I once heard someone say that the best weddings are the ones where you walk into the room and feel like you’re in the couple’s living room; that is, they feel a perfect extension of the couple. Well, in Amanda and Danny’s case, walking into their Leaf on Bold Street wedding was like sitting around their campfire*: welcoming, hella fun, and totally, 100% them. 

If you’re considering throwing out the rulebook for your wedding day, then you’ll definitely want to bookmark this one. From the topsy-turvy order of the day to the eco raffle to the NUMEROUS dance breaks, Danny and Amanda knew exactly how to turn tradition on its head so they could stay true to themselves.

*they met at a camp in America 10 years ago and have done mostly long-distance since then, with Amanda recently moving to Liverpool to join Danny! 

Throwing out the traditional timeline

During wedding planning I’m sure you’ll hear a lot about timelines. Don’t get me wrong, as a wedding photographer I love a good plan, but I think it’s important to point out the reason they’re so key. It’s not to make you feel pressured into doing certain things: on the flipside, it’s to ensure you get round to all the stuff you actually want to do on your wedding day! Certain elements of the day can take up so much time without you noticing, and if these are the bits you’re not so bothered about, that leaves you with less time to do the stuff you do want to do. And we don’t want that, don’t we?!

With this in mind, one of my favourite things about Danny and Amanda’s Leaf on Bold Street wedding – and there were many – was the fact that they weren’t afraid to flip the classic order of the day on its head completely. This meant that they started off with the portraits and group shots (more on the setting in a minute), and had the first dance straight after the ceremony. Love, love, love! 

Speeches, dances, and ‘open mic’ performances

As Danny is a musician, it was important to him and Amanda that they included lots of music throughout their day. Even their ceremony, which was led by one of their close friends, was formatted like a gig, with Amanda and Danny on the stage at Leaf and their guests standing in front of it. After this, they went straight into their first dance – which was also sung by friends – and ended with confetti.

In fact, loads of Amanda and Danny’s friends are incredible musicians, and they played and performed throughout their Leaf on Bold Street wedding. (I really can’t stress how amazing they all were, so you should check out the list of them and their links below!)

After dinner, it was time for speeches and performances. Alongside Danny having an emotional dance with his mum and Amanda having a fun dance with her brother, Danny & Amanda also performed a song together. Then, to kick off the dancing portion of the evening, Amanda and her friends did a dance to Dancing Queen!

After a short interlude, they opened up the floor for an open mic-style night, inviting their loved ones to perform in whatever way they wanted. (It reminded me a bit of Swedish weddings, where anybody can give a speech during the dinner – in both, it’s lovely to have the chance to hear from all of your loved ones.) There was a mixture of speeches, fun performances – like Amanda’s friends doing a poem with interpretive dance about the story of her and Danny’s relationship! – and, of course, some beautiful songs. After the last performance they kicked off the dancefloor again, where they then partied away until the lights came on.

Eco raffle

Another unique element of Danny and Amanda’s wedding that I loved was their eco raffle. Another priority for them was having an eco-conscious, waste-free wedding, so they held an eco raffle for their guests. Here, their guests pledged to make a sustainable change, like ditching single-use plastic, which then entered them into a raffle to win an eco-friendly prize. Again, this was so communal, and so much fun.

Leaf on Bold Street wedding venue

I promised you I’d talk a bit more about the setting for Amanda and Danny’s wedding, so here we are: Leaf on Bold Street wedding venue. It was the perfect place for their unconventional wedding plans, from the immediate first dance to the delicious meal (which Amanda and Danny enjoyed as the two of them at a sweetheart table just off from the main room, so they were still connected to all the excitement but had a moment to themselves to let it sink in). 

It was also a perfect match vibeswise, as LEAF was started by a group of friends who wanted to share their love of tea: perfectly fitting for Amanda and Danny’s community-focussed day.

Leaf on Bold Street weddings always look epic thanks to the industrial chic space, but also the city centre location. We shot the portraits around Bold Street before the ceremony began, and it’s such a lively and lovely part Liverpool’s city centre. They even had lavender garlands strung up across the street, which matched Amanda’s bridesmaids’ colour palette perfectly – it’s like they knew we were coming!

Heartfelt, carefree wedding photography

I adored capturing Amanda and Danny’s Leaf on Bold Street wedding (same time next year guys?!), because it was the exact kind of carefree, heartfelt photography that I absolutely love. So if you’re planning a Leaf on Bold Street wedding – or elsewhere – and are looking for a photographer to capture it in a fun, relaxed way, I’d love to hear from you. You can get in touch here to tell me all about your exciting plans. 

But don’t just take my word for it – here’s what Amanda and Danny had to say about working with me:

“Cannot recommend Marni enough! Her photos were perfect. All of her photos had so much life in them. She is warm, funny, professional and made us feel completely at ease. Our wedding venue was quite quirky, and Marni gave us incredible photos that really capture the spontaneous joy and heartfelt emotions of the event. Totally book her!”

Suppliers

Venue: LEAF on Bold Street, Liverpool

Recyclable, plantable name cards: My Eco Designs

Dress: Jenny Yoo

Flowers: DoveDale Florist

DJ/Musicians: Danny Bradley, Calum Gilligan, Caitlin Gilligan, Limerance, Charlie McKeon,

Thom Morecroft, The Crash Blossoms, DJ Dave

Videographer: Hushabye Films

Jewellery from the BlueCoat Display Centre