Yorkshire Wedding – Devonshire Arms, Bolton Abbey – Clare and Neil

Wow. What can I say. Clare and Neil got married on Bonfire Night last year and it was beautiful and emotional and fun and just a pleasure to be part of. The venue for all this gloriousness was The Devonshire Arms next door to Bolton Abbey, near Skipton in the Yorkshire Dales. Great venue and it’s about 5 mins from where I proposed to Anna and where we just spent our 3rd wedding anniversary, so it’s special to me too!

First off I met Clare in the bustling metropolis that is Skipton for a little hair salon action…

Back at the Devonshire, and time to shoot the shoes.

Love moments like this. This is Clare’s dad. Can’t tell you exactly what they were talking about, but it made me smile too.

Too early for champers? Never!

This is Chester Clare and Neil’s faithful companion, we’re going to see more of him later…

This is Neil, the epitome of a calm, relaxed, unstressed groom. The camera does lie, don’t believe a word of it.

Neil tells me that the Autumnal, pumpkin based floral arrangements were all his idea. Not sure I believe him but they looked great.

Back to the girls

and the dress, oooo frilly.

The Devonshire has a bit of a higgledy piggledy layout, this is Clare with the registrars, shot through a mirror in the corridor.

All the bridal party are now really nervous and stressed. Not.

Unlike some people we could mention. Bless Neil, he’d already been in tears earlier in the morning and as I watched him waiting for Clare, it reminded me of how I’d felt in that same situation. Brilliant, don’t give me any of that macho nonsense, Neil was emotional, he was about to marry the woman of his dreams and he wasn’t afraid to show it. Hats off to him.

It was a very emotional ceremony all together, and I don’t mind admitting I may have had something in my eye more than once.

A quick moment to reflect before the guests descend.

I’m not going to comment on the artistic merits of dog flock wallpaper, I just thought this painting looked a lot like Chester so deserved an image.

Gotta love orange as an autumn wedding colour.

After some mingling a glass or two I took Clare and Neil out for a few bride and groom portraits, they did brilliantly, these have to be some of my favourites of the whole year. They were so open and willing to share their love in front of an idiot with a camera and I think it shines out through the images. There were so many images that I loved I could’ve made a separate blog of just this part of the wedding to be honest.

As they were enjoying themselves so much, I even tried a few shots with some smoke. Gotta love a cheeky bum grab too  As the sun went down, we went for something a little more dramatic!

Time for speeches and they still couldn’t keep their hand off each other. Which is just how it’s supposed to be.

Neil gave his all in the speeches, although bestman was left unimpressed.

Here’s Chester again in his best bib and tucker, time for some pics with him too then.

It wouldn’t be bonfire night without fireworks, and it was a great display.

Really great to go back through these photographs again, I think we’ll end with a few of the first dance.

Clare and Neil (and Chester), you were amazing. Thank you so much for having me as part of your big day, for sharing yourselves so completely, for making me so welcome and putting up with my craziness, you made me feel very lucky to be there.

Tagged as: Autumn, Bolton Abbey, Devonshire Arms Hotel, dog, North Yorkshire, Orange, Photography, Pumpkins, Skipton, UK, wedding, yorkshire