Summer wedding Photography at Denton Hall

Summer wedding Photography at Denton Hall Katie & James held their wedding day at the beautiful Denton Hall, Ilkley

It was a hazy summers day and the colours looking over Ilkley were stunning. The wedding ceremony took place in St Helens Church, Denton just a few moments walk from Denton Hall. The rest of the wedding day was at Denton Hall.

Denton Hall Wedding PhotographerDenton Hall Wedding Photographer

Katie says:

The Engagement

As Christmas is my most favourite time of the year, James set about to make that Christmas the most special of all. On Christmas Eve James cooked a fabulous meal. We resided to our living room, which James had filled with candles, and he proposed by the Christmas tree. He arranged for us to spend a night at the Savoy in London, and for us to choose an engagement ring together. It was magical.

The Wedding Date

The number 13 is lucky for us, so we set the date 13th June. We hoped for beautiful summer weather to enjoy the fabulous views from our venue. Our friends laugh as the weather forecast was driving rain until the morning of our wedding. We were so lucky to have the most beautiful hazy summer’s day.

The Wedding Venue

James found our wedding reception venue. He’s a keen cyclist and often cycled past Denton Hall and so he arranged for us to go to see it. We fell in love with it the moment we walked through the door! The grand hall is nestled within the beautiful Ilkley countryside with the most stunning views, which we made the most of during our drinks reception.

The Wedding Ceremony

We both wanted a small traditional church wedding and we were lucky enough to marry at the picture perfect St Helen’s church in Denton, Ilkley. Denton Hall is about 200 metres from the church, so after the ceremony we walked, with our guests, across to the hall.

We had a clear vision for the day. We had only our closest 50 friends and family to the ceremony and day celebrations, which allowed the wedding to remain very personal and intimate.

The Wedding Dress

I found a fabulous dress maker at Bridal Apparel in Leeds, to help make my dream gown. She helped me to work out which style of dress would be most suited to my figure and the result was just what I had hoped for. A relaxed fishtail design with sweetheart neckline, capped sleeves and a low back. My dress was the most beautiful lace with extensive beading, which I wore with a cathedral-length silk veil. I wore minimal jewellery – pearl drop earrings, a ‘something borrowed’ pearl bracelet which belong to my mum and a rose flower arrangement in my hair. I also had some beautiful Jimmy Choo shoes.

My two bridesmaids wore elegant floor-length champagne coloured dresses, teamed with a relaxed ‘up do’ hairstyle.

James wears a suit for work so he wanted to wear something a little different for our big day. He and his groomsmen wore three piece navy tails suits with champagne coloured pocket squares – they looked very dapper!

Wedding Photographer

Our photographer was Bethany Clarke. I had seen some of her beautiful editorial work and was so thrilled to find out the Beth also covers weddings. Her pictures are relaxed and informal and we hardly even knew she was there on the day. We are over the moon with the pictures!

Wedding Flowers

On the morning of the wedding I was most excited about our florist Sarah at Leafy Couture, dropping off the bridal party flowers. They were exquisite! My bridesmaids and I carried a handtied bouquet, featuring Sarah B Peonies, hot pink, pale pink and ivory David Austin roses, sweet peas, lilac, mint, and rosemary. The stems were bound with lace. I loved the bright pop of colour from the hot pink roses. James and the wedding party wore a beautiful avalanche rose with detailing from my bouquet.

For the venue we had some floral large arrangements and then on the tables used small mercury silver pots filled with avalanche roses – the smell was divine! We’d also printed out a mass of pictures of all our guests which we hung around the library in the venue. This gave a very personal feel to the room and provided much amusement.

As favours we gave our guests out Molton Brown moisturisers, which I love and they went down a treat.

The Wedding Cake

We used a family friend Zoe’s Fancy Cakes to make our wedding cake. We decided on a colourful pink macaroon tower (which complemented the bouquet) sat on a single tier of fruit cake. Zoe is so talented, everyone commented on how different the cake was. It was so good that neither James nor I were quick enough to have a piece!

Box Tree Events

James and I love good food and wine and were fortunate to have Michelin-Star Box Tree Events cater for our day. The food was faultless! As canapes our good friend Dan baked sundried tomato and chilli breadsticks, which we served alongside cones of popcorn and pretzel. This definitely helped to keep a relaxed feel to the day. For the evening food we had a hog roast and some of my closet friends baked, which meant we ended up with a bit of a wedding bake off! The cakes were a great!

Wedding Music

To provide some musical entertainment during our drinks reception we hired a brilliant solo artist to sing on the terrace, just outside the hall. In the evening we had Funkified – a Nottingham based nine-piece soul and funk band – to play. The dance floor was absolutely packed all night! Funkified really helped to make the evening memorable, with the sax player standing on the bar! I would recommend Funkified for any wedding as long as we can have an invite!

The Wedding Venue

We would not hesitate to recommend Denton Hall to other brides and grooms. From start to finish Hannah at Denton Hall, and Michelle at The Box Tree, catered for our every need – they were absolutely faultless.

My top tip is – be organised! Start making plans soon after your engagement then you have more time to relax as the big day draws near. Also, on the day take time to look around the room and appreciate your lovely friends and family who will help make your day simply perfect and one you will never forget.

To see some other wedding that I have photographed at Denton Hall take a look at my blog