A Wedding at Middleton Lodge, North Yorkshire: Georgian Rooms, Peeling Red Doors and a Marquee Full of Colour
Ben and Amina’s wedding at Middleton Lodge had all the elegance of a Georgian country house: chandeliers, tall windows and a library with a snooker table. But when it came to portraits, we headed for the estate’s old outbuildings. Peeling red doors, rough timber beams and scaffolding made the backdrop. The two of them were wrapped up in each other in the middle of it all.
Middleton Lodge: a Georgian country house wedding venue near Richmond
Middleton Lodge stands on a 200-acre estate at Middleton Tyas, near Richmond in North Yorkshire and five minutes from Scotch Corner. The house was designed by the architect John Carr and built between 1777 and 1780 for George Hartley. It’s Grade II* listed, and the Allison family have owned it since 1980.
James Allison turned the house into a wedding venue, with a marquee for larger celebrations, and the estate has grown a great deal since. When we photographed Ben and Amina’s day, parts of it were still being restored. The Coach House opened as a restaurant with rooms in 2014, and the old walled kitchen garden was restored with the garden designer Tom Stuart-Smith. The Fig House, built around an old brick archway, now hosts weddings too, and there’s even a Forest Spa.
Today you can marry in the house’s Drawing Room or Main Hall, each seating up to 75. The Fig House seats up to 160. The garden marquee takes up to 160 for dinner, with up to 200 guests in the evening.
A morning in the house
We love getting all the little details through the day, so that you end up with a complete and atmospheric album. This is a rather large selection, because we rarely get to show everything we give a couple. Ben and Amina’s wedding shows the consistency we aim for from start to finish.
Amina’s dress hung against a tall mirror beneath a chandelier, with a round window above the door. She blotted her lipstick on a tissue and sat for a moment in her robe by the window. Then she was helped into her dress beside the fireplace. Elsewhere in the house, the men read the papers on a leather sofa, fastened their cufflinks and squeezed in a game of snooker in the library.
A ceremony full of feeling and a marquee full of colour
The ceremony was full of feeling. At one point Amina reached up to touch Ben’s face as they smiled at each other, and there were happy tears among the bridesmaids. The guests brought plenty of colour of their own: lilac headwraps, embroidered robes and caps, and a bright red flower tucked into one guest’s curls.
For portraits we wandered out to those old buildings, with their scaffolding, weathered timber and peeling red paint. The contrast with the polished house was what made it work, and the two of them looked completely at home.
The speeches took place in the marquee, under white drapes and arched windows. One came from a guest in a flowing white robe and patterned cap, while a guest held up her phone to capture it. After dark the marquee glowed gold for the dancing.
Why we love a wedding at Middleton Lodge
If you’re thinking about Middleton Lodge for your own wedding, here’s our honest take:
- Elegant rooms for the morning. Tall windows, chandeliers and a library make getting-ready photographs look effortless.
- Two very different settings. The Main House with its garden marquee and the walled garden with the Fig House each have their own feel. You can book both for a bigger celebration.
- Look beyond the house for portraits. With 200 acres there’s parkland, the walled garden and plenty of texture within a short walk.
- Make a weekend of it. With around 50 bedrooms across the estate, a restaurant and a spa, your guests can easily stay on.
Planning your own wedding at Middleton Lodge?
It was a busy, happy time for us, with nearly 80 weddings that year and our own only weeks away. Verity had even designed our invitations to look like an old cinema reel, with help from her dad. We were proud to be Ben and Amina’s Middleton Lodge wedding photographers. See more on our Middleton Lodge wedding photographer page, browse more Yorkshire wedding photography, or get in touch to check your date.
