A beautiful venue for a wedding, Megan & Stephen chose Danby Castle to celebrate their big day. All the wind and rain didn't stop them having a wonderful wedding, and we captured some great memories along the way.
Here is the story of Megan & Stephen's wedding, in their own words...
How did you Choose your Venue?
"We used an app called Bridebook to search for wedding venues. There was a lot to choose from and we requested a brochure from Danby Castle Barn. Once we read that through we felt that it was worth the trip to go and look around. Once we arrived we fell in love with the place.
The views from Danby Castle Barn were breathtaking and we knew we would get beautiful wedding photos there."
Tell me About the Proposal
"Stephen and I travelled to Whitby for a day out. Once we arrived we walked up to the Bones and found a bench to sit on that looked out to the sea. Stephen had brought a tripod to take pictures of the area and he did a couple of ‘test shots’ of us. Little did I know that he had pressed record. He pulled out a small, brown ring box from his coat pocket. My first thought was ‘earrings’ as it was the last thing I expected to happen. We both froze and looked at each other. Stephen smiled a wide grin at me and I told him he ‘had to say the words’ and he asked me to marry him!"
How did you Choose your Dress?
"I had been to one other wedding dress shop before I found ‘the one’. I tried on many different styles but knew I wanted something timeless. I was inspired by Princess Kate Middleton whose wedding dress I think will look beautiful in every decade we glance back at; I wanted to have the same feeling with mine. I am also a big ‘Swiftie’ and bought my dress not long after I attended ‘The Eras Tour’ and was also inspired by her ‘Enchanted’ dress and her ‘Tortured Poets’ dress. I wanted to look and feel like a princess and feel like the simplicity of the bodice combined with the lace silhouette gave it a very ‘ballgown’ feeling to it."
Tell me about the Flowers and Bouquet
"The majority of our wedding was very DIY; with this in mind we wanted to create the decorations and bouquets ourselves and in such a way could be reused in our home.
The flowers were artificial and with a collection of different ones from a local supplier, we made them into 4 bridesmaid bunches and one bridal bouquet. The decision behind the flowers is that I knew I wanted sunflowers in my bouquet as an absolute must, the rest followed suit when exploring the shop."
How did you Personalise your Day?
"The venue that we picked was very personal to us. The ‘barn’ feeling was more to our taste and personalities as opposed to a hotel. Stephen is very much a Yorkshire man at heart and loves a flat cap. The barn was perfect for the Yorkshire feeling that we wanted to capture. Stephen also chose to have a Tweed suit for him and the groomsmen to help with the Yorkshite vibe.
We love board games and had a board games stand for those who did not wish to dance. We had Lego mini figures on our wedding cake as Lego lovers.
I also wore white bridal trainers for maximum comfort so that I could enjoy my day to its full potential!"
How did you Choose your First Dance Song?
"We shortlisted around 10 that we both liked. There was a combination of different artists, styles and tempo. It ranged from Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons and Queen. We decided that we both loved ‘Yellowstone’ by Matt Hansen and that was our first choice for a while. Then, a couple of months before the big day, Stephen heard ‘This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)’ by Natalie Cole and the song already held a lot of meaning for myself and we decided that it was the one!"
Best Wedding Moment?
Stephen – "The food!"
Megan – "As I turned the corner to come down the aisle and saw Stephen for the first time."
What will you Remember Most?
"The food was exquisite! It will be something we will remember and brag about for decades.
We will also remember the pure exhilaration and joy of our evening party. Dancing with our friends and family was so much fun!"
Tips for other Wedding Couples
"Try and do as much as possible DIY, it felt more meaningful on the day.
Get as much done as possible in the lead up to the wedding. Don’t leave it all until the last minute.
Grooms – Get involved! The planning process went so much better with both of us pulling our weight."
Which is your Favourite Wedding Photo?
"The photo of us on top of the bench with the Moors behind us was beautiful."
Behind the Scenes
How we got the Shot
Megan & Stephen were great sports when it came to the photography and they were happy to go along with my ideas, even when I asked them to climb up onto a picnic table so we could feature as much of the stunning landscape as possible.
Which Moment do you wish you Could Relive?
"The whole ceremony!"
A huge thanks to Megan & Stephen for sharing their story and experiences. Below is a small selection of some of their wedding highlights.