Chris and Claire’s wedding at Ripon Cathedral

Although I am a wedding photographer based in The Lake District and Cumbria, I enjoy the opportunity to travel further afield. Claire and Chris are an extremely down to earth and fun loving couple from Ripon who invited me to capture the story of their wedding day over in Yorkshire. It’s not every day you get to shoot a wedding in a cathedral and I was excited to be able to show both the grandeur and scale of Ripon Cathedral, but also the intimacy of 2 people getting married surrounded by their family and friends.

Having attended the Cathedral School as a child, and more recently sneaked out to watch other people’s weddings from afar – it was now Claire’s turn to be waved and photographed as she got out of her white Rolls Royce and began the long walk up the aisle. Although  Ripon Cathedral is epic in proportion, the wedding ceremony took place in the more intimate choir chapel, with fantastic old wooden carved Misericord seats and beautiful stained glass windows.

Chris and Claire’s wedding celebrations continued at The Old Swan in the spa town of Harrogate, just a few miles away. The weather was beautiful and all the guests enjoyed milling in the sunshine before and after the wedding breakfast.

If you are getting married outside of Cumbria and the Lake District but like my wedding photography please do get in touch.

info@davegreaves.com. 07891347282

Gemma and Matt’s Cumbrian Wedding

Any bride getting married in The Lake District has always got to be prepared for the rain. Although most people would dream of a sunny wedding day, the weather doesn’t have to put a dampener on your big day or on your wedding photographs. Gemma and Matt were both prepared for the weather but also embraced it – with diligent ushers who were fantastic at escorting guests into the church and a supply of white wedding umbrellas to keep the bridal party dry. For me, rain is just another character in the story of your wedding day and can often make for some really interesting and artistic wedding photographs.

Gemma and Matt got married at St Cuthbert’s Church, Kirkby-in-Furness, Gemma’s family church and then moved on to the Beech Hill Hotel overlooking Lake Windermere for their wedding reception. After the wet start to the day, the sun came out later in the afternoon and the guests could enjoy the superb Lake District views from the balcony, whilst the wedding party enjoyed some rather unusual group shots from the jetty.

Marquee Wedding on the Cumbrian Coast

Rose and Nick celebrated their wedding with a ceremony at Aldingham Church near Ulverston followed by a marquee reception just up the road at Rose’s parents farm. Aldingham church sits right on the Cumbrian coast with spectacular views out over Morecambe Bay, and with some special prayers from Rose’s granddad the tide was in, the sea was calm and the weather was sunny – a perfect backdrop for their wedding day.

Rose and her mum are, by their own confession, planners, list makers and organisers and they were no less thorough in choosing their wedding photographer. Their wedding day was all about family, friends, celebrating and being relaxed, and they wanted the photos to tell the real story of their day. It was a real pleasure to photograph their wedding day as the whole family embraced my documentary approach ( i.e ignored me!) and gave me the freedom to get on and capture the moments as they happened. And being in the midst of the superb Olympic games I couldn’t help but sneak in a few special sporting moments too.

Marquee Wedding in Cartmel

It was a pleasure to be photographing a second wedding at Cartmel Priory in the space of a few weeks. Getting married in this ancient church at the heart of the small Cumbrian village of Cartmel with the bells pealing out across the countryside was a very special part of Rachel and Graham’s day. With their house just a stone’s throw from the priory and their family ties to the area it was a very personal and memorable wedding celebration.

Their wedding day continued with a long carriage ride around Cartmel pulled by beautiful black Friesian horses from local company Black Horses – a dream come true for horse lover Rachel. I managed to sneak a lift in the support car and capture some special photographs for them as they travelled through the country lanes they know so well.
Back at the marquee in the grounds of their newly restored house, the wedding celebrations continued with afternoon tea and Pimms, outdoor games and superb entertainment from Chris Stevenson, specialist close up magician.

Sunny Wedding at Brantwood, Coniston Water

It is difficult to beat the Lake District on a sunny day as a place to celebrate your wedding. Louise and Gavin struck lucky with their wedding celebrations at Brantwood on Coniston Water with a glorious summers day (which have been somewhat sparse this year!) Brantwood, the former home of John Ruskin, painter and poet, is set in a stunning location on the hillside overlooking the spectacular scenery of Coniston Water.

Brantwood is a perfect venue to celebrate a small intimate wedding and with its own Jetty on the Lake, it offers a unique opportunity to continue the wedding celebrations on board Coniston’s Steam Gondola with a champagne reception and a relaxed Lake Cruise to the head of the Lake and back.  With it’s wood fired steam engine and luxurious interior, the gondola was a great photographic opportunity for me and fun for all the guests.

We left Louise and Gavin and their guests enjoying great home cooked food and a wood burning stove at Jumping Jenny’s tea rooms at Brantwood. Being a Lake District Wedding photographer offers up a real diversity of weddings and venues – and it is always fun for me to capture each of these unique settings – from boat trips and simple venues all the way through to Grand Country House Hotels and stunning churches. And all in the midst of some of the most beautiful scenery in the country – I never get bored!

Cartmel Priory Wedding

Rachel and Scott’s wedding day started with an early morning at Spectrum Hairdressers in Ulverston with the girls getting ready.  I then made my getaway to catch up with the boys before heading over to the Cavendish Arms in Cartmel for Rachel’s ‘ final preparations.

The wedding celebrations took place at Cartmel Priory – an iconic and historic old church, called ‘the most beautiful church in the north-west’ in a recent book by Simon Jenkins. Cartmel Priory has been a place of worship for over 800 years and is still very much the focal point of the small village of Cartmel. It is a beautiful building to photograph, and thanks to the generosity of the Rev. Nick Devonish, I was able to take a trip up the Belltower to see the bellringers in action. A peal of bells to welcome a bride is a well loved tradition, and it was fantastic to be able to capture that photographically as part of Rachel and Scott’s day.

After the ceremony the wedding guests wandered through the pretty village of Cartmel to the Wedding Reception at Cartmel Racecourse. They got into the spirit of the races with a weigh in competition that was a lot of fun, before sitting down upstairs for the wedding breakfast. Rachel and Scott were very relaxed all day and it was a pleasure to photograph their wedding – I left them enjoying themselves with their friends and family on a packed dance floor.

Rachel and Lee’s Fairytale Wedding

Rachel had been planning her Marquee Wedding near Penrith in Cumbria for months. No stone was left unturned and she considered every detail and idea to make her wedding day the one she had dreamed of. Unfortunately she couldn’t control the weather and the week leading up to the big day rained and blew constantly. At one point the marquee was leaking and the field was getting muddier by the day. But, it all came together in the end, the rain held off, the marquee was beautiful and the flower displays were stunning.

After getting ready with her 6 bridesmaids and 2 flower girls, Rachel and her dad made their way to Addingham Church, near Hunsonby by Horse and Carriage. The little village church was packed with guests and local wellwishers turned out in force to cheer them on. After a ceremony accompanied by String Quartet, Rachel and Lee carried on the tradition of throwing pennies to the local kids at the Church Lych Gate, before making their way to the Marquee in the Carriage drawn by beautiful black horses. The huge marquee had been dressed beautifully with lavish floral displays in pink and white, pearls, birdcages and pamper room for the girls.

I still get excited by every wedding, big or small. You never know what is going to happen next, and there are always interesting and unusual shots to be found. Rachel and Lee’s day was no exception – we were rewarded with some fantastic moments, and captured some great images that tell the story of their day.

Smiles and laughter at The Grange Hotel

Fiona and Liam celebrated their wedding with family and friends at The Grange Hotel, Grange-over-Sands. With both families having connections to Grange – and Liam having spent childhood holidays there – it was a special place for both of them. Unfortunately the weather didn’t play ball for their day, but it really didn’t phase them or the guests, and there were a lot of smiles and laughter through the day – especially from Fiona who must be one of the most smiley brides I’ve photographed in a long time.

We managed to find a small break in the weather to pop down to the Promenade at Grange overlooking Morecambe Bay for a few couple shots, before heading back to The Grange Hotel for the wedding breakfast and speeches. The staff were very helpful and accommodating all day – especially with having to manage the group shots indoors and get everything turned round and looking beautiful for the wedding reception.  Their attention to detail was excellent.

I always enjoy photographing the speeches at weddings – there is so much potential for real moments and natural emotion – and these speeches were a great example – with some heartfelt stories and brotherly love (and teasing) from Liam’s 2 best men – his brothers, who put on a great double act.

Relaxed Marquee Wedding

Beth and Graham knew they wanted a very relaxed wedding and chose to celebrate their day with a Marquee at The Fellside Centre in Calbeck – usually an outdoor activity centre. With lots of careful planning by Beth and help from creative family and friends, they transformed the marquee with bunting, fabric hearts, flowers and sweets into a lovely welcoming bright space. Beth was incredibly chilled out on the wedding morning as she got ready with her friends at Fellside, as Graham enjoyed heading off for quick pint with his mates at the Oddfellows Arms in Calbeck.

The wedding ceremony was held at St Kentigern’s Church, Caldbeck with the sun shining down after a week of rain. Whilst the guests headed back to Fellside for the reception, we nipped off with Beth and Graham for a few couple shots. Beth was game enough to do some cross country hiking in her beautiful wedding dress and purple high heels to get to a fantastic old quarry, which made for some stunning photographs. Then it was back to the marquee, just in time before the heavens opened – but it didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits and the celebrations continued with so much fun and laughter.

After a BBQ meal the party got into full swing with dancing, disco and live band and was topped off as it started to get dark, with a firework display and the release of Chinese Lanterns. I had such fun with Beth and Graham and their family and friends   – they were so relaxed all day, and it made for some great candid photos.

A very special wedding

Well, all weddings are special, but for Karen and Ben their wedding venue at The Chequers Hotel, Dalton-in-Furness had particular personal meaning. Karen grew up and now works at The Chequers and her parents Lyn and John have recently celebrated 25 years of owning and running the business. So it was a very meaningful and emotional day for all the family to celebrate.

The sun shone for their wedding day, held on the Diamond Jubilee weekend, and Ben and his boys enjoyed bacon butties in the garden while Karen and the girls got ready at The Chequers. Before the evening guests arrived, we nipped off down to beautiful Roanhead on the Cumbrian Coast to enjoy some golden evening light and some lovely relaxed couple shots. Then back to The Chequers for the evening party to begin and the celebrations to continue.

Congratulations Mr and Mrs North – and looking forward to the Rock the Frock Shoot to come!