A North Yorkshire Canal Boat Engagement Shoot: Evening Sun, Hot Dogs and a Very Late Night
There’s a point on a summer evening on the canal when the sun drops behind the trees, the water goes still and the stone walls turn gold. We spent it with Gaël and Pete on a little narrowboat we’d only just learned to drive. We finished with hot dogs on the bow as the lights came on across the water.
A canal boat engagement shoot in North Yorkshire
For us, engagement shoots have always been something to look forward to. They give us the chance to get to know couples a little better, and they help couples feel comfortable around us, which always pays off on the wedding day. But as much as we love them, it’s easy for them to start looking similar after a while. So we decided to up our game with pre-wedding photos, and Gaël and Pete’s was the first.
We did some investigating, hired a barge for the evening and invited Pete and Gaël over from Liverpool to join us for some awesome evening sunlight on the canal. Canals are a lovely setting for photos. The water is slow and still enough for reflections, the towpath and stone walls lead your eye along it, and old stone buildings rise straight from the water’s edge.
Learning to drive a barge, and evening sun on the water
Before they arrived we had a while to learn how to actually drive the thing, which turned out to be a little harder than we expected. By the time Gaël and Pete arrived, we think we’d got the hang of it.
Then we set off into the evening sun. Gaël took a turn at the tiller with Pete beside her. On a narrow stretch between high stone walls and trees lit gold, the two of them curled up together at the red bow. From above, the boat looked tiny on the dark water, with the pair of them lying in the bow holding hands. Old stone buildings rising from the canal made the backdrop for a quieter black-and-white moment.
Having something as fun as a canal boat to focus on seemed to take away the tension we often see when couples first meet our cameras. One frame caught the two of them through the cabin window.
Hot dogs on the bow and a very late night
As the light went, the kettle went on in the tiny galley and dinner was hot dogs, eaten on the bow with the lit windows reflected in the canal behind. We had great fun getting to know them both, and with a setting like this it was hard not to get carried away chatting. We realised we’d spent an hour talking on the moored boat, and it was gone 11pm!
Even before the shoot we were excited about their wedding, only a few weeks away. Suffice to say, it sounded like theirs would be an incredible day.
Why we love a canal boat engagement shoot
If you’d like an engagement shoot that feels more like an evening out than a photo session, here’s our honest take:
- It breaks the ice. Steering a boat, badly at first, gives everyone something to laugh about, so nobody is thinking about the camera.
- Go in the evening. Low sun along the water and lit windows at dusk give you two quite different looks in one session.
- Practise first. Driving a barge is harder than it looks, so give yourself time to get the hang of it before the photos start.
- Ask about a galley. Some hire firms let you take a boat out yourself after a short lesson, and a little kitchen on board means dinner can be part of the shoot.
Planning your own engagement shoot in Yorkshire?
Engagement shoots are where we love to try new ideas, so if you’ve got one, bring it. Browse our Yorkshire wedding photography, see our prices, or get in touch to talk it through.
See also: Wedding at Gaël & Pete – Barn Yorkshire.
