Harriet and Alasdair, a Tradition Church Wedding at Burythorpe Hosue.
It was a sunny spring day, the skies were blue and filled with cotton wool clouds, the daffodils were in full bloom the trumpets wide and pointing proudly towards Burythorpe House, highlighting its idyllic county house charm.
The day that Harriet and Alasdair had poured so much care and attention into was finally here.
It was windy, but it wasn’t raining and that was all that they had ever hoped for given their guests were walking to and from the little village church just across the fields from Burythorpe House.
Getting to know these two over the last 18 months has been a joy, I love it when people are so happily comfortable in their own skin and when they know what they like and they do what they do. These two do everything together, their partnership is equal and they dote so lovingly on one another, seeing only goodness in each other’s interests and quirks. I love that in these two. They even had engagement photos with their horse Maise, which was the best of fun.
Here's a couple from that session last summer, we had such a lovely morning on the Bridleways between Fryton and Terrington, one of my favourite places to ride and run, it's great being able to share places like this with my couples.
The Venue: Burythorpe House.
I’ve visited Burythorpe House many times since 2016 when I started my photography business, the 18th-century country house offers much historical charm, from the panelled dining room and homely lounge offering up 2 open fires.
Burythorpe House holds so much character, it's perfect for weddings, the history is dappled around the building. It also boasts 12 tastefully decorated bedrooms, meaning wedding day guests have somewhere comfortable to stay when they attend a wedding.
Fun fact: Burythorpe House is privately owned by rock legend Eric Clapton and has been since 2013.
The house is set on 1.4 acres of stunning grounds that look out to the village church, which is where Harriet and Alasdair had decided to be wed.
Wedding day choices for my Burythorpe House Couple
Alasdair and Harriet wanted a traditional day with tops and tails, but they didn’t stop there, the bridesmaid’s gowns were made by Alasdair’s Mum, Glynis (who makes and designs costumes for a living) Harriet wanted her bridesmaids in the pastel blue of her Harriet Wilde wedding shoes and the spring skies.
The cut of the dresses was beautiful; they were very "Bridgerton," with an A-line cut, floaty cap sleeves and matching capes. Harriet wanted her bridesmaids to be comfortable on their day, she knew there was a high chance it could be cold, so the design of their dresses reflected this in a period way.
All Saints, Burythorpe Church Wedding
The little church on the hill in Burythorpe is where they chose to become Mr and Mrs Hughs, if you live in the area, I’m sure you’ll have noticed it perched perfectly on the hilltop near Burythopre, it’s quite magical.
All Saints, Burythorpe Church was built in 1858 on the site of the previous church on an old Roman site. The church is just outside the village on a hilltop with commanding views all around including the Yorkshire Wolds.
As Harriet and Alasdair exchanged vows, the winds picked up, had it not been a beautiful sunny day outside it could have been quite eery…You should have heard to wind! I honestly don’t think I can describe the sound it was making as it whistled around the rooftops and bell tower.
It sounded like the roof might have been about to lift, it’s little things like this though, that give people something to chat about and share later in the day or the future.
The image below is an effect I like to do in camera, whilst my phone's off during the service, I hold it at the bottom of my lens to reflect the window. I love the effect it gives and the stained glass windows are so beautiful, it makes a feature of them. I tend to do this in churches with stained glass windows behind the couple.
We had planned to do the "formal’ish photos" outside of the church; however, after a quick discussion, we decided to bypass this idea and head back to the more sheltered ground of Burythopre House where everyone could enjoy and drink with their nibbles first.
As a photographer, you have to be good at making snap decisions like this; having everyone wind-swept at this stage in the day didn't seem like a good plan of action.
Back at Burythopre House for the Wedding Celebrations
As the drinks and canapés flowed, I snapped away to gather the candid images that I so love to put together to show off the atmosphere and then I enjoyed relaxed photos in the gardens with the guests. Following the guest photos, I gathered Alasdair and Harriet for some portraits, before the delicious three-course meal that had been selected by the newlyweds themselves.
Everyone enjoyed their meals in the lounge area for a change, usually, I find everyone in the panelled room or a marque setting at Burythorpe House for the meal, they chose the lounge area because there wasn't enough of them to warrant a marquee, but there were still a few too many for the usual area.
I had vegan tagine and couscous, which was spot on!
After some funny but heartfelt speeches and the meal, we headed on down to the new function room, where the Dark Horse Ceilidh Band was setting up for the dancing to take place. Johnathon, Victoria, Maggie and Ray did such a great job of getting everyone up and involved, they’re a Yorkshire-based band who are clearly passionate about what they do, how Maggie does the calling and helping everyone dance I have no idea, she’s brilliant!
I mean I can’t tell my left from my right.
No wonder everyone was ready for cheese and cake at half-time, they never stopped. I forgot to mention the fact Harriet made her own wedding cake and all the cupcakes for the day, the cupcakes were delicious by the way!
Take a look here to see just how incredible the day was.
Golden hour photos on your wedding day
I was really excited when Alasdair and Harriet agreed to go for Golden Hour photos. We had to plan carefully and go straight after their desserts, so we wouldn’t miss it. Unfortunately, we weren’t lucky enough to get pink fluffy clouds, but we did head back up to the church for the blue hour: this is when the sun has already set and the skies are that intense blue!
We had a full moon and I had two incredible people that were happy for me to play with my flashes.
I tried first with a backlight here.
Then with flashing them on the front here, it was tricky to get my light stands to balance as I was downhill from the bride and groom, but I like the effect and the way the light highlights Harriet’s dress' movement. I'm always experimenting and love doing it, sometimes it doesn't work, but when it does, I can look at using simple set-ups like this, more often.
The wind had died down at this point so it didn’t cause any complications like it did during the portraits earlier in the day. It kept wiping up Harriet’s veil unexpectedly and at one point it blew Emily’s (Harriet’s sister) cape over her face as she was watching her arrive at church.
Memorable Wedding Moments at Burythorpe House
There was an inside family joke about ‘Chickies” I think it had to do with Harriet’s love of them when she was younger, she’d wanted to put them in her bouquet with it being Easter and her mum, Ann had said, “Absolutely not!” Haha, so Harriet, her Dad and her sister had hidden them around the hotel for Ann to come across.
It entertained the three of them.
I love little quirks like this that are so personal to families, they bring so much fun and laughter to an event.
Words from a North Yorkshire Wedding Photographer
As a North Yorkshire Wedding Photographer, I always love revisiting Burythorpe House, Alison and her team are so friendly and they always look after me as a photographer making sure I get food and water. It’s always lovely to see the grounds at different times of year, I find it so inspiring to go back and challenge myself to get photos in different parts of them.
Thank you to Alasdair and Harriet for allowing me to capture your wedding and choosing me to be your wedding photographer.
When you got in touch you said how much you liked my candid style and the way I capture the essence and atmosphere of a wedding. I hope feel I've done your wedding justice. You liked how every wedding was different.
The village church and Burythorpe House provided the perfect spring backdrop for this all highlighted perfectly with the dancing daffodils.
As I expected Harriet and Alasdair’s traditional Burythorpe Wedding was a delight to capture, the love between them both is so clear and the stories their families shared about the two of you together really made me feel welcome. It was amazing to be part of freezing that for you.
Are you planning a wedding yourself?
Would you like fun, charismatic photos that show your true selves and the atmosphere of your day, yet you hate the idea of being in front of the camera?
I get that, that was me on my wedding day!
That’s why I work as I do. To find out more about me and also how I photograph weddings, click the links provided. I also offer relaxed family photos, horsey photo shoots and photography for local businesses and entrepreneurs too so why not take a look?
Be sure to sign up for my email list so you can be the first to hear about offers and promotions I’m running.
Amazing Yorkshire Wedding suppliers, chosen by Harriet and Alasdair.
Flowers - Helen, Rosebud Flowers
Makeup - Aimee Long Hair & Makeup
Dress - wed2b
Horseshoe Decoration - Polished Shoes
Venue - Burythorpe House Hotel
Suits - Slaters
Bride shoes - Harriet Wilde
Bridal nails & beauty prep - Katie Dearnley, KCD Beatuy, Kcd_beauty
Wedding rings - Bradleys of York
Stationary - Vistaprint & DIY
Favours - DIY
Bridesmaid Dresses - G Hughs & Son
Organist - Phillip Sangwine Music (Phillip [organ] & Renate [singing a solo] Sangwine, Philip teaches Harriet the piano).
Band - Dark Horse Ceilidh
Cheese-cake - Courtyard Dairy
Cake - DIY