The Hawkhills Wedding Photographer

Stunning Yorkshire Wedding Venue

The Hawkhills is such an incredible wedding venue set within 240 acres of beautiful, North Yorkshire countryside. The country house itself is stunning with a mix of Victorian and Georgian architecture blended with a modern style. It was originally the home of the Love family, a very apt name for a wedding venue. I feel so lucky that Amanda and Duncan asked me to be their photographer for their wedding at The Hawkhills and so happy that the venue itself now recommend me as one of their preferred suppliers. It was great to work with some amazing wedding suppliers on the day including Barney Shortman who filmed Amanda and Duncan’s big day.

The weather on Amanda and Duncan’s wedding day could not have contrasted any more with their pre-wedding photo shoot. We had glorious sunshine all day as apposed to the bitter wind and snow on their engagement shoot.

Bridal Preparations

When I arrived at The Hawkhills, the preparations for Amanda and Duncan’s wedding were in full swing. First, I headed off to photograph Amanda and her bridesmaids who were getting ready in one of the amazing bedrooms. The light coming in through the windows was amazing. Then it was down to the Hawkhills bar to meet up with Duncan who was greeting the wedding guests as they arrived

The Wedding Ceremony

After Amanda’s dad arrived to collect her, she and her bridesmaids made their way down the amazing wooden staircase to the wedding ceremony room where Duncan was nervously waiting. After the emotional ceremony it was out into the glorious sunshine to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Hawkhills with a glass of champagne.

Drinks Reception

As Amanda and Duncan’s wedding guests chatted and sipped their wedding drinks during the drinks reception, they were kept entertained by of of their friends, also known as The Magic Marine who showed off his magic skills with magic tricks.

The Wedding Speeches

After the guests were seated inside The Hawkhills it was time for the speeches. Duncan gave his speech first and even got a tad emotional, as well as making Amanda and their Wedding Guests laugh. Next up were the Flower Girl’s who did an amazing job together. The Flower Girl’s were then made to wear noise cancelling headphones and occasionally had to cover their eyes when it was the 3 Best Men’s turn to make their speeches. Two of the best men served with Duncan in the Marines so you can probably imaging the stories!

Photographs at The Hawkhills

I like to photograph weddings in the most relaxed and natural way that I can. That includes any couple photographs that I take. At Amanda and Duncan’s wedding at The Hawkhills we were lucky enough to have some beautiful light falling through the trees so we nipped off two or three times throughout the day for around 5 minutes to get some really relaxed wedding portraits. Then it was back to the party.

Party Time

After Amanda and Duncan had their first dance, their Wedding Guests joined them of the dance floor to throw some shapes and dance the night away. What an amazing way to end an amazing wedding day. I had such an awesome time photographing at The Hawkhills.

Here are some of my favourite photographs from Amanda and Duncan’s Hawkhills wedding. Thank you so much for asking me to be your wedding photographer:

How did you both meet?
On the school run, Duncan was living in Somerset at the time before we met and I lived in the high peak. Duncan’s friend and business partner, Pete said he should come along at school pick up to collect his daughters as there were some ‘fit mums’ on the school run. That’s where we apparently first met… Duncan was sure we smiled at each other but I was pretty sure I’d never seen him before in my life 😂 this was what he told me once he’d got talking to a friend of mine about me.

What was the proposal like?
Originally it was meant to have been in New York but the ring didn’t turn up on time so Duncan not wanting to propose without a ring just didn’t propose until a couple months later on Xmas day at the top of Eccles pike- this was also where Kyle did our pre wedding photo shoot on one of the most bitterly cold snowy days!

How did you find wedding planning?
I found the wedding planning quite easy, the only stressful thing I found was the table plan for the sit down meal trying to please everyone and keep people that didn’t get on away from each other etc.

Why did you choose The Hawkhills as your wedding venue?
Although our venue was gorgeous and had lovely gardens to it ‘The Hawkhills’ we chose it as Duncan works through there and they did us a good deal!

What was your favourite part of your wedding day?
We both enjoyed the whole day I can’t really choose a favourite part. The weather was so amazing everyone was just so happy and relaxed.just seeing everything come together after so many months of planning was great.

What song did you have for your first dance and why did you choose it?
We had ‘Freedom’ by Nizlopi, Duncan chose all the music for our wedding but apparently this song is about when love is real it feels free, not a game etc, something alongs those lines anyway!

My favourite wedding suppliers were Shindig! Events, Cristel was
amazing with organising my flower wall, table decorations and seat sashes.
Suzanne (It’s All About The Cake) made my wedding cake and it was exactly how I imagined it to be.
Maria Modes in Macclesfield where I got my dress from, my Ian Stuart ‘Copacabana’ dress 😍