Sometimes I get to work with couples who throw the wedding rule book out of the window and Kirsty and Jack, who chose to celebrate their nuptials in their back garden in Withington, gave themselves enough freedom and flexibility to do exactly that.

I love these guys, their flamboyant but laid-back attitude, their home-grown eccentricity and creativity, and their free-spirited sense of humour – three key elements that allowed me to create a ceremony no-one was ever going to forget. Most of all I loved that their playfulness was anchored around a very serious conviction to honour their love for each other properly, to show their friends, family and the world what made them so solid and so unique, and the unwavering commitment they had for each other. I mean just look at these pictures, they take being head over heels in love very, very seriously.

Kirsty and Jack were a dream to work with, open, chatty, happy to share some of their most personal and ridiculous moments with me. This helped me to make the most of the informal but very, very heartfelt atmosphere of their big day and as a result everybody could instantly relax. This is exactly the kind of playful, potent sentimentality I love to immerse myself in and the results are clear from the get-go. I was almost in tears at points just watching Kirsty and Jack’s look at each other. The joy was palpable.

As you can see, the space behind their semi-detached home in Withington wasn’t huge, but it was just big enough to squeeze all of Kirsty and Jack’s nearest and dearest inside. What made it even more special was that for the two years beforehand they’d spent all their free time completely re-landscaping, putting down the gorgeous mosaic path you can see bordering the tree one piece at a time and creating a raised rockery area where the ceremony arch was placed.

For months Kirsty had been planting strategic blooms in all the right places ready to blossom at just the right time for the wedding, and she told me that before buying this house she hadn’t considered herself particularly green-fingered. This was a bit of a gamble therefore as well as a labour of love, but as nature is naturally keen to spread itself out and make the most of anywhere it’s allowed to thrive, the effort paid off in dividends.

Over time the garden became Kirsty and Jack’s pride and joy, their sacred space, and a living, thriving, blossoming symbol of their relationship. It will continue to be so as long as they nurture it and tend to it with love and care. It was the only place they ever considered making their vows to each other and allowed them to have complete control over their wedding day and do things their own way. From the post-ceremony dancing in the street snaps, I think it’s safe to say that the ceremony went down a treat and I’m pretty sure things got only wilder as the evening went on. I only hope their neighbours were invited.

Jack and Kirsty you absolute diamonds, you don’t need me to wish you future happiness, I think it’s already a given x

Photography by Drew Findlay