Erika & Ashley's Summer Wedding at The Boat House, Aston Marina

There aren't many places in Staffordshire where you can get married on the water, but Aston Marina is one of them. Erika and Ashley's summer wedding at The Boat House, just outside Stone, was a lovely mix of soft blues, big skies and some of the best golden-hour light I've had all year.

The Boat House
The Boat House sits right beside the Trent & Mersey Canal, with glazed doors along two sides that open onto a veranda. That means the marina is part of the room all day: the narrowboats, the fields beyond and whatever the sky is doing. Erika and Ashley's ceremony room was strung with hundreds of fairy lights, with navy and dusty-blue sashes on the chairs and the marina framed in the window behind them.

Getting ready
Erika got ready in the bridal room, all arched mirrors and floral wallpaper, while the bridesmaids' blue dresses waited on their named hangers. Ashley and the groomsmen, in navy suits, gathered outside before heading in to greet their guests. Ashley laughed his way through the wait at the front, right up until the doors opened.

Under the willow, then out on the marina
Straight after the confetti we slipped off to the willow tree by the water. The light under those branches is soft and green, and it's the perfect place for ten quiet minutes before the drinks reception. Later, we headed out along the towpath, past the colourful narrowboats, up onto the footbridge under a big cloudy sky, and then waited for the sun to drop low over the water. It did not disappoint.

Into the evening
The speeches had the whole room laughing, helped by a few well-chosen photos of Ashley. Then the cake, a first dance with a spin and a dip, and a saxophonist playing over the DJ who kept the dancefloor full until the end of the night.

Planning your own Aston Marina wedding?
Leave twenty minutes in the evening for the towpath and the narrowboats. It's what makes photos here look like nowhere else.
Don't worry about a cloudy day. The footbridge and the marina look brilliant under a dramatic sky.
In summer the sun sets late and low over the water, so ask your coordinator to build in a few minutes once it starts to glow.
See more from the day in Erika & Ashley's real wedding, or check if I'm free for your date.