Adam & Faye's Beautiful Rushpool Hall Wedding | Natural Wedding Photography at Rushpool Hall
There are certain wedding venues that always make me smile when I see them in my diary, and Rushpool Hall is definitely one of them.
I've photographed quite a few weddings here over the years and, no matter how many times I drive through the gates, it always feels like somewhere special. Tucked away just outside Saltburn-by-the-Sea on the North Yorkshire coast, it somehow manages to feel grand without ever losing that relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. Every couple puts their own stamp on the venue, which is probably why no two weddings here have ever felt the same.
Adam and Faye's wedding was another perfect example of that.
From the moment I arrived, there was a lovely sense of calm about the whole day. Of course there were a few nerves – there always are – but they were quickly replaced by excitement, laughter and that wonderful feeling that everyone had been looking forward to this day for a very long time.
One thing I've learnt after photographing weddings for almost twenty years is that the best moments are very rarely the ones anyone plans.
They're the little ones.
The quick smile between two people who think nobody is watching. A reassuring hand on someone's shoulder before the ceremony begins. A burst of laughter from the other side of the room that makes everybody else join in without even knowing why.
Those are the photographs I find myself looking for all day long.
As a documentary wedding photographer, they're also the photographs that often become people's favourites. Not because they're the biggest moments, but because they're the moments they never realised had even happened.
Rushpool Hall is brilliant for that.
The venue gives you space to breathe. Guests can wander through the gardens, find a quiet bench for a chat or simply enjoy a drink in the sunshine while the celebrations unfold naturally around them. That relaxed atmosphere makes such a difference because nobody feels as though they're being rushed from one part of the day to the next. Instead, everyone simply settles into the wedding and enjoys it.
When it came to spending a little time with Adam and Faye for their portraits, we didn't disappear for an hour or spend half the afternoon posing. That's never really been my way of working. I'd much rather steal ten or fifteen minutes here and there, have a wander through the gardens, have a chat and create photographs that feel natural rather than staged. Couples book me because they want to spend their wedding with their family and friends, not because they fancy spending hours stood in front of my camera.
It also means that when they look back through their gallery, they don't just remember having photographs taken.
They remember enjoying their wedding.
One thing that genuinely made me smile later in the day was the personalised ice creams.
It's such a simple idea, but it suited the day perfectly. Guests were stood outside chatting, children were running around enjoying themselves and everyone seemed to have an ice cream in one hand and a drink in the other. I doubt anybody will remember exactly what flavour they chose in twenty years' time, but they'll remember standing there together, laughing in the sunshine. Sometimes it's those tiny little touches that quietly become part of the story.
As the afternoon slipped into the evening, the celebrations carried on exactly as you'd hope. The dance floor soon filled, ties became a little looser, shoes mysteriously disappeared and everyone relaxed even more. Those are always some of my favourite moments to photograph because by then people have completely forgotten there's a camera nearby. Nobody is thinking about photographs anymore. They're simply enjoying being with the people they love.
That's when real life happens.
Looking back through Adam and Faye's gallery afterwards, that was probably the biggest thing that stood out to me. It wasn't one particular photograph or one dramatic moment. It was the feeling that ran all the way through the day. Everything felt easy. Nobody seemed to be trying too hard. There was no pressure to make everything perfect because, in reality, it already was.
That's one of the reasons I still love photographing weddings after all these years.
Every Saturday is different, different people, different stories, different personalities.
Yet the one thing they all have in common is that they're filled with moments that only happen once.
Those moments are why I still get excited every time I pick up a camera.
Rushpool Hall provided the perfect backdrop, but as always, it was Adam and Faye, together with their family and friends, who made the day what it was. My job was simply to notice those little moments as they happened and preserve them before they quietly disappeared forever.
Adam and Faye, thank you so much for asking me to be part of your wedding day. It was an absolute pleasure spending the day with you both, and I hope every photograph takes you straight back to how it all felt. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness together.
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