Connor & Ryan’s Wedding at The Woodman Inn

The grooms looked sharp in navy tuxedos, a touch of elegance that blended seamlessly with the DIY elements sprinkled throughout the event, a collaborative effort with their cherished family and friends. The Woodman Inn proved to be a super helpful wedding venue, ensuring every detail was just as the couple envisioned. Amidst the heartfelt exchanges of vows and laughter, they had the fabulous Cher Drag queen gracing the stage, adding an exuberant spark to the celebration. This day was about authenticity, a genuine love shared by two souls, a day crafted for love, not for the applause of social media but for the pure joy of togetherness.

Connor & Ryan say…

The Woodman was the only venue we went to see. We wanted somewhere secluded, surrounded by nature, a touch of modernity, and nothing religious. The venue ticked every box, and when we went to see it in person, we fell in love with it and knew it was the one; every other venue we saw online didn’t compare. As soon as we enquired, we were welcomed by Kieran and felt very looked after. It made the experience run smoothly, knowing there was a support network at the venue, and no question was silly.

Since we’d only got engaged a month or so before finding the perfect venue with a date available for three months, we thought we’d be sensible and get modestly priced suits. That was until we walked past Hawes & Curtis in the Victoria Quarter, Leeds. We were back and forth on a couple of suits until we saw the Navy Tuxedos and knew immediately that they would stand out in our wedding. We always wanted to avoid completely matching suits as we thought that was a cliché for a gay wedding, so we decided on a subtle difference in bowtie colour. The shoes were Calvin Klein Loafers; shiny shoes are a must with a tuxedo!

The Woodman Inn is already a stunning venue, so we decided to self-decorate the venue. We always knew we wanted candles in vases, but they’re so expensive! So we found kitchen storage jars in three different sizes on Amazon, which looked the same as tiered vases at a fraction of the price. The morning before, we raided our local Sainsbury’s flower selection for Gypsophila and bouquets, which matched our colour scheme.

One of our favourite memories of the whole wedding is setting up the day before with our wedding party, Shannon, Trystan, Jess and Lee. We had such a fun time unboxing everything we’d bought and seeing what worked and what didn’t. The Woodman (Kieran, more specifically) were so helpful and amazing, letting us have the day before to set up; they even set us up with a Bluetooth speaker and some drinks so we could relax and have a perfect time together. It did create a core memory of the wedding. Thank you all!

Both of us are gluten-free, and whilst there are plenty of gluten-free cake makers, they’re just not quite the same! So we decided to put the cost into a self-made pick ‘n’ mix station so all our guests could enjoy it. The station was a crowd-pleaser, so I’d recommend it to anyone!

Ollie was honestly the star of the show for our wedding; he made the whole day so special by being genuinely lovely. Ollie is an absolute must as a photographer. The photos he’s taken are incredible! He’s captured every moment in such detail we’re in love with his work. His style of photography is so modern and natural; he was so fun to have at the wedding, chilled and lovely to talk to; it was a nice break throughout the day to chat with him. He got on so well with our other guests; they loved him, and a couple even wanted selfies with him, haha! We loved having him there for every minute!

The one thing we didn’t realise until speaking to guests after was that Ollie went round to all our guests and said goodbye; I thought that was a lovely thing to do. He’d become so much a part of our wedding that he got on with everyone; it was evident from the first meeting he was naturally charismatic and carried such a positive energy that put every guest at ease in front of a camera. If only we knew Ollie before, he’d have been a guest!

If you’re considering a photographer, contacting Ollie should be your first choice; we recommend him to everyone.

Best part of the day

The amazing entertainment. Our singer, Jenna Shingleton, was such a beautiful singer. It made everyone stop and listen. We ensured we walked down the aisle on the last chorus so everyone (especially us) could hear her sing as long as possible. She performed when guests arrived, during the ceremony, signing the register, walking out of the reception, during photographs, and then returned for the first dance in the evening. It amplified the personable touch of the evening.

After a full day of the traditional wedding day, we changed it up and brought out Marigold Addams, a professional Cher impersonator drag queen who served our evening entertainment. Everyone of every age group danced and interacted; who doesn’t love or know a Cher song?

From one couple to another…

The day is about you and sets the tone for what you stand for, so don’t try to please every guest; it won’t happen. We made it aesthetic for social media, but it was still authentic and natural to us. We designed and printed our own Hendricks Bottles with table numbers for centrepieces. It was such a subtle touch to our tastes. Something authentic to you is worth more than the likes online.