Abi & Stu’s DIY wedding at
Priory Place Doncaster with reception at home

Abi and Stu planned a smallish wedding in July for about 40 people.  They wanted a DIY, informal approach for as much of the day as possible.  Although the legal ceremony took place at the register office in the centre of Doncaster, the majority of the day was hosted at their own home in the village of Grimethorpe.

It’s not that often we venture out of the Midlands counties, but Abi and Stu had got in touch with after seeing Robin’s work on smaller weddings here on the website – and decided that was exactly the kind of photos they wanted to document their day.  And while their wedding plans weren’t that small in terms of number of guests, we agreed that having two photographers would be a bit overkill so it was just Robin who drove up to the county of South Yorkshire.  Although many of our ‘smaller’ weddings tend to be covered for just a few hours, Abi and Stu wanted the entire day documented, from the 10am ceremony through to dancing after the sun went down –  so it ended up being an 12 hour working day for Robin! :-)

Civil ceremony at Priory Place

Priory Place is an old Georgian house in the centre of town and is the main ceremony venue for Doncaster Registration Service.  It has two ceremony rooms, one being the Great Kitchen and it was here that Abi and Stu’s civil ceremony took place.  It’s a beautiful space, with plenty of light and with the huge oven and many other remnants of its former life as a working kitchen still in place.  It opens out directly onto a rather nice courtyard which is available for a confetti throw and group photos.  A really nice location for a smaller wedding and the staff were lovely to work with.

DIY wedding reception at home

After the short drive to Grimethorpe, many of the guests changed into more relaxed attire as the reception party at Abi and Stu’s house began.  They live on a modern estate built as part of the regeneration of the village which began back in the 90’s.  Picnic benches out front with a handy parking space for the catering van.  A make-do bar set up in the kitchen, a photobooth in a spare room and in the back was a small marquee/gazebo with sound system with garden games and seating.   This was a very warm July day but there was space for everyone to enjoy the sunshine or keep to the shade and at no point did the house or garden feel crowded.  Abi and Stu really made the best of the available space and the atmosphere was so relaxed and informal –  and an absolute pleasure to photograph.

As much as they wanted to keep a DIY feel, when it comes to food they weren’t prepared to compromise.  The catering was provided by Catering Yorkshire and honestly, it was some of the best wedding food Robin had all year!  They just rolled up in the van, cooked amazing food, cleared up and left!  Everything was cooked from scratch and with enough variety for everyone.  Just fantastic!

This was a real highlight of the year.  A massive thank you to Abi and Stu for asking Robin to cover their day.  Enjoy the pictures….