A bride and groom dancing in the gardens at their wedding at Middleton Lodge, North Yorkshire.

Middleton Lodge in North Yorkshire was our destination when we set off for our first wedding of 2022. These two beautiful people got married in the Fig House, the incredible rustic wedding venue that is sat in the grounds of Middleton Lodge. It has the stunning ceremony room, with the wooden floors and exposed beams, as well as the conservatory next door which is attached to the Walled Garden.

This isn’t the first time we’ve shot these two awesome dudes. We first met Rachel and Liam when they kindly modelled for us at a styled wedding shoot we had planned in-between lockdowns. We must have made a good impression on them at that shoot because they decided they needed us to photograph their actual wedding day. We absolutely loved working with them so we had to say yes!

MIDDLETON LODGE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

The weather wasn’t great to start off with, but we suppose you get what you’re given in North Yorkshire in February. Rob met up with the boys in the newly created and, thankfully canvas covered, Gin Terrace attached to the main house. Rebecca caught up with Rachel on her way to the Bridal Suite, a couple of doors up from the ceremony room in the Fig House.

Everyone was super chill and as the guests started arriving, Rob was able to hang out with Liam and his best man as he was greeting people. When the rain showers came everyone was able to get cosy beside the patio heaters and bar on the Gin Terrace. Meanwhile, Rebecca was capturing the details and even had Rachel in the crazy clawfoot bath for a cheeky shot or two.

After the meeting with the registrar, Liam opened a card that Rachel had left for him - see you at the altar! Just prepping him with all the feelings before their ceremony. Rebecca braved the rain with Rachel as she was escorted by her bridal party with umbrellas through the Walled Garden at Middleton Lodge and into the back of the Fig House.

The ceremony was a beautiful and emotional affair, Rebecca only cried a little bit! The rain had finally stopped so we all jumped outside and got a few group photos in the bag in case it decided it wasn’t quite done raining. Leaving the guests to plunder the bar, we disappeared for a walk around the garden. There are so many great spots around these gardens to grab amazing photos that we are always totally spoiled when we shoot here.

Between doors, gateways, plants and growing frames there is no end of unique wedding photos here, regardless of the time of year. Rachel and Liam even got in on the photography action. They wanted to get some photos of each other so we bravely handed over one of our cameras and after a very brief tutorial they were able to get some cool and memorable shots of each other!

We love people who have different or cool ideas we can try. We couldn’t wait to see how these shots came out and we think they did a great job. Thankfully, you can’t be a bride and groom at a wedding AND shoot the wedding photos so we wrestled the camera back off them and carried on around the Walled Garden, stopping at anything that caught our eye.

At this point, the venue caught up with us and dropped off a bunch of canapes. After the quick snack break, we got a few more shots of these two gorgeous guys. It was a little chilly out so we got them dancing to warm up a little. We love an action shot with plenty of movement and it’s just what you need in February when the weather is a bit … crisp.

Since this was a shorter day for us, we said our goodbyes after that and left them to relax and eat their wedding breakfast without cameras and photographers under their feet.

We always love shooting wedding photography at Middleton Lodge and this wedding was everything it promised to be and more. Rain didn’t slow us down and working with Rachel and Liam was just as easy as it always is.

Are you planning your Middleton Lodge wedding? Say Hello to Paylor Photography and let’s create some incredible memories together!