A glorious summer wedding at Danby Castle Barn

You couldn’t imagine a more beautiful approach to a wedding venue than Danby Castle Barn. Driving over the North York Moors for miles to finally see the wedding venue tucked away in the hills. It’s just beautiful, and the perfect setting for Laura and Dan’s big day.

I arrived on the morning of the wedding to glorious sunshine, and everyone was busy setting up for the day ahead. The florists were creating their masterpiece for the ceremony, and hair and make-up was in full swing for Laura and her bridesmaids. It was a really gorgeous atmosphere.

Once everyone was ready, Laura headed up into the bridal room to get into her wedding dress. This room is such a perk of Danby Castle Barn – having a totally separate room away from the madness and mess of bridal prep is an absolute dream for any wedding photographer (and let’s face it, any bride). Having that space just to be able to breathe and have a moment of quiet is such a massive win in what the madness of a wedding morning can often be!

Laura’s lovely maid of honour Jade helped her into her dress and she looked absolutely stunning! We even had plenty of time to take lots of lovely of photos, plus a quick snack for Laura to keep her energy levels up for the ceremony ahead!

Out into the Yorkshire countryside

After some photos with Laura’s bridesmaids and parents, it was time for the big event – the wedding ceremony. It’s such a huge moment in any wedding, but I was particularly blown away by this one. I hope the photos speak for themselves, but the setting of an outdoor ceremony at Danby Castle is incomparable. Looking out across the Yorkshire countryside, the sun beaming down and the most beautiful floral display – it was all a match made in heaven. We headed out into the sunshine where Dan was waiting to see his beautiful bride.

The ceremony was certainly one of the highlights of this wedding for me, and not just because of the beautiful setting. You might think it’s a little strange of me to say this, but it was because not everything went ‘perfectly’!

First of all, the best man had forgotten the paper that the vows were written on. Then the wind blew over the flower arch during the vows. Then to top it all off, the wedding certificate blew away! And I don’t mean just onto the floor, I mean right across the Yorkshire countryside never to be seen again! Thankfully the registrar had a spare, so all was good with the world again.

Now, the reason I say this was all such a highlight of the day is because when things actually don’t go to plan on a wedding day (within reason), it can end up being a lovely talking point of the day. At a wedding a few months ago for example, the taxis didn’t turn up to take the bride to the ceremony. The bride, her dad and bridesmaids all squeezed into mine and the hair/make-up artist’s cars, and away we went! It ended up being so much fun and something we all remembered really fondly in the end. My point is, if you’re planning your wedding, try not to stress too much about things not going exactly to plan because sometimes they’re the best bits.

Pimm's and lawn games

Once Laura & Dan had said their ‘I do’s’, they were greeted with a shed load of confetti before we all enjoyed the drinks reception out on the lawn. It was the most glorious setting, and we were spoilt for choice with all Danby Castle’s different backdrops we could use for photos. Everyone was playing lawn games and drinking Pimm’s, it was ace!

We had a lot of fun getting photos of all the bridal party in amongst the ruins – these guys were an absolute joy to photograph and kept me smiling all day.

Because the weather had been so kind, we even enjoyed some speeches outside before heading into the wedding breakfast.

Party time

Once the evenings guests had arrived, Laura and Dan kicked off the party to One Republic’s ‘Counting Stars’ – an upbeat banger which got everyone on the dancefloor (and it stayed that way for the rest of the night!). Everyone was absolutely going for it and it was such a brilliant atmosphere.

The day wasn’t quite finished yet though, as we decided to head up onto the moors for some final photos of the happy couple. We hopped in the cars and even though the clouds didn’t permit us the golden hour we were hoping for, having that time with Laura and Dan was so lovely, and we still got some amazing photos with Danby Castle Barn in the background.

We finished the night with a sparkler exit, and it was the perfect way to finish off what had been an absolutely glorious summer wedding.