Today we have a wedding that’s pretty darn epic. Perfect for the couple who are non-conformist, who want to incorporate their own personal touches and want to make their big day all about them. Captured by Chris from Chocolate Chip Photography, Chris and Claire tied the knot in the contemporary setting of BALTIC.

Claire and Chris arranged their first date via messenger on MySpace. “We met just over 12 years ago through a mutual friend, who went through school with Claire and worked with Chris. We had met on group nights out previously and hit it off really well, mainly joking around with each other and taking the p*ss. Arrangements for the first date (drinks, World Cup 2006 match, and a gig at The Cluny) were made via messages through MySpace, which makes us feel pretty old!”

Claire and Chris wanted to get married somewhere unique, but that still had a city centre location, and the blank canvas setting of BALTIC was perfect for them. “As pretty much the last couple in our group of friends to get married, we wanted somewhere that none of our friends had been married in, but also somewhere close to the city centre for ease of people getting home afterwards. The River Terrace in the BALTIC is such a beautiful venue, and one we hadn’t seen before. The views onto the Quayside are second-to-none, and the outdoor terrace was a great space to escape the music and get some fresh air! The BALTIC also has a great reputation for delicious food, and they didn’t disappoint. We had afternoon tea, which was HUGE and came with mini-shepherds pies. A definite win for us! Fresh Element, who run the events at the venue, are fantastic. They have a great team of people, and nothing was a bother for them. Everything in the run-up and on the day was well organised and exactly what we wanted.”

“We certainly weren’t looking for a super-traditional wedding, and wanted it to be relaxed and put our own stamp on things. We decided against flowers and button holes (too temporary and expensive) and instead created our own button holes based on the theme of the wedding from Lego. We didn’t have a traditional cake, but lots of traybakes from a local bakery. We knew that we had to get our shared love of classic films and TV shows into the theme, so we had tables designed around our favourites (Back To The Future, The Princess Bride, Adventure Time, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Batman for the top table!). Claire in particular was excited about all things music and walked down the aisle to Prince, we signed the register to Tom Waits and walked out as husband and wife to Huey Lewis and The News! Poor Ben at Bride & Groove received a playlist of over 500 songs to give him an idea of what music we like…! He definitely got our vibe though, and the dancefloor was always full.”

How did you choose your photographer?
“We were looking online for local wedding photographers and loved Chocolate Chip’s style, and both Chris and Shazia looked exactly like our kind of people! We met them both at a wedding fair to have a chat, and confirmed that they were the photographers for us. Due to the size of our ceremony we only needed a single photographer, and we met with Chris a couple of times to discuss our ideas for the day and what we wanted (we pretty much left it up to him – he’s the professional after all!)”

Advice for other brides and grooms?
“Don’t feel like you need to conform to the ‘wedding ideal’ to have a fantastic day – we eschewed flowers, the bride rocked a Mohawk and visible tattoos, our registrar agreed to read the ‘Mawwiage’ speech from The Princess Bride to open the ceremony, one of our readings was Power of Love by Huey Lewis and The News, and we didn’t cut a cake, have seat covers or fancy table linen.”

“Everybody says it, but the day absolutely flies by. Make sure that you both schedule in some time to spend together away from the wedding madness – we walked along to a local pub and had a beer together! We also made the most of the celebrations by booking into a hotel for an extra night so we didn’t have to rush home the day afterwards.”

What was your highlight of the day?
“A three-way tie between the foghorn during the ceremony, a mad impromptu air-guitar dance-off to Van Halen’s Jump, and realising that my granny was still at the reception during the West Coast 90s rap portion of the disco… (no radio edits!)” – Claire.

“The whole day was amazing, and made so by the excellent work of all involved. For me, the disco topped everything off. The music may not have been quite to everyone’s tastes, but it was our day and our choice!” – Chris.

For more wedding inspiration take a look at our dedicated real wedding section, and to see more work by Chocolate Chip Photography, take a look at the pretty pages of the new issue of Belle Bridal Magazine.