Principal York Wedding Photographer | Hilary & Tom

Principal York Wedding Photographer. Another summer Saturday, another glorious Yorkshire wedding! This time in York at the stunning Principal Hotel.

In the morning I spent a few hours with Hilary and her bridesmaids at her family home in York where the amazing Jenn Edwards & her team were in charge of hair and make up for the full squad! Once everyone was ready there was just time for me to dash into the city to the hotel where I grabbed a few shots of the ceremony set up before Hilary arrived (she was far too punctual, haha!). The beautiful floral arrangements and bouquets in shades of soft pink and cream were by the lovely Sally from Serendipity Floral Designs, and set the room off perfectly.

Once the guests were in and safely hidden upstairs in the ceremony room Hilary could sneak inside to see the registrars whilst I headed up to capture a few candid shots of the guests. And of Tom looking a touch nervous!

Hilary & Tom were perfectly placed in a lovely big pool of soft light from the window in the ceremony room – my favourite kind (with the exception of evening sun; everyone’s favourite!). Once the vows and rings were exchanged it was time for drinks on the terrace and so everyone followed Hilary & Tom down the incredible staircase at The Principal and out to the champagne.

This was a really happy, smiley crowd and I spent a while capturing everyone’s congratulatory hugs and laughter before we headed down on to the lawn for photos. Once the more “formal” group shots were out of the way (formal is probably the wrong word here, I don’t really do formal!) we let the guests head back to the terrace whilst I spent some time in the gardens with Hilary & Tom getting some photos of the two of them. I love this part of the day, and actually a lot of my couples tell me they loved it too because it’s the first time they really get to speak to each other! And because they get to spend quality time with yours truly and my astounding conversational skills, obviously 😀

After a while I released the newlyweds back into the wild and made my way inside to see The Oak Room which was setup for the wedding breakfast. Sally from Serendipity had worked her magic in here as well, and I loved their beautiful cake by Joanna Rose.

As always the time passed insanely quickly and it was time for the speeches. Whilst we waited for Hilary & Tom to make their entrance I spotted one table of guests playing a game of Heads Up – a game that I LOVE to play and, as it turns out, makes for great photos 😀

And just like that the cake was cut and it was time for me to head home (slightly shorter wedding for me this one, Hilary & Tom decided against a first dance and coverage of the evening do so I was home way before 9pm. On a Saturday! Wild times!).

Thank you to this lovely pair for asking me document their wedding day, it really is such an honour.

And if you’re looking for a photographer for your wedding at The Principal York please do contact me for more info! x

Supplier shout outs:

Venue: The Principal Hotel, York

Hair & make up: Jenn Edwards & Co

Florist: Serendipity Floral Designs

Dress: Primadona by Pronovias 

Cake: Joanna Rose