Emma & James get Married in Harrogate

One of the great things about shooting weddings in Yorkshire is that it’s just so big. There’s a lot of variety. One week you can be out in the sticks, in middle of the moors or at the coast, the next, you’re in Leeds or, as in this case, Harrogate.

I met up with Emma & the bridesmaids at the Old Swan Hotel, bright and early, as they were getting ready with the hairdressers and makeup artists. It’s fair to say that it was a lively & relaxed morning, with a lot of laughing, especially at the ‘walking down the aisle’ rehearsal. James won over the bridesmaids in expert fashion by sending them all a present in the morning too – potential grooms take note…

The Old Swan Hotel has a lot of history, a lot of which surrounds Agatha Christie and her disappearance for several days, during which she hid out at the Old Swan, while it seems that the whole country was looking for her. It’s a story that has been dramatised several times but most significantly in the 1979 movie Agatha, starring Dustin Hoffman & Vanessa Redgrave. A significant part of the film uses the Ballroom of the hotel and it’s this room that they now use for Wedding Ceremonies and receptions. It’s stunning. A huge, Victorian wrought iron style conservatory building at one end and then an old style ballroom at the other. It really creates the right atmosphere for the service and for the wedding breakfast to follow. I have no doubt that the ballroom has seen some of the best dancers in the country, if not the world in it’s long history of hosting events and dancing competitions. Emma, James and their guests really did their bit to uphold that history. There was a lot of dancing.

I met Emma & James at the Old Swan Hotel last year to discuss their wedding and their plans, then we went off into town and took some pictures. April seemed so far away when we were sat having a coffee last autumn. It’s soon come around. So,  here we are, the Harrogate Wedding of Emma & James: