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.

'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.