Megan & Adam | Tithe Barn Bolton Abbey Wedding

Halfway through the drinks reception, Megan and Adam did exactly what they’d told me they wanted to do. They left their guests with a glass in hand, walked out of the Tithe Barn at Bolton Abbey and wandered over to the priory ruins: the place where they’ve spent so many afternoons walking the dogs, and somewhere Megan came again and again as a little girl.

The wind had its own ideas about Megan’s veil that afternoon, and I’m so glad it did. It was a warm July day in the Yorkshire Dales, full of family, decor they’d made themselves, speeches that had guests in fits of laughter, and a packed dance floor under the glitter ball.

Tinder, FaceTime and a Lot of Xbox

Megan and Adam met while they were both at university. Like plenty of students, they started chatting on Tinder in May 2019 (“yes, I know, very typical for uni students,” as they put it), dated for a while and made it official on New Year’s Eve, just as 2019 turned into 2020.

A few months later the pandemic sent everyone home, and they ended up at opposite ends of the country for the best part of two years. They hardly saw each other, so it was FaceTime calls and evenings on the Xbox with their friends that kept them close. In the summer of 2021 they finally moved in together, and they’ve been building a life side by side ever since.

Thirteen Seconds on a Seafront in Portugal

Adam planned the proposal with Megan’s family on a holiday in Portugal, and keeping it secret had him on edge the whole way. The ring went in his hand luggage, and Megan was sent off to a different security queue in case his bag was searched. Once they arrived, the ring went in the safe alongside Megan’s jewellery, which meant she was more or less banned from getting her own jewellery out.

Adam and Megan’s dad even headed off on a “boys’ golf outing” that was really a hunt for the perfect spot. On the night, the two of them went for drinks on the seafront while the rest of the family hid behind cars and in bushes, ready to film. Adam got down on one knee while Megan’s back was turned, and they still joke that it took her thirteen seconds to turn around. The whole thing was caught on camera.

Fairy Lights, Candles and the Tithe Barn at Bolton Abbey

Funnily enough, the Tithe Barn wasn’t meant to be the one. They’d already seen two venues and thought they’d made up their minds, so they went along expecting to cross it off the list. They were wrong.

The barn is a sixteenth-century, Grade II* listed building on the Bolton Abbey estate, with huge oak beams, iron chandeliers and fairy lights up in the rafters, and the priory ruins just across the way.

“The inside was already so magical it didn’t need much in terms of additional decor… the fairy lights, the candles, the rustic magical feel to the room.”

Megan & Adam

The abbey mattered every bit as much as the barn. Because it’s somewhere they love, the one thing they asked for on the day was a little time during the reception to visit the abbey and the grounds below it. That request ended up shaping my favourite pictures of the whole day.

Green for Adam, Pinks and Ivory for Megan

In their words, they wanted a traditional day: a white dress, lots of family, good food and a good party into the evening. The personal part came from everything they made themselves.

Their colour scheme was split between the two of them, with Adam taking the greens and foliage and Megan the romantic pinks and ivories, and it ran through every detail: the stamped napkins, the signage and the flower arch that stood behind the top table. Even the menu cards matched, sage green and tied with ribbon, and the boys’ suits joined in too.

Planning a day full of your own handmade touches in the Dales? I’d love to hear what you’ve got in mind.

Bubbles and Bridesmaids up the Dale in Burnsall

Megan got ready at The Fell Hotel in Burnsall, a short drive up the dale, with her two sisters as her bridesmaids. The morning started with matching pink pyjamas, a glass of fizz and plenty of laughing on the bed. Make-up was by Faye Holmes, and Megan’s strapless gown came from Joanna’s Bridal Boutique in Harrogate, finished with a soft pink and ivory bouquet.

Adam and the boys were getting ready at the same hotel, so I could nip between the two. Cufflinks on, jacket buttoned, he was ready to go. Before they set off for the barn, Megan had planned a reveal for her bridesmaids, her dad and her brother, a lovely, quiet way to end the morning.

Saying Yes Beneath the Oak Beams

The ceremony was at half past one inside the barn itself. Before anyone arrived I had a few quiet minutes with the room: chairs dressed in tulle, candle lanterns down the aisle and the chandeliers hanging from those enormous beams. It’s a wonderful room to photograph, with the light coming in through the big windows at the far end.

Adam waited at the front with his groomsmen while Megan walked down the aisle, and they held hands all the way through their vows. Afterwards their guests lined up outside to cheer them out, and the two of them stopped for a kiss right in the middle of it all.

Garden Drinks, Then Off to the Abbey

Drinks were out in the garden, with Nadia Violin playing through the afternoon and plenty of hugs and laughter on the lawn. Then, while everyone else carried on, I took Megan and Adam over to the priory, just as they’d asked.

Veils in the Wind at the Bolton Abbey Priory Ruins

The ruins of Bolton Priory sit just a short walk from the barn, and they’re everything you’d hope for: tall stone arches, walls open to the sky and an old carved doorway on the priory church.

There was a proper breeze that afternoon, and Megan’s long veil wouldn’t sit still for a second. Rather than fight it, we let it fly. Under the arches I stepped right back so they were small against the stonework and that big blue sky, then moved in close for a couple of pictures under the veil, which I’ve kept in black and white. We finished at the edge of the grounds, with the Wharfedale hills rolling away behind them.

The Picture I Keep Coming Back To

Of everything from Megan and Adam’s day, this is the one I’d hang on my own wall. The whole length of the ruins, the great arched window at the far end open to the sky, the two of them right in the middle, and Megan’s veil caught mid-flight. It’s the place they love, the two of them together, and a bit of Yorkshire weather joining in. That’s their day in one picture.

Picturing your own walk over to the priory? I’ve put everything I know about the venue on my Tithe Barn Bolton Abbey wedding photographer page.

A Flower Arch at the Top Table

Back in the barn, the tables were laid under the beams, with their homemade flower arch standing behind the top table and light pouring in through the windows behind it. The wedding breakfast was served at four, and the speeches came after the meal.

I love speeches in this room because the light from those big windows falls right across the top table. There were proud faces, hands over mouths and guests in fits of laughter, and I spent most of it turning round to catch the reactions as much as the speeches themselves.

Behind the Camera: Evening Sun Over Wharfedale

In early July the sun doesn’t set until well after nine, so in the evening I took Megan and Adam back outside for a few more pictures. The light had warmed right up and softened, and from the wall by the barn you look straight out over the river and the dale.

We tried a wall covered in flowering climbers close to the barn, then a field of long grass that was glowing in that low sun. If you’re getting married at the Tithe Barn in summer, it’s well worth leaving a little time for this. Evening light here is completely different from midday, and it gives you a second, softer set of portraits to go with the ones from the afternoon.

A Glitter Ball and a Barn Full of Dancing

Evening guests arrived at seven, everyone gathered round, and Megan and Adam had their first dance under the glitter ball with the chandeliers turned down low. DJ Kev Williams took it from there, and the barn turned into a proper party: spins, big hugs, arms in the air and a few moves I’ll leave to your imagination.

The Tithe Barn Wedding Suppliers

Megan and Adam, thank you so much for having me. I loved every minute, but those pictures at the priory, with the wind doing its thing and the two of you in the place you love, are the ones I’ll remember. I hope they bring you right back to the day every time you walk the dogs past those arches.

Is there a place that means the world to you that you’d love in your pictures? Tell me about it, and let’s see if I’m free.

Planning your own wedding near Ilkley? Have a look at my Ilkley wedding photography page for the venues I know, my prices and the questions couples ask me most.

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