ready at Holdsworth House, so the morning had an easy, all-under-one-roof feel. Ema and her bridesmaids started early with hair and make-up in matching robes, and there was a lot of laughing going on.

Once the dress was on and fastened, the bridesmaids changed into emerald green and squeezed in around Ema for a selfie. Then came the moment she’d asked for: a first look with her dad, in a quiet room before the ceremony.

A Cream Tuxedo and an Easy Morning for Tim

Tim had stayed at Holdsworth House the night before, so he was on hand all morning. He went for a cream tuxedo jacket with a dark bow tie, and he was laughing with guests well before the ceremony started.

No Phones, Just Vows

The ceremony was at 1pm in one of the rooms at Holdsworth House, and it was unplugged, so guests could watch it with their own eyes rather than through a screen. A harpist played the ceremony music, Ema’s dad walked her in, and Tim was all smiles as she reached him.

Ema read to Tim from a card, rings were swapped, and the moment they were married the hugs began, the first of them from a bridesmaid who still had her drink in hand.

Courtyard Confetti and Everyone on the Lawn

Guests lined the courtyard for the confetti, then the wedding party headed off down the lane beside the house for a few pictures of their own.

Ema and Tim had asked whether I could get everyone together for one big picture, maybe with the drone if the weather allowed. It stayed dry just long enough, so we gathered all sixty guests on the lawn and up it went.

Gateposts and Garden Paths at Holdsworth House

For their portraits we didn’t have to go far. The garden path runs straight up to the front of the house, and a pair of old stone gateposts topped with stone balls makes a natural doorway into the garden. I had them walk the path, stand in the gateway and simply hold on to each other for a few minutes while the clouds broke up behind the house.

The sky behind the house kept changing while we worked, which gave us a different mood from one picture to the next.

I sent the drone up again for a couple from above, with the knot garden laid out around them and the house just beyond.

Three Kinds of Weather in One Day

From behind the camera, this was a day of three kinds of weather. The drive was still wet when I arrived, the clouds lifted for the portraits and the drone, and the rain came back after dark. With everything under one roof (getting ready, the ceremony at 1pm, the meal from about 3pm and the first dance at half seven) nobody had to dash between buildings, and we could simply pick our moments to head outside.

Planning your own day here? My Holdsworth House wedding photographer page has more weddings from the venue and my notes on the gardens and rooms.

There’s a night-time twist to Ema and Tim’s story further down. If you love the idea of a few pictures after dark, here’s how my twilight portraits work.

Cocktail Tables and Speeches Before the Meal

Inside, the room was dressed in their colours: emerald sashes on the chairs, bright flowers in oranges, reds and yellows on every table, and a long run of arrangements along the front of the top table. The cake was a simple three-tier white one, set on a swathe of emerald chiffon.

Speeches came before the meal, which I always like, because everyone can relax and enjoy their food afterwards. There was a room full of raised glasses, plenty of laughter, and at one point Ema had her hands over her face while Tim just grinned.

Back Out to the Garden Gazebo

After the meal we slipped outside again. The metal gazebo on the lawn sits against a tall green hedge, and it was a lovely quiet spot for a few more pictures before the party got going.

A First Dance Straight Out of Pulp Fiction

Ema and Tim’s first dance was one they’d always wanted to recreate: the dance scene from Pulp Fiction. The plan was to start on one song, have it cut off, then switch to the real one, dance for a while and call everyone else onto the floor. From there it was the band and a packed dance floor for the rest of the night.

Lights, Rain and a White Umbrella After Dark

Later on I borrowed them for a few night pictures back at the stone gateposts. We drew a heart and the word “love” in light around them, then lit them from behind so the damp air glowed in the beam.

Then the rain came back in, so out came a white umbrella.

If I Could Only Keep One Picture

It would be this one. The rain is streaking through the light behind them, the umbrella is doing very little, and the two of them are kissing in the middle of it all. A day that started grey and damp ended with the best weather it could possibly have given us for a picture.

The Team Behind the Day at Holdsworth House

Ema and Tim, thank you so much for having me along. From a Valentine’s card at work to a table called Espresso Martini, your day was full of the little stories and in-jokes that make you two who you are. Cheers to you both, and I hope the cocktails never run dry.

If your day is going to have a story or two of its own (or a favourite cocktail), I’d love to hear about it.

Planning your own wedding near Halifax? Have a look at my Halifax wedding photography page for the venues I know, my prices and the questions couples ask me most.