Yesterday I joined Emma & Rob to photograph their fun-filled wedding at their farm in Old Malton in North Yorkshire.
Their gorgeous farmhouse, garden & surrounding wheat field were where they hosted the majority of the day.
I joined Emma & her sis (& bridesmaid) for hair & makeup at Beth’s Unique Boutique in Swinton.
It was probably the most chilled out part of the day & I love how relaxed Emma looks in it.
Here’s Beth showing her hair magic to sister Kate
I really liked Emma’s vintagey hair piece…
…which beautifully complimented her beautiful lace & silk dress.
I liked how on the bottom of Emma’s bridal shoes she’d stuck on ‘I’ ‘Do’!
Clare tells me that in reaction, the boys apparently wrote ‘Help’ on the groom’s shoes!
The flora was just lovely! Â Soft, dainty & creative.
For the shutterbugs out there, I rarely shoot my 50 f1.2 at it’s f1.2 aperture (I find it sweetest & most reliable at f1.6). But occasionally, when I’m feeling saucy, I drop it down to f1.2 – like in the image above – and the buttery soft background you get is just magical!
Meanwhile, over at the guys, the chaps were dashing around…
…getting themselves & Rob (above) ready in time…
…for a pint at the pub!
The church was absolutely stunning; it was an old priory (which I recently learned is where nuns practice, while Monks worked Abbeys!)
Inside it looked absolutely splendid
And the pew-ends were decorated with wonderful wheatsheafes
Back at the girls, Emma donned the dress. Â I’m not sure which image I prefer out of the above…
…or this one with mum & dad. Â So I thought I’d post both!
A tender moment between Mark & Emma before heading for the church.
This one makes the church look massive eh?
We popped back in after the ceremony to get a staged shot of the bride & groom with the register.
We’ve carefully set up the way we shoot in a church to be as respectful as possible to the sanctity of the occasion. As there are two of us, dressed in black & shooting without flash, we can settle into position at the front and back and be almost entirely unobtrusive throughout the ceremony and get amazing images of the service.
However, Emma & Rob’s retired vicar, an old family friend, unfortunately had a point-blank no-photo’s policy. We’d heard he wasn’t keen on photographers, so asked him if we could take images from the back (which would have gone entirely un-noticed by the congregation, especially in such a vast church), but sadly he was having none of it and made us sit down throughout the entire service.  I fully respect the wishes of vicar, but it ends up being a shame when it was such a lovely ceremony in an absolutely stunning building.  It ends up leaving a sizable hole in the story of the day for our couple.
So if you’ve got a church wedding coming up, avoid potential disappointment by checking the feelings of your vicar beforehand.
However, one image we snuck in was of the newly weds happily walking down the aisle as man & wife!
I also rather like this dramatic image of them stepping out into the glorious sunshine.
The church looked quality outside as everyone milled around. Â It’s got a proper minster quality to it, hey?
As the Priory was so lovely, we decided to do the portrait shoot there. Â I like this one of Clare’s of Emma & Rob having a bit of a laugh together.
Round the back was a ruined old wall with a funky arch, so we brought a bit of passion to the scene!
That splendid archway on the front door seemed a crime not to use too!
Then they dived back in the vintage Bentley Rob’s dad had arranged for them, back to the farm. Â Â 
I rode in it with Emma & her father on the way to the church and it’s a fantastic machine.
Back at the farm they had bunting!
I love bunting.
Their garden at Windmill farm was the perfect location for a champagne reception.
This chap certainly thought so!
They’re arranged a wicked barbershop/jazz trio to play the afternoon away!
While guests enjoyed the beautiful canapes & delights of York-based Fryton Catering Co.
I love it when couples host their receptions in marquees on their own land, as they end up becoming so much more flexible and relaxed events. 
They’ve got a fantastic bunch of pals.
In fact, I’ve got family connections to Emma’s folks.
My mum, Jane Ingle, grew up with many of the Hepworths as a child (on Emma’s step-dads side) and this sweet couple Margaret & George, knew mum well!
These guys looked like they were having fun too.
I like this one of the wedding party having a bit of fun together.
They’d actually put their stunningly furnished marquee in their wheat field!
It was ace to see a sea of wheat out the windows!
During Rob’s speech he said how he’d had sleepless nights calculating the overall loss of income!
All around the marquee were some great embarrassing images of our couple’s childhood!
I like this one of them arriving into the room to the applause of their friends and family.
Speeches genuinely were fantastic; all delivered beautifully, with tenderness and humour, but most importantly, from the heart.
Then as the party started, we took it as our cue to leave them to enjoy the band!
We had such a fun day, filled with great moments & lovely details. Â Emma & Rob make such a great couple and I hope they have a fab honeymoon in Greece!
B