Daniel & Rachael | Armathwaite Hall Wedding

Updated: May 18

For weddings further from home, we always like to travel up the night before. It removes the stress of motorway delays, roadworks, or accidents and means we can start the day properly rested and ready to go.

So the evening before Daniel and Rachael’s Armathwaite Hall wedding, we made the journey up into the Lake District and were rewarded with a completely clear evening and one of those spectacular sunsets that instantly makes you hopeful for the next day.

Thankfully, the weather delivered.

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A Morning at Armathwaite Hall

We started early at Armathwaite Hall Hotel & Spa, a venue with history stretching all the way back to the 11th century… although it probably didn’t include the spa facilities back then.

The current owners, the Graves family, purchased the property in 1976 and have transformed it into the spectacular hotel, spa, and wedding venue it is today.

Daniel spent the morning getting ready with his best man before heading down for a few photographs in the billiards room, while Rachael and her bridal party had a full team of hair and makeup artists working away in the bridal suite.

The bridal suite itself has one particularly unusual feature. Tucked away in the corner is a steep, dark staircase that feels straight out of a Rapunzel story, winding its way up into a turret overlooking the lawns and Bassenthwaite Lake.

Later in the day, that same turret became the setting for one of my favourite drone shots from the wedding, with Daniel and Rachael walking away from camera as the drone slowly pulled backwards to reveal the stunning scenery behind them.

Bridgerton Vibes Before the Ceremony

As guests gathered in the ceremony room, a string quartet played modern songs with unmistakable Bridgerton energy while everyone waited for Rachael’s arrival.

At one point the musicians launched into Robbie Williams’ Angels, which prompted an entirely spontaneous singalong led by Daniel and his best man before the ceremony had even begun.

It definitely set the tone for the day.

The ceremony itself was filmed across three cameras. Space was tight with so many guests attending, so we had to get creative with placements. One camera was positioned on the fireplace at the rear of the room, Sarah was stationed near the musicians with a tripod, and I moved between the front and side angles alongside photographers Paul and Nanda.

Audio is always hugely important during ceremonies, so we placed one microphone on the registrar and another discreetly on the ceremony book facing toward the couple to capture their vows clearly.

After a very sweet ceremony and huge applause as Daniel and Rachael officially tied the knot, everyone headed outside into the sunshine for confetti and drinks on the lawn.

Helicopters, Cocktails & Natural Moments

During drinks reception, a helicopter was given permission to land nearby and Daniel immediately started pretending it had been arranged as a surprise getaway for him and Rachael.

Sadly not true… but it definitely got a few reactions.

After some formal photos with photographers Paul and Nanda, we spent a little time capturing footage of the couple together, keeping everything relaxed and natural rather than heavily posed.

That really summed up the feel of the whole wedding.

Natural moments. Genuine reactions. Nothing over complicated.

The wedding breakfast took place in the large reception room, where custom cocktails were flowing throughout the day and proving very popular with guests. The espresso martinis looked particularly tempting, but we behaved ourselves and stuck to lemonade.

Speeches, Beer Pong & Competitive Sack Racing

The speeches struck the perfect balance between emotional and funny.

The groom, father of the bride, and best man all delivered speeches packed with stories and reactions from guests, which Sarah captured beautifully with the long lens while I focused on the speakers and top table using a two camera setup and my trusty little camping stool to avoid blocking anybody’s view.

Once speeches finished, the atmosphere shifted quickly into full evening celebration mode.

There were several highly competitive games of beer pong, an adult sack race that probably required VAR decisions, and plenty of chaos before we quickly slipped outside for a sparkler shot ahead of the first dance.

Sparkler shots are always slightly stressful. Getting dozens of guests to light them at the same time before they burn out is never easy, but somehow we managed to organise everyone just in time and captured a brilliant moment before rushing back inside.

Instead of a traditional cake cutting, Daniel and Rachael opted for a champagne tower before heading straight into their first dance with the band playing live.

We stayed for a few songs afterwards, captured plenty of dance floor footage, and once the party was fully underway we quietly slipped out with the couple busy enjoying themselves.

A proper Irish goodbye.

And naturally, on the drive home, we had to stop at Tebay Services.

You can’t drive back from the Lake District without doing that.