Victoria Hotel, Robin Hood's Bay Wedding | Keira & Jonathan

Groom's Preparations: Holiday cottage, Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire
Ceremony & Reception: The Victoria Hotel, Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire

Second-shooting with Gav Harrison

Wow! Where do I start? A truly memorable day.

I set off on the 2-hour drive to Robin Hood's Bay at 6:00am. Once you get past York to Malton and leave the A64, the scenery is lovely. Through Pickering, past The Hole Of Horcum, over the Tabular Hills (3 guesses which CD I was listening to) and then across the North York Moors to Whitby and down the coast to RHB, at that time of the morning the sun was coming up and the mist had settled in the valley bottoms. I was so tempted to stop several times to take photos but I pressed on and arrived a little earlier than I'd arranged with Jonathan.

As I set off down the hill to get a few shots of the village, three lads called me over to one of the benches at the top of the hill. They were Jonathan's best men and they were practising their speeches in the spectacular scenery while Jonathan (a former chef) was preparing breakfast at his parents' holiday cottage just up the road.

I was ready for a bacon sarnie by the time I got to the cottage (thanks, Jonathan) and it was great to join in with the lads while they tucked in to their breakfasts.

Jonathan's beard is his pride and joy. Apparently, he'd accidentally shaved a chunk of it off a while ago and he was worried it might not be back to its best for the wedding. He needn't have worried. Keira had bought him some special beard oil for their big day, which he applied liberally. It made the house smell great. 

I particularly liked Jonathan & Keira's attention to detail when it came to really personalising their wedding and reflecting their personalities. For example, the lads' buttonholes were made from cut-up comic books and they look amazing.

Jonathan's Dad requested a Reservoir dogs style walking shot so I got all the lads, the Dads & Grandad to walk up the last bit of the hill from the village in a line and was chuffed with the result.

The Victoria is perched right on top of a cliff overlooking the bay and the village. The view from the garden is one of the classic views of the English coast and will be familiar to most people from everything from tea towels and calendars to boxes of biscuits. The gazebo where the ceremony took place takes full advantage of this spectacular view - what an incredible place to get married! And what a beautiful day to be there as well - not a breath of breeze and plenty of sunshine but with fluffy clouds to make the sky look interesting - perfect!

As we were at the top of a cliff overlooking the sea, it would have been rude not fire a cannon, so that's exactly what Jonathan & Keira did. Blimey, it was loud and made everyone jump.

After the meal and speeches, we took Keira, Jonathan and the bridal party down the incredibly steep hill to the beach, where Keira immediately kicked off her wellies and ran into the sea and jumped up and down in the surf - no worries about ruining the dress there, then?

The evening's entertainment was provided by the fantastic Rebel Sounds, who we've seen before at a wedding. They are easily the best band we've seen since doing this job and they create a great atmosphere really get everyone up and dancing. Highly recommended if you're looking for a band for your wedding.

And so ended a very long day (I got home at 1:30am) but it was great fun and went by in a flash. Congratulations and a huge thank you to Keira and Jonathan for a very memorable day's 'work'. 

If you would like Gav and myself to photograph your wedding at The Victoria Hotel, or anywhere else for that matter, please CLICK HERE to contact us.