It was an absolute pleasure to photograph Martha and James’ day at the stunning Bolton Castle set in the rolling hills of Wensleydale. As a recommended Bolton Castle wedding photographer, I always love coming back to this fabulous, unique venue. I arrived to see the castle in all its medieval glory from the road. The weather wasn’t fabulous but it wasn’t too bad either so I had hopes for a lovely day. Bolton Castle is one of the country’s best preserved medieval castles and a Grade I listed building. It is a fabulous romantic venue for weddings! I loved the fact that many of the guests were setting up tents in the field next to the castle. They would be waking up to an amazing view!
If you are planning a wedding at Bolton Castle check out some of my favourite images from Martha & James’ day below. For more information about my photography style please see the Approach page and the Portfolios page or feel free to get in touch below. I’d love to talk to you about your plans for your upcoming wedding day and see if I could be the photographer for you.
I was so pleased that this wedding was recently published in Yorkshire Living magazine!
Martha is a Journalist from London and James a chartered surveyor from Ilkley. They met at a party in London where they were introduced by their friends, who they now give full credit for them getting them together. Martha took and instant liking to James and made a beeline for him, they chatted all night and the rest, as they say, is history!
I met up with Martha and her bridesmaids and family at a lovely cute cottage in the village of Castle Bolton and my second shooter went off to see the groom and his groomsmen. The girls were in amazing spirits and Martha welcomed the family and extra friends as they arrived.
James and his groomsmen were in excellent spirits putting on their button holes outside the castle gates, then welcoming all the guests through the Bolton Castle portcullis. They introduced everyone to the castle treasure hunt which they all thoroughly enjoyed and then had time to explore the castle maze for some photography.
Wedding Ceremony at Bolton Castle
Soon Martha was ready and leaving the cottage with her bridesmaids to the ceremony marquee in a field next to Bolton Castle. I absolutely loved her beautiful and very unique dress. She looked like a bride out of A Midsummer Night’s Dream! This was a couture dress by the Hungarian designer Marta Makany who is based in Budapest. Martha said that she fell in love with her romantic colourful style.
Martha looked stunning as she walked down the aisle with her parents and the ceremony went without a hitch. Both Martha and James walked out too much applause.
Confetti at the Castle
After the ceremony friends and family made a very long tunnel in which to shower Martha and James with Confetti. They enjoyed it so much they did the run several times! Afterwards, everyone made their way back down from the marquee to the castle for some socialising, champagne and canapés. This involved battling some pretty strong winds at this point which made for quite a few amusing photos and shrieks from the guests as they tried to keep hold of their belongings and control their hair! Everyone had a blast!
Bolton Castle is such a great location for wedding portraits.
We now had time for a few portraits around the castle. I absolutely love this venue so much for wedding photography, it allows for so much creativity. We were able to explore the surroundings with the maze and the incredible views of Wensleydale. We also had time for some great shots inside Bolton Castle using the dramatic medieval archways and tunnels.
A wedding breakfast at Bolton Castle
The couple soon headed back to the marquee for their wedding breakfast. The room was beautifully decorated with candles, lavender and foliage. I could immediately tell the speeches were going to be great as the best man stepped up to much applause. They had many more speakers including groomsmen, bridesmaids, parents and Martha and James’s themselves which made for a good amount of time to capture some great reactions. Martha had everyone in stitches !
A view over Wensleydale
After dinner we were told by the staff we could pop up onto the roof of the castle for the view, much to Martha and James’ delight. This was a special privilege open to just the wedding couple on the day. They loved it!
Evening celebrations
For the latter part of the day Martha and James and the guests headed back into the castle for the cake cutting and bouquet throw. There was a definite scramble for that bouquet! and the lady who managed to grab it was thrilled! The couple and guests then moved into the solar room for the evening festivities. This started with a fabulous first dance to an electro swing band called The After Hours. They then had an incredible immersive liquid light show designed by artist Sophie, one of Martha’s bridesmaids. It was certainly something I have never seen before and brilliant to photograph. The company is called Astral Projections.
The evening came to a close with a sparkler tunnel in one of the top open air rooms of the castle. It was very special to photograph the guests waving their sparklers against the dramatic backdrop of the castle and the night sky!
Before leaving the couple to dance away the night I took the opportunity to take one last shot of Martha and James in front of the castle by moonlight ( see above). Thanks Martha and James for being such great sports and being up for lots of cool and creative photography, I loved it!
A huge congratulations again to Martha and James, thank you for being so lovely to work with and it was a pleasure to photograph your amazing wedding!
Other Wedding Suppliers Involved in this Wedding:
- Marquee: Mike at Wharfe Marquee Hire
- Flowers: Amy Fairburn at Rosemary and Twine
- Catering: Clare at CCS Catering (Barnard Castle)
- Band: The After Hours
- Dress: Marta Makany (designer based in Budapest)
- Cake: Jane Verfuerth and Cassandra Weston
- Light Show: Sophie at Astra Projections.
Bolton Castle Wedding Photography
Do you need a Bolton Castle wedding photographer or a photographer for any other wedding venue in the Yorkshire Dales. I’d love to hear more about your day. I photograph all sorts of weddings from the most lavish events to intimate home weddings and would be very happy to offer you a no-obligation chat by phone or Zoom to talk about your requirements. I also arrange appointments to meet in person at my studio in Pudsey if you would like to look at sample albums. Please get in touch below if you’d like to be sent further information or arrange a no obligation chat about your day.
You can also email kirstyds@gmail.com or call 07564 953262.