People ask me when the best time to get married is. It is a hard question to answer straight, but for me it is autumn: the colour in the trees, the leaves on the ground, the dappled light and the early sunsets. Rob and Danielle married at Bagden Hall in the first days of October and dressed the inside of the house to match the outside. Rust, orange, dried flowers and pampas grass. It looked like the season had come indoors.
"Two short couple shoots instead of one long one. Daylight on the drive, then flash after dark. You get two weddings for the price of one afternoon."
The VenueWhat Bagden Hall gives you in October
- iThe front door. Stone porch, lanterns either side, a painting in the hall behind. Stand a couple in it and you have the picture.
- iiThe staircase. Dark wood and a chandelier. Danielle's bridesmaids came down it in burnt orange and champagne satin, and the light from the landing window did the rest.
- iiiThe drive and the eagles. Two stone gateposts with eagles on top. In low October sun it is a walk; after dark, with one flash behind you, it is something else entirely.
- ivOne wedding a day, 40 acres, a lake. The full venue notes, rooms and numbers are in my Bagden Hall wedding photography guide. This page is the day itself.
A Real Bagden DayRob & Danielle, October
Here is how the day ran.
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The morning
Danielle by the window in her robe with the dress hanging beside her, and the details laid out: shoes, an "I do" clutch, the perfume, a bouquet of dried flowers in rust and cream. Then the bridesmaids on the stairs.
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Rob at the front
Dark green suit, orange bow tie, groomsmen in tan. He spent the wait laughing, which is the right way to do it.
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The ceremony and the signing
Pampas and rust flowers on the table, the register signed, and out through the front door to the whole party gathered on the gravel in front of the house.
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Couple shoot one: the drive
Afternoon, low sun, a walk down the drive between the eagle gateposts and back. Ten minutes, and it looks like October.
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Couple shoot two: after dark
Back out once the lamps were on. Rob and Danielle in the red-carpeted doorway, then between the gateposts with a flash behind them. That one is in black and white because the shape is the picture.
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The evening
A magician among the guests, a cake with a gingerbread topper, Rob being fed a slice and laughing, and a first dance under the draped ceiling with everyone round them.
"Autumn sunsets come early, so split the portraits: a short walk in the afternoon light, then ten minutes after dark with a flash. Nobody misses you, and you get two different sets of pictures."
PricingA full day at Bagden Hall
A full day of Bagden Hall wedding photography starts from £1,800, with no travel charge anywhere in Yorkshire. The pricing page has what's included and the shorter options.
Rob & Danielle's SuppliersWho made the day
Venue: Bagden Hall Hotel, Scissett. Magician and entertainer: Tim Lichfield.
