The Cutest Millhouse Skidby Wedding for Phil and Claire

Millhouse Skidby wedding pictures are always great fun to shoot. It really suits our relaxed style of wedding photography. Our clients who are looking for an intimate venue find it absolutely perfect. I’ve got very high standards when it comes to hospitality so I’m not easy to impress. In my previous life as a hotel/restaurant professional I worked in some really high end spots, particularly in the US and Canada. Whenever my clients mention they have booked Millhouse, I can always guarantee them 3 things. 1. an amazing location, 2. amazing food and 3. amazing service

Phil and Claire were already part of the ‘Insight Family’ as both had played big roles as Best Man and Bridesmaid in one of 2016’s cracker weddings. I was delighted when they asked me to capture their special day and particularly when I found out Claire’s Dad was no other than ‘Big Ron’ Dickinson. I know he sounds like a wrestler, but a softer more gentle Father of the Bride you will never meet!

Our day started with Phil and his boys. It was almost a trip to the dry cleaners before we had even started when our groom decided to recreate a classic formula 1 champagne hose down! It could have been a disaster. Somehow, even though the whole kitchen was doused in the fizzy stuff, the boys managed to dodge every drop.

Phil’s Dad and Grandad was with him for preps. I have to say, it’s always such a lovely vibe when generations of men get ready together. Phil’s granddad was on top form and he had a super energy about him.

Once the boys were all ready, suited and booted – we got to work. We shot some cool character portraits inside the house and then took to the streets, just managing to dodge the rain, to create my favourite type of gritty mens’ photography.

We left the boys mid morning and headed over to Casa Dickinson to help and photograph Claire’s final preparations with her bridesmaids and family.  The atmosphere in the house was lovely. All the girls were chilled and our bride radiated beauty. She was wearing a glorious headpiece by Harriet Head, one of Yorkshire’s millinery superstars! Nothing could really prepare us all for Claire’s dress. She had chosen an amazing gown supplied by Bride and Co in Willerby by Pronovias.  The ‘cape’ that accompanied the dress took things to ‘warrior level’ and looked incredible.

Claire looked simply stunning in her gown/cape combination. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as she made her way downstairs to be greeted by her father. This was definitely one of the most emotional parts of the day.

Hannah and I left for St Andrews Church, Kirkella and arrived in good time to oust Phil and his groomsmen from the pub next door. We captured our groom with his knees knocking when he realised it was ‘game on’!

St Andrews is a lovely church and Reverend David conducted a perfect service. He prefers not to have photographers stand behind him during ceremonies but he did agree to me rigging a remote camera for the ceremony. I positioned it behind him so I could fire the camera from the back of the church using radio triggers. This gave me some great shots of the bride and groom’s first look and key moments of the ceremony.

Once the ceremony was over, we took care of some group shots at the church. The wedding guests headed back to the venue to enjoy canapés and fizz and this part of the day is super critical for me to get timings right. My goal is to get things done quickly so my couples can have as much time as possible to relax and enjoy every moment rather than spending hours with me! We can capture the real essence of a wedding without having to dominate or monopolise our couples.

Speeches and party

Speeches were delivered before dinner and all 4 speakers gave fine performances. The Father of Bride repatriated 2 camels he had promised to the Father of the Groom for taking his daughter off his hands. This got a rousing applause as he handed over stuffed animals – typical of Ron’s sense of humour! Luckily for us, we had taken care of all of the ‘formal’ part of the photography before dinner. The heavens opened after the main course and drenched the whole venue. Thankfully, we already had our collection in the bag. The evening do came around with a fab acoustic performance by ‘The Airwaves’ Band (highly recommended). Claire and Phil cut their cake and immediately threw down some huge shapes for their first dance. I didn’t see their choreographed piece coming but boy oh boy did it look cool! We left our bride and groom with a rammed dance floor at this fantastic East Yorkshire wedding venue. We look forward to sharing more images with them when they get back from their honeymoon in Thailand. Want to find our more how Insight look after out clients and create incredible wedding stories? Take a look at our wedding photography service, with photography portfolios, wedding albums and much more.  Also don’t forget to like and share our Facebook page to spread the love!