AN EPIC WEDDING AT KIRKSTALL ABBEY
KIRSTEN & GREG TIE THE KNOT AT KIRKSTALL ABBEY IN LEEDS
On October 7th 2023, I headed from Wakefield to Leeds to capture the beautiful wedding of Kirsten and Greg at Kirkstall Abbey, followed by a reception at Roosters Brewery in Harrogate. Here’s their wedding story…
-
The wedding venue: Kirkstall Abbey & Roosters Brewery
-
The lovely couple: Kirsten & Greg
-
The best bit: dead easy answer this - the Nidderdale Llamas, Gary and Toby!
-
The time of year: 7th October 2023
-
The weather conditions: sunshine! Believe it or not, the bride was hoping for rain…
FORGET CASTLE WEDDINGS, HOTEL WEDDINGS AND EVEN DESTINATION WEDDINGS, THIS ONE IS ALL ABOUT THE ABBEY, KIRKSTALL ABBEY.
On the 7th of October 2023, I was lucky enough to head over to Kirkstall Abbey to capture the truly majestic wedding of Kirsten and Greg in this super impressive and super local (for me), wedding venue. The ceremony was in the abbey itself, in front of a huge gothic arched window, which made an absolutely spectacular backdrop for some of their wedding photos. Small win for me as a photographer too, because photographing in a ruin meant the windows had no glass in, so I had no issues like glare to deal with. If you’re looking for an indoor, outdoor style wedding with some serious visual impact, then I don’t think you can find anywhere as impressive in Leeds, as Kirkstall Abbey.
BRIDAL PREP, HANK THE CAT & A WEDDING CERMON WITH A TWIST (OR TWO)...
The Bridal prep was held at home and Kirsten was joined by her bridesmaids and her mum. It was a super relaxed morning and Kirsten did all her own makeup and I have to say, she absolutely nailed it. She looked beautiful. We did have one gentleman sneak in on the Bridal prep action though, because Hank the cat just couldn’t resist getting involved.
Once the girls were nearly ready, I headed over to a nearby pub called the Kirkstall Bridge Inn where I met the groom and his groomsmen to get some snaps of them, before the ceremony itself, over at Kirkstall Abbey. The wedding ceremony was led by the celebrant Linda, and she added in a personal story about the couple and how they met and the journey they've been on together up to this point. It was really emotional and a really lovely touch. There was a String Quartet during the ceremony as well, from the company Music 4 Hire, which created an amazing atmosphere and some amazing photo opportunities.
Now here’s the first twist in the wedding ceremony… when it came to the exchanging of the rings, there wasn't a traditional ring bearer. Instead, in a top secret wedding mission, the rings had been hidden under a random guest’s chair, with only myself and Linda in on the secret of which one. When the reveal of the rings came it was a really fun moment in the ceremony and I've definitely got some fantastic photos as a result…
On top of that, there were shots for all the guests as well, and this had to be explained with a demonstration from the groom's Dad on how to do them. This involved putting the lid of the little shot sized bottle on your nose, whilst you then drank the shot, again it was a fantastically funny moment as these photos show…
ON TO LLAMA'S LOTS OF LAUGHTER, AMAZING SUNSHINE & GREAT PHOTOS...
After all the fun of the ceremony, the good time continued with Llamas, yes llamas. Gary and Toby were there for photos with the guests and they were so incredibly cute and friendly, and the guests and myself absolutely loved them, so much so I’m wondering whether I can get one....
Then I whisked the newlyweds away and into the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey for some gorgeous photos which the sunshine on the day helped make their finished edit turn out absolutely epicly. Even the Bride who wanted rain, believe it or not, was so pleased that the sun came out in the end when she saw how great the photos were. Just take a look at some of these…
After the portraits of the newlyweds, we then had a few group and family photos taken in the amazing space, and again we got some really dramatic shots of everyone in front of that fantastic windowless window. Now if you know me and my work, I have a few strong feelings on group photos which you can read about here, and if you want to see why I am right about these feelings 😅 then check out Kirsten & Greg’s group wedding photos cos I think we smashed it…
TIME FOR A SWIFT DETOUR TO THE PREMOER INN AND ON TO ROOSTER'S BREWERY!
With the group photos in the bag and a few amazing portraits of the bride and groom in the lovely sunshine, it was then time to get onto the bus and head over to the reception, which was held at the Rooster Brewery in Harrogate. On the way we took a brief detour to the nearby Premier Inn, just a two minute walk from the reception, to check the bride and groom in their hotel room for the night - proof that you don’t always need a fancy hotel to have an amazing wedding. And this photo shows just how much fun even checking into the Premier Inn was!
Rooster’s Brewery itself was an upstairs space in the public brewery, with a tap room downstairs offering bar snacks and food and it was here, in the upstairs space with its super cool industrial look and feel, that the speeches and wedding party got into full swing.
In keeping with doing their wedding, their way, the bride and groom even did a speech together, which was a really touching moment and then the evening entertainment kicked off with the arcade machine in the corner and an impressive 12 piece brass band, which did covers of everything from Toto, Africa (one of my personal favorites), to “you've got to show me love” and the classics like “Sweet Caroline”. And let me tell you this, that brass band did a fantastic job of getting the guests on the dance floor. There was no first dance because it's Kirsten and Greg's wedding and they can do whatever they want, so once everyone was captured on the dance floor having the time of their life, I took my opportunity to slip away and let Kirsten and Greg and their guests carry on the fantastic wedding party into the early hours.
If you like the sound of Kirsten & Greg’s effortlessly epic wedding at Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds, or better yet, if you love their wedding photos, then let’s talk about your special day and the wedding photos I can take for you…
I'D LOVE TO HEAR ALL ABOUT YOUR WEDDING PLANS - FILL OUT MY CONTACT FORM BELOW TO GET IN TOUCH...
