Harewood House Wedding Photographer | Liane and Andy

Our first of a three wedding weekend saw us as Harewood House wedding photographers, for Liane and Andy, a lovely couple who booked us on recommendation. They were told that we would make the most of the backdrops this beautiful stately home has to offer and we were delighted to have the opportunity to photograph a wedding there. 

Wedding photography at Yorkshire stately homes has one thing in common it seems. Weddings are held late in the day, when members of the public have left and when the estate is closed.  If there is one disadvantage to this it is that wedding photographers at Harewood House have very limited time to fit everything in but the advantages are that the locations available are breathtaking and the wedding party have use of the grounds just for themselves for a few hours.  As the inside of the house was out of bounds and the wedding very much based around the gardens, terrace and courtyard, it goes without saying that we were hoping for the weather to be kind to us and we weren't disappointed. It was a warm and sunny day and being July, we had the benefit of longer daylight hours, pretty important when a wedding takes place at 4 pm.   

We arrived at Liane's parents' home where hair dressing and make-up were in full swing. Liane had chosen a beautiful and very elegant dress and her bouquet was something really special.  She and her mum had spent many hours on this gorgeous creation, made not with flowers but with buttons and beads from Liane's grandma's button box.  A true labour of love.

Our next stop was at Harewood House where the boys arrived to meet us and if anything, it was a bit too sunny, although we feel guilty for saying this as it's much better than the wet stuff we see so much of!  We found some shade for photographs of Andy and his attendants in a field just off the courtyard and kept a nervous groom occupied for a while before we turned our attention to waiting for Liane's arrival with her dad and bridesmaids and the start of the civil ceremony.

Everyone walked the short distance to the terrace for the drinks reception.  This is a spectacular location with steps up to the house and beautiful borders full of flowers.  It was a great place to photograph the groups before we left everyone to enjoy the sunshine whilst we were treated to a ride in a golf buggy which took us, Liane and Andy and all our gear down to the lakeside for some quiet time and couple photographs.  This area has several lovely spots for photographs and the time we had flew by all too quickly. With time almost up we piled back onto the golf buggy for the ride up to the front of Harewood House for a few must have images featuring this wonderful stately home.  

We delivered the new Mr and Mrs Cowell back to a champagne toast and a warm welcome from their guests before a hog roast was served.  This was a lovely relaxed and informal summer wedding.  The couple had decided against formalities such as speeches and first dance, preferring to relax in the late evening sunshine with their guests.  We really appreciate being recommended to them and we had a very enjoyable day.  Looking through the images, we're delighted with the results and hope that Liane and Andy love them as much as we do.

If you are looking for a Harewood House wedding photographer, we'd love to hear from you and if you'd like to follow us on Facebook, we'd really appreciate it.  Thank you.

  

Chevin Country Park Hotel Wedding Photographers | Jenna & Kyle

As Chevin Country Park Hotel wedding photographers it was really nice to return to this venue in its  pretty woodland and lakeside setting to capture Jenna and Kyle's wedding.

This lovely couple are now the current record holders for the earliest civil ceremony we've covered, tying the knot at 10 am which meant a very early start with Jenna and her bridesmaids at around 7.30 am.  An early ceremony has several advantages.  It gives the bride and groom a much longer wedding day to enjoy after all the months of planning and it allows them plenty of time to spend with family and friends.  It also meant that we could divide Jenna and Kyle's photographs into shorter sessions and by approaching it this way, it made their wedding photography very enjoyable and relaxed and enabled us to make the most of the locations at the Chevin Hotel.

Jenna and Kyle were an absolute joy to work with and it's hard to imagine a more perfect match - each of them to the other and them to us, their wedding photographers.  They are so easy to get along with and they'd told us that they love the more arty style of wedding photographs which is something we love creating.  They were happy and enthusiastic about working through some ideas with us and for coming up with ideas of their own.

There were some beautiful and personal touches throughout this wedding.  Jenna wore her grandma's string of pearls, Kyle put lots of thought into putting together a box of little gifts for his bride and he had them delivered to her room by Vish, who we'd heard a lot about and who was described by Jenna as her friend and "bridesman".  As Vish is from South Africa, Jenna's gorgeous and vibrant flower arrangements around the venue included some from his homeland and after the speeches, this lovely man presented the newlyweds with a gift of a honeymoon in the Lake District.

We concentrated on getting the group photos, traditional couple shots and some fun images with the bridal party in the can before the wedding breakfast, planning to work with Jenna and Kyle and make the most of the beautiful locations during the afternoon and early evening.  We had to wait a long time for the sun to go down but by the time we headed off to work on the other side of the lake and in the woods, the light was much softer.

Jenna and Kyle's wedding photography at Chevin Country Park Hotel wouldn't have been complete without a few images on the spiral staircase and we got some crackers which we are really happy with.  We had a beautiful subject to work with and Kyle, you scrubbed up well too!

A huge thank you Mr and Mrs Oldfield for booking us to capture your wonderful day and for being so fabulous to work with.  We really can't wait to see your images come to life in what will be an amazing storybook album.

If you are looking for a Chevin Hotel wedding photographer, why not get in touch with us?  If you were lucky enough to share Jenna and Kyle's big day, please feel free to leave a comment and if you like our images, please give us a Like on Facebook.

Please note, all images are copyright and must not be copied or downloaded.  Thank you.

  

Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa York Wedding Photographer | Helen and Daniel

We have visited Helen and Daniel's wedding venue in past but this was the first time we'd been wedding photographers at the Cedar Court Grand Hotel and Spa, York. This gorgeous hotel doesn't have any grounds to speak of but the stunning interior is a delight, especially if, like us, you enjoy working with beautiful architecture.

We arrived at Helen's parents' house in Woodthorpe, York where we were greeted by her dad, Stephen.  The girls weren't back from having hair and make-up done yet but whilst we waited it gave us time to get set up in a lovely bright bedroom ready to photograph Helen's dress, jewellery, perfume and a spectacular pair of sparkly Jimmy Choos.  

Helen's dress was perfect for her and perfect for the venue - elegant and sophisticated - and we were lucky because she was as good as her word and in her dress in time for us to take some photographs with her parents, sister and bridesmaids before we left to meet Daniel at the hotel.

We knew that for the majority of the day we would be working indoors, but it was nice to get some photographs of the boys together and Daniel with his close family outside at the hotel entrance and also on the terrace before he was called upstairs to meet with the registrars and kept there to avoid him seeing Helen before he should.

The civil ceremony was conducted in the Boardroom which is a lovely room with tall windows, velvet drapes and spectacular chandeliers made of gold colour glass chain links.  We decided to take the family group photos upstairs immediately after the ceremony before everyone made their way downstairs to enjoy the drinks reception. When everyone is close by it really makes a huge difference to how quickly we can cover the group shots and we had them done faster than we expected, leaving us with Helen and Daniel and their couple photos.  

Such a great couple to spend time with, their wedding photographs were really important to them and they were more than happy to give our ideas a try.  At our meeting a few weeks beforehand, we'd picked out some locations to use before the receiving line started, with a couple more earmarked for after the wedding breakfast.  We like to work this way, dividing the couple and bridal photography into two sessions as it gives the bride and groom some time to spend with their guests and gives us time to get a variety of different images for them, be creative and keep the photography sessions fun, relaxed and interesting.

When we returned to the Boardroom to photograph it set up for the wedding breakfast, it did look amazing in navy blue and a champagne theme.  Because it wasn't quite ready at the scheduled time, everyone sat a little later than planned and because of this we did think that Helen and Daniel might not want a second couple session later, as we knew their evening guests would be starting to arrive by the time the wedding breakfast ended. However, we were delighted when they came out after dinner and were still excited about having photographs taken in the locations we'd discussed - our favourite which was a purple wall and theirs which was a mirrored lift - and we are very pleased with the results.

Once the Boardroom had been turned around for the evening party, we covered the first dance and after capturing some images of the band, we said our goodbyes to Helen and Daniel.

Thank you Mr and Mrs Mackley for being such stars to work with.  Have a fabulous honeymoon and we look forward to seeing you on your return.  

Looking for a Cedar Court Hotel York wedding photographer?  We'd love to hear from you so please call us on 01977 730159 and Like us on Facebook.