A Marquee and Barn Wedding in the Yorkshire Dales: Festoon Lights, Paper Lanterns and a Golf Buggy
A golf buggy trundling across a field, festoon lights strung on poles overhead, and the Dales rolling away under a big grey sky. That’s the picture that sums up Jess and Mark’s wedding for us. Their day had two of the things we love most about Yorkshire in abundance, amazing scenery and fantastic people.
A marquee and barn wedding in the Yorkshire Dales
That year we found ourselves travelling away from Yorkshire for work more than ever before, with trips to Cheshire and London becoming common. It made us appreciate Yorkshire weddings all the more. After all, Yorkshire is where we met, it’s where we got married ourselves and it’s where we call home.
The Yorkshire Dales became a national park in 1954, and its valleys are known for their drystone walls and stone field barns: one survey in the 1980s estimated nearly 5,000 miles of walling. Jess and Mark’s reception had all of that on the doorstep. A white marquee with arched windows stood in the fields, and an old stone barn waited for the evening party. Out in the fields was a meadow under a huge tree, with a view right across the dale.
Some stories aren’t ours to tell
As wedding photographers we’re invited into one of the most emotionally charged days of two people’s lives. Along the way we learn more about the people we’re photographing than most people do about anyone except their closest friends. We don’t think there’s ever been a wedding where we haven’t laughed with the couple, and at more weddings than we’d like to admit, we’ve cried. Through all of that our job is to capture the day for them, and some stories aren’t ours to tell.
Jess and Mark have gone through more in their lives than many of us ever will, and they’ve come through it as two of the strongest, most incredible people you could ask to meet. Their day wasn’t defined by the past. It was defined by the love they share and the people they chose to share it with: one of the most loving and caring groups of family and friends we’ve ever seen.
From a church full of stained glass to the fields
The morning brought make-up by the window for Jess, a helping hand with Mark’s collar, and the dress going on in a bright doorway. Jess arrived at church in a classic white car, tiara on and veil ready. The church was full to the back, with saints in stained glass along both walls and Mark glancing up as he waited.
Afterwards the clouds came down over the hills, which only made the landscape more dramatic. Jess and Mark took a spin across the field in a golf buggy under the festoon lights. Then we walked out into the long grass beneath the big tree for a few quiet portraits, with the whole dale behind them.
Speeches in the marquee, dancing in the barn
Inside the marquee the speeches had everyone in stitches. At one point Mark had his head in his hands while Jess laughed beside him, and one of the smallest guests had a cuddle with the bride.
Then the party moved to the barn. Paper lanterns and fairy lights hung from the beams, a live band played the first dance against the old stone wall, and the dance floor soon filled up. Later we slipped outside under the festoon lights, with the rain lit up behind the two of them in the dark.
Why we love a wedding in the Yorkshire Dales
If you’re planning a marquee or barn wedding in the Dales, here’s what we took away from Jess and Mark’s day:
- The landscape does the work. Drystone walls, meadows and big old trees mean you’re never more than a few minutes from a view.
- Have a plan for the weather. The clouds rolled in and the rain came later, but with a marquee and a barn nobody minded for a second.
- Light the dark. Festoon lights, lanterns and fairy lights turned the field and the barn into the best part of the night for photos.
- Think about getting around. Long grass and a long dress don’t mix, so a buggy or a sturdy pair of shoes makes the fields far easier.
Planning your own wedding in the Yorkshire Dales?
If you’re dreaming of a marquee in the fields or a party in an old stone barn, we’d love to hear about it. Browse more barn wedding photography and our Yorkshire wedding photography, or get in touch to check your date.
