Welcome to my best wedding photos of 2024!
It’s hard to believe I’ve been a wedding photographer in Yorkshire and around the UK for 18 years now!
2024 has been another wonderful year, discovering yet more new venues for the first time; finally including The Normans near York, Fernhill Castle near Skipton and a couple of stunning Wills Marquees in glorious Yorkshire Gardens!
The best of the rest were at old favourites, including: The Pheasant Hotel in Harome, Rudding Park Hotel near Harrogate, Priory Cottages near Wetherby, Goldsborough Hall near Harrogate, The Hospitium in York, Middleton Lodge Walled Gardens near Richmond, Bowcliffe Hall near Leeds, Lineham Farm near Leeds, Waterton Park Hotel near Wakefield, The Chilli Barn in Otley and Hornington Manor near York.
As always, I’d like to give a huge shoutout to all my fabulous couples for letting me into their lives on these special days! It’s been a pleasure capturing the vibe of each with my signature blend of laid-back portraits, stunning details and timeless moments.
Like all my past Annual highlights posts, I’ve structured this like the blog posts I make for all my couples, in the order that the day unfolds. I love making these round-ups as they serve as an insight into my photographic approach and what I strive to capture at weddings. So, if you like what you see here and are looking for a photographer for your own wedding, don’t hesitate to get in touch here to discuss your big day!
I’m so glad you’re here, reading this, so without further ado – I give you my faves of 2024 – as a video slideshow and scroll of images…
ENJOY!
And here are the images with some behind the scenes chat…
Just like an episode of Downton Abbey, I like to start my wedding posts with wide angle ‘establishing shots’ before drawing in on the story characters, keeping an eye out for cheeky details, like this sign that made me smile:
“Vicky’s Wedding (featuring Andrew)” 😀
These pics are from new venues I’ve enjoyed; The Normans (above left) – which has somehow alluded me until I was asked by a buddy to second shoot there for him – and the recently renovated Russet Ceremony Barn at Hornington Manor at Hope and Jacobs NYE wedding there.
Fernhill Castle on AirBnB was a funky one, as the couple booked it for a week and had a fab week there and an intimate DIY wedding with their near and dear for a fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding venue!
Often I join the bridal party, while my second shooter heads to the chaps. Alongside moments of the ladies being beautified, I’m always on the prowl for natural, candid fun moments that tell their story!
It seems my second shooters are getting younger and younger! 😉
I loved how the page boy chose to wear socks on his hands to protect his camera! He must’ve seen the ladies moving the dress around in white gloves!
There’s always time to find a moment for a swanky shoe shot!
Loving the Unicorn Hen!
A lot of the weddings this year I shot the grooms side of the story too, plus a few second shooting gigs where I was with the chaps all morning.
This was actually a pic from a second shooter of mine Natasha Cadman, that typifies the now named tradition called ‘The Flat-Lay’, where the guys or girls elements are laid out on a surface in a tidy layout.
I’ve always done something similar myself, like this one of a page boys rig, but it’s funny to me that it’s now got a name!
My favourite moments are where you catch fun little candid moments as they happen, like the groom having his nose hair tidied up by his a groomsman!
If everything is taking place in one venue and I’m shooting both sides of the story – like at Laura + Alex’s wedding at Rudding Park (above left) – I like schedule a 30minute window to get all the guys in one place in ‘shirts and troos’ and smash through their gifts/suiting up…
(followed by a quick ‘sharpener’, if the option’s there)
Then head outside for a casual stroll to where I pin pointed the buttonholes…
Then get them on before heading back to the girls…
Sometimes though, the chaps arrive in style, fully dressed in a helicopter, like at Rachael & Josh’s wedding at Rudding Park! It felt like something from Mission Impossible!
Their Rudding Park wedding was particularly lovely too, as in all the times I’ve shot there, it was the first one I’ve shot outside! And it was a perfect day for it too!
Back with the girls, it’s always a privilege to be in the room at this magical moment
At Sam and Jodie’s wedding at the Pheasant I knew they were jewellers by trade, so made a special effort to capture pics of the amazing rocks and bling on display!
Green shoes and pockets! My kind of fun brides!
It’s traditional to get the reactions of the dads first look, but I love to capture the lovely mums (like this one from Becky & Matt’s Wedding Photos at Waterton Park), who, more often than not, have helped them into the dress and been at coal face of the entire wedding planning process!
Same goes for Team Bride! And it’s great to make a moment out of the dress reveal, like at Lizzie & Robbies fab garden marquee wedding!
Cheers to team bride!
And then there’s the Dads…
Love this one from Laura & Alex’s wedding, as Laura gowned up behind sliding doors, then we opened them to show dad and the remaining girls, in a gameshow style reveal!
Before heading to the ceremony, there’s usually a moment to do a quick shot of the girls all looking perfect before I dash to the wedding
I like to arrive at the ceremony with plenty of breathing room as I’m always on the lookout for natural moments – like this one of the groom entertaining his daughter in Leeds Civic Hall while he waited for the registrars.
Or this little moment of a mum quietly recalling her wedding to her son, before he did the same.
Then it’s GO TIME! Love this little moment of Laura hearting her team before walking down the aisle! ❤️
Here comes the bride!
The advantage of a second shooter is being able to capture the less traditional angle of the grooms reaction to the bride’s entrance.
It’s always just as lovely to witness!
Weirdly, this might be one of my fave shots of the year!
I love that their son has decided he wants to lie down in the middle of the aisle. I love the parents intertwined hands and the sister’s pointed finger and expression.
It’s a lot of fun and for me highlights the true nature of a wedding, that you can’t plan everything and family is life!
You couldn’t ask for a better Yorkshire Dales backdrop than a ceremony on the back lawn of Fernhill Castle near Skipton! Wow.
Sealed with a kiss!
Mazel tov!
Time to celebrate!
These moments after a ceremony are also one of my favourite moments at a wedding. Genuine, un-guarded moments filled with love and feeling!
Then it’s time to have a bit of fun with confetti!
Sometimes it’s thrown walking down the aisle, like at Rachael & Josh’s Rudding Park wedding…
Sometimes I arrange what I call my ‘confetti bomb’, where I gather the entire wedding around the couple and all throw at once! Like this one at Becky & Matt’s wedding photos at Waterton Park, it can look great!
Other times, I suggest a ‘runway style’ confetti walk that can also look pretty amazing!
Jodie and Sam had a white Jeep they wanted to ride away from the wedding on with their boy!
(It’s rare you see cans tied to the back of cars these days!)
Love it!
I love a bit of mingle time at a wedding, trying to capture the story and vibe.
I loved these kids getting stuck in on the white bouncy castle!
For me, every moment is a confetti moment!
Gotta love the reactions to a magician too!
Since becoming a dad to two kids, Lenny & Jasmine, I’ve found I’m drawn all the more to the kids and familial connections at weddings.
This little lad, at Ruth & Paul’s wedding at the Pheasant in Harome, was overflowing with personality!
This is another of my annual faves, as it was hilarious hearing grandad poking fun at the page boy on his walkie talkie!
There are usually fun guest moments aplenty too. As I was floating round the guests at Vicky & Ed’s wedding at The Hospitium in York, I heard some guests daring each other to lay in the ancient stone graves…
So I dared them and the rest is ancient history!
Helen & Dan’s wedding at Bowcliffe Hall was the first badminton match I’ve seen a bride and groom play!
Helen plays for county and loads of their mates were ‘bad mad’! (which is a saying no-one says, ever!)
This is my kind of wedding couple portrait, complete with cocktails and ice cream, from Kate & Tom’s wedding photos at Lineham Farm near Leeds
Come portrait time, I try to keep things chill and fun…
I’ve always done a pre-wedding practice squirm – I mean shoot 😉 – with all my couples before the big day!
It serves so many useful purposes; to get to know the couple better and get on the same page about the big day logistics/group shots and to get the couple used to being papped. But not only do they go into the wedding day having seen their pics but it makes the wedding portraits quicker so they’re quickly back at the party with their guests!
Plus, it means I know what makes my lovely couples tick and we all have a laugh!
I try and pick my time to do these, as the light can be just right after the meal, like at Becky & Matt’s wedding on the lake at Waterton Park
The golden hour at Kate & Tom’s wedding at Lineham farm (above right) was to die for!
I pride myself in my group shots being full of life and not too cringy!
I don’t want the subjects to feel like they make them want to die inside, so it’s always fun seeing what we can get!
Even making the most of a huge everyone pic, at Vicky & Andrew’s lovely wedding at Priory Cottages!
Jodie wanted to do a bouquet toss before going in for the meal!
And it was hilarious what happened after a bridesmaid caught it and demanded her fella went down on one knee!
All of a sudden, it’s time for the meal! And some of the places I see are quite breathtaking.
As are the cakes! This hand painted one below blew my tiny mind!
Nothing like the moment when the bride and groom walk in like rockstars!
Laura & Alex’s entrance with branded sunnies and through a canon of confetti was certainly a highlight!
Speeches are also an electric moment for reactions, such as this moment where Vicky’s brother spoke in place of her dad, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry!
This groom’s speech notes made me smile! 😀
1. Thank People. 2. Heartfelt story about wife. 3. Avoid family sense of humour where possible
🙂
A little moment stolen mid speech…
They do say a story is best told with hands!
Bless a good dedication to a new wife!
Knowing a couple and their story is so important to me.
Lizzie & Robbie told me how her dad had tragically died mountaineering in the year before their wedding and although celebration was the order of the day – as it sounds like her dad would have wanted – when Lizzie gave a speech to him and the entire wedding drank a toast to him with Writers Tears, his favourite Irish whisky, it’s all the more poignant.
And moments later, secret singing waiters (who only the bride and I knew about) sent the guests bananas, swinging napkins and heading out on a conga line!
It’s not at every wedding you find out the bride plays steel drums too!
Jewish weddings are such fun when they break out the traditional dancing and lethal chair party!
Come evening time, as food settles and the party starts to intensify, I love to try and grab a few awesome pics before guests are rallied for first dance.
I’m sometimes party to even more secret info! Like the fact that unbeknown to EVERYONE at the wedding, Kate got up on stage and sang a song dedicated to their shared love of Taskmaster – which made Tom’s eyes leak!
Then it’s first dance time to officially kick off the evening shindig…
And Lizzie and Robbie blew the roof off the place!
Love the lens flare in this tight shot of the newlyweds having happily got through the first dance and finally being safe in a sea of partying pals!
I do love this part of the night, getting stuck into the dancefloor in search of shenanigans!
There’s something I love about this crazy shot! I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s a lot of fun!
Go on lad!
There’s nothing like a photo that that shows a couple getting stuck into the dance floor with their near and dear going nuts around them, like this one of Helen & Dan!
It sums up a wedding for me.
Sometimes, like at Hope & Jacob’s New Years Wedding, there’s a chance to get out and enjoy some sparklers to wrap up the celebrations…
And it’s light till late in midsummer, I like to dive out for a final ‘wow’ portrait before bidding the happy couple farewell – as I did with these guys at the stunning Fernhill Castle!
Well done making it all the way to the end! I award you ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY BARNABY POINTS!
Fistbumps to all my lovely couples for being legends, and for all their kind words and gifts this year! It’s been another cracker and you guys rule!
It’s now time to hibernate with my long suffering wife Lynsey Anna, lighting bolt of a son Lenny Indiana, darling baby daughter Jasmine Joy and mental Border Terriorist Puppy Connie (AKA the Conado).
If you’re getting married and like what you see, drop me a line to check my availability using my contact form here. There’s also no better marketing than word of mouth, so do pass my details (or the link to this post) onto engaged couples!
And if you’re booked in for 2025 or beyond, BRING IT ON!
Barnaby ♥️