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.