Yesterday I joined the very lovely Aneliese & Paul for their wedding photography at the Crab and Lobster and Crab Manor near Thirsk in North Yorkshire!
Now I’ve been to a lot of fun wedding venues and these days, the word ’boutique’ gets tagged onto any hotel/restaurant with fancy wallpaper, but The Crab & Lobster is one of my favourite truly boutique spots in Yorkshire!
My wingman Cris Matthews & I joined the gang in the morning for their preps around crab manor…
From the nautically themed restaurant, you head through the lush grounds up to Crab Manor, where the ceremony happens and the gang were getting ready
I approve of anywhere with canine sentinels!
Crab Manor is packed with amazing irreverent details, and I love how every surface has something random on it!
There’s even a little golf course, on which I found Aneliese’s dad & bro playing a round!
It seemed rude not to kick off proceedings by photographing the amazing dress hanging in the doorway
Then in I went to find team bride, which was just up the stairs and left at the yeti
He wears different clothes every time I visit, and it looks like he’s been skiing since I passed last…
I love how all the rooms at Crab Manor are wildly different – one in the style of a lapland ski lodge, a bora bora room, and Raffles & Taj Mahal themed rooms!
The girls chose to get ready in the Arabian-themed Burj Al Arab suite…
One of the gifts given by Aneliese to a bridesmaid was a hipflask you wear on a garter!
Ninja!
Check out the awesome lacy wedding boots and funky details!
Aneliese was always gonna look stunning!
Meanwhile, Paul & the dudes got ready in the Belagio room…
And spent a great deal of the morning in the hot tub!
Loving the details on Paul’s cuffs, tying together Aneliese’s hometown of Durban in South Africa with Paul’s Oldham roots.
Suddenly it was time to don those awesome boots and gown up!
Love this fatherly reaction to seeing his daughter all dressed up on her wedding day!
Another tender fatherly moment
Here comes the bride
This shot taken by Cris from the back of this fleeting moment between dads may be my favourite of the day.
Aneliese’s dad isn’t well and an image like this speaks volumes.
After a quick teamshot of everyone in front of the manor…
… it was time for a confetti bomb!
How cool is this guy!?
A quick blitz through the formal lineups…
And a few casual shots of the wedding party
And then Cris & I took the happy couple into the grounds for a few portaits
Love this little leafy spot!
I don’t often do images like this, but Cris (AKA: ‘Flash’ Matthews) is a master at them, so we had a bit of fun with the flashgun!
This is much more my style!
This is a tradition at all of Paul’s pals’ weddings apparently!
After mingles, fizz and canapés we headed down the path to the nautical wonderland that is Crab & Lobster restaurant…
Appropriately set to full steam ahead!
Speeches were great fun
It’s a top spot to mingle, out back t’Crab
The official cutting of the cake kicked off the evening!
And a little first dance boogie to ‘Today’ by the Smashing Pumpkins (a tune I LOVED when I was a grungy teenager!)
Instead of using the velvet curtain we usually do, we decided to do the photobooth against the random clutter of the restaurant
Then we bid out farewells and left the gang to the dancing and partying!
Amazing wedding eh?! I love shooting at this venue, and it was great to see the extra details added in by these guys and to join them for such a relaxed  day of fun!
Here’s wishing Aneliese and Paul a magical honeymoon in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands and a wonderful life together!
Barns & Cris
😉