Duncombe Park Wedding Photography
Sometimes a wedding comes along, and it’s like the stars have aligned
duncombe park wedding photography
Duncombe Park Wedding Photography
A tearful morning, an inspirational reception to the party of a lifetime. The stars aligned for this love story.
Alex and Tom met in a club on a big night out in Leeds- the classiest and best of ways to meet ‘the one’! The love these two have for each other is inspirational, and what an incredible setting to celebrate their marriage.
Duncombe Park, in Helmsley, North Yorkshire, is an unforgettable venue. This was my first time shooting there, and I already cannot wait to return. The grandeur and grounds are stunning, the architecture and history is incredible and it couldn’t have been the more perfect venue for Alex & Tom.
Before we all headed to Duncombe Park, I joined the girls over at the Faversham in Helmsley whilst my second shooter Lily caught up with the boys over at the Black Swan for morning preparations. Two most excellent Helmsley wedding venues themselves!
Dogs at Duncombe Park!
Alex & Tom’s Alaskan malamute Babel joined the party at Duncombe Park. It was great to work with Bow Wow Vow, who come and look after your pooch whilst the wedding goes on so you can enjoy the day! Super useful for portraits, and so helpful having a non wedding guest take your dog to the kennels after the big day.
Alex wore the most beautiful dress I’ve seen this year. A Julie Vino wedding dress, that couldn’t have been more perfect for Alex. The bridesmaids alongside in Adriana Pappell, looked beautiful. The tears were streaming when Alex stepped into the piece, what a team!
The long ceremony room is epic, and is a long walk for a nervous bride down the aisle. This turns into the breakfast room later, that again transforms into such a stunning atmosphere to have the speeches and meal. Despite the rain, we managed to do a few group shots outside and some fun ones inside the main hall where the drinks reception is held- yet another extravagant spot to sip a champagne underneath one incredible ceiling.
Is there enough to feed the first team?
F4D catering put on a heroic meal of all their colourful creations, and just enough of it to feed the squad of pro rugby union players alongside Tom and his teammates. After the speeches and scran, we wedding went for a walk across to the gardens part of Duncombe Park where a marquee full of cocktails, desserts, face painting awaited.
I stayed till midnight at this wedding. I’ve never seen and been more involved in the party. Light it Up music, put on one hell of a party. We had a dance off (which I even judged a round), huge confetti canons going off every 10 minutes or so, mega creative face painting, and one seriously talented DJ who can really drive a party alongside sax and drums. I really cannot recommend Light it Up enough!
I shouldn’t write much more, so if you’ve made it this far, well done and thank you! So what a wedding ey??!?
A Personal Note, from me.
I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous to shoot a wedding before. Utterly loved up couple, in the most beautiful setting, working alongside the highest standard of suppliers. Electricity surges through you as the alarm goes off in the morning. I left my flat thinking through the unknown immediate future.
You know so many massive events will happen in this next 14 odd hours. Will you successfully react in time? Will something get in your way? Will you walk back through this same door tomorrow at 1am thinking success or failure?
To be honest, these thoughts are whizzing round my head constantly at a wedding, but as the day unfolds, you react, get inspired, and break from the anxieties and embrace the energy that surges through you as the images you take inspire you to capture more.
For me, it’s like how when one improvises playing sax, your fingers connect with your brain. The more practiced you are at playing, the stronger this connection is, and the melodies you imagine in your head, some to life through your instrument.
Like with my sax, I’m connecting my camera to the images I’m thinking of in my mind as closely as I can. And that’s how photography, and any creative outlet works I guess. But Alex & Tom’s wedding made me work and think harder than I have before, and the images for me, show that.
Looking back through the 9000 images we captured on their day for the first time, I was screaming at the screen like it was the final of a football tournament. The torturous reaction to missing the shot, switching to the immense ecstasy of sealing a moment in time, that will mean so so much to the couple, and their family for years.
This wedding day is full of these inspiring moments, that I feel so, so privileged to have been chosen to capture. Alex & Tom, I can’t thank you enough for trusting me to photograph your day. I hope you treasure the photographs forever.
A huge thanks to all of the other amazing suppliers on Alex and Tom’s Duncombe Park Wedding.
Venue – Duncombe Park
Flowers – Leafy Couture
Hair & Makeup – Your Bridal Team
Dress & Bridesmaids Dresses- Julie Vino & Adrianna Papell
Caterers – F4D Catering
Second Photographer – Lily North
Video – Rabbit Films
DJ & Sax & Drums – Light it Up
Ceremony Music – High Row Music
Marquee bespoke cocktails & bar – Mix & Twist
Wedding Dogsitter – Bow Wow Vow
Face Paint –
Duncombe Park Wedding Photography – Need a Photographer?
If you’ve read my mammoth essay above, they I hope you can tell I really want to return to photograph at Duncombe Park. So if you’re interested in booking me as your Duncombe Park Wedding Photographer, get in touch. Hamish Irvine is a documentary, fun and relaxed wedding photographer available for weddings in Leeds, across the UK and for weddings worldwide. Documentary wedding photography story telling packed with energy, colour and life. See more on the blog!
