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Hardwick Hall

Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield, County Durham

place has been there for ages (well - it wouldn't have been anywhere else - would it !)

being sensible - Hardwick Hall goes back a long way - an estate here as far back as 1183
and a manor on the site from about 1435

ANYHOW . . . this page is about a wedding . with a reception at Hardwick,
the key characters are called Claire and David

This is Claire

well actually - it's Claires dress.

Claire has just popped out for a moment.
(you can just imagine it . . . mind boggles . . )

Claire has returned and now inhabits the dress as if it were made for her - which indeed was the case !

magically - we're transported to the church (well - I drove there - but others may have used magic)
Claire used a Rolls Royce. the picture above is a little strange (a bit like me I suppose)
I had photographed Claire hop out of the car and swoosh up to the church door . terrifically chilly and breezy . but thats beside the point. . . anyhow - I snuk (unsure if that's a word) into the church and saw through a window - Claire approaching the door - with the church interior reflected in the window . . err. well - I thought it was a good idea at the time. dunno if you like it.

aha - David is the groom - he's on the left (come on - wake up - he's the one NOT in a dress . . )
reason why he's laughing is because the Priest was a laugh a minute !
A totally brilliant guy - he really made the day.

a giggling bridesmaid in the pews - I just spotted her and grabbed this picture
she's listening to the mad priest and his brilliant humour.

Oh . . er . . serious bits. Claires hand resting on that of her feller
he cradles her hand so gently - body language . . . .speaks volumes.

view from the back of the Church -
heck - you don't need an explanation . . . y'know what's happening here.

err . above is the venue.
gawd. My use of English is terrible.
Hardwick Hall is the subject of the. . . nah doesn't sound right either . .

heck - look up. you see a picture of Hardwick Hall. . .

but look here and guess who's in the doorway . ..

I couldn't decide which of these shots I preferred - so they're both here,
they kinda look like some sort of maze or puzzle - where the solution to the puzzle is . . . Claire and David.

ooh - fast forward a bit - imagine the guests seated, about to eat -
fast forward a bit more -
they've eaten (that was quick wasn't it !)

what happens next ?

hah SPEECHES !

I forgot to mention - whilst the speeches were ongoing - a huge alien spacecraft tried to land in the room
I got a picture of it above -
the usual thing that happens next with spaceships is -
there's an intense beam of light - people get beamed up . . .

WHAT ? oh. sorry about that (my wife has just kicked me for being cheeky).

ALL RIGHT THEN . . the spaceship in the picture above, is not in fact a spaceship -
I apologise for my flippancy.

it's a massive Crystal Chandelier. this room has several and they're rather famous around these parts.

Davids speech goes down well

guests smile and make appropriate noises . . (it was a good speech !)

and the best man . . . .well, he simply hatches plots . .
his speech is next. here he is hatching.

Claires father

the sun definitely shone, though the weather was a little chilly ..
it's hard to imagine the cold when you see these pictures.

ah - I like this little series of images.
you need to know . . .Hardwick has a lake. . . the Hardwick website mentions the lake.

however - I photographed a wedding at Hardwick last year and the lake was out of bounds.

so when we turned up with Claire and Dave - we assumed - yeah - that was a year ago,

surely we can get near to the lake nowadays - after all - it's advertised on the Hardwick website and all

 

surprise . . . . . fences everywhere.

so . . with a very slightly naughty attitude on the part of Claire and Dave (and who can blame them)
we hopped fences and headed for the out of bounds lake.

http://www.masonstudio.co.uk/wedding/hardwick%20hall%20wedding/hardwickhall.htm

 

I'm pleased that we did hop over fences etc - or Claire and Dave wouldn't have gotten these pictures

Yay . each picture - bang on target. I'm happy with them . . would you be ??

ooh and the sun sank lower in the sky (it does that sort of thing around here)

I love this picture - totally unplanned - they probably didn't know I took it.

little feller peeks at camera through chair back.

image included simply because . . err . . . because . . .

first dance. guess who. . . . .

I know it's dark . .
but you kinda know it's David she's swaying with !

thank you Claire and David. . I hope you like the pictures.