Rhiannon & Craig | Yorkshire Wildlife Park Wedding

Rhiannon and Craig’s wedding at Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster is one I’ll be talking about for a long time. Where else do you get to photograph a bride feeding a polar bear, a groom handing lunch to a tiger and a giraffe leaning over to pinch leaves during a kiss, all before the speeches?

It was a scorching August day, everything was dressed in lilac and purple, and the park meant something special to both of them, because it’s where their story started. Here’s how their day unfolded.

Meet Rhiannon & Craig

Some couples meet on an app, some meet at work. Rhiannon and Craig met on her doorstep. Craig was her postman, the two of them got talking, and when he finally asked her out, their first date was a day at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. In Rhiannon’s words, “the rest is history”.

Craig is easy-going and quick to laugh, and Rhiannon has the kind of smile that lights up a room. Put the two of them together and you get a wedding that’s warm, a little bit cheeky and full of family.

The Proposal

Craig kept it simple and kept it heartfelt. As Rhiannon puts it, “He wrote will you marry me in the sand.” No big stage and no audience, just a message in the sand and a very easy answer.

Why They Chose Yorkshire Wildlife Park

This one didn’t need much thought. “It’s where we had our first date,” Rhiannon told me, and coming back to marry in the place where it all began gave the whole day a lovely sense of coming full circle.

The park has its own ceremony rooms, a marquee called Tsavo Lodge for the wedding breakfast and the party, and more than a few animal neighbours. For a couple whose first date was spent wandering past the enclosures, it was the obvious choice.

Personal Touches

Everything was lilac and purple, from the bouquets and the bridesmaids’ dresses to the flower arch and the balloons. Rhiannon swapped heels for a pair of personalised lilac Converse with their initials on, which tells you a lot about the mood of the day.

There were ice creams in the sunshine, lawn games outside the marquee, a lilac wedding post box for cards, glow sticks for the evening and a wedding cake I’ll come back to, because it deserves a paragraph of its own.

Getting married at Yorkshire Wildlife Park? I’d love to hear about your plans.

Bridal Preparations

Morning prep was a busy, happy room, with the hair and make-up team working their way through the bridesmaids and flower girls while the little ones bounced on the bed. Rhiannon’s dress hung on the door waiting, and those Converse sat on the windowsill catching the light.

The bouquets arrived in a cloud of lilac tissue and got a lovely reaction, and then it was tiara, veil and a final touch of lipstick before we headed over for the ceremony.

Craig was getting ready too, in his navy suit and lilac waistcoat, looking remarkably calm for a man about to get married.

The Ceremony

The ceremony started at one o’clock in a bright room inside the park, dressed with a lilac wisteria arch, crystal flower stands and white chair covers. Craig waited at the front with his best man while the bridesmaids, the flower girls and a page boy proudly carrying a “Ring Security” case made their way down the aisle.

Then Rhiannon walked in on her dad’s arm, and Craig’s face said everything. The vows were warm and full of giggles, and the rings went on in a room full of smiles.

They signed the register under the flower arch and walked back up the aisle as husband and wife, past a row of lilac balloons and a lot of very happy guests.

Drinks Reception at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

Outside, the sun was blazing. Guests queued up for hugs, there were a few happy tears, and everyone found a bit of shade where they could. We gathered everybody together for a big group picture, then did a few smaller groups, including Rhiannon and Craig with the best man and maid of honour.

On a day that hot, ice creams were a stroke of genius. Rhiannon and Craig couldn’t stop laughing as they tried to finish theirs before they melted, and it gave me some of my favourite pictures of the day.

Couple Portraits at Yorkshire Wildlife Park

This is where the day became something I’d never photographed before. With the park’s keepers guiding us, Rhiannon and Craig went behind the scenes to help feed some of the residents.

First up were the polar bears. Using long tongs through the bars, Rhiannon fed one of the bears while it leaned up against the mesh just a few inches away, and Craig took his turn too. A bride in a full white gown standing calmly beside a polar bear is a picture I won’t forget in a hurry.

Next we headed out to the giraffes. The two of them held up leafy branches and a giraffe came straight over for lunch, stretching right over their heads. I asked them to sneak a kiss while it was munching away, and the timing couldn’t have been better.

We finished with the big cats. Craig fed a tiger through the mesh, which took a lot more nerve than he let on, and then the two of them settled down in front of the leopard enclosure for a quieter moment together while the leopards lounged behind them.

Planning a wedding with a wild side? There’s lots more about getting married here on my venue guide.

Wedding Breakfast and Speeches

The wedding breakfast was in Tsavo Lodge, the park’s marquee, blacked out with a starlit ceiling and dressed in lilac and silver. Guests found their seats for five o’clock, and Rhiannon and Craig made their entrance to a big cheer, with the toastmaster in his red coat keeping everything running smoothly.

The speeches came after the meal, full of kind words and a few well-aimed jokes. Craig’s had the whole room, and Rhiannon most of all, in fits of laughter.

The Evening Celebrations

After the speeches I took Rhiannon and Craig out for a few portraits in the evening light. We started in the woodland, where the ferns were glowing and the trees gave us soft, dappled light, then walked out across the wooden boardwalk and down to the lake as the sun started to drop. They’re so relaxed together in front of the camera, and these are some of the loveliest pictures of the day.

Back inside it was time for the cake, and what a cake: a bright red Only Fools and Horses design, complete with a little yellow three-wheeler on top and “This time next year we’ll be millionaires” piped around the board. There was a doughnut wall too, just in case anyone was still hungry.

Then the lights went down for their first dance, lit from behind on a dark dance floor, before the glow sticks came out and the floor filled up with family, friends and some very energetic flower girls.

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Thank You Rhiannon & Craig

Rhiannon and Craig, thank you for asking me to be part of your day, and for letting me tag along to meet the polar bears, the giraffes and the tigers. It was a joy from start to finish, and I hope these pictures bring back the sunshine, the laughter and those ice creams every time you look at them.

If you’re planning a wedding with a difference, at Yorkshire Wildlife Park or anywhere else in Yorkshire, I’d love to hear about it. You’ll find more about the venue on my Yorkshire Wildlife Park wedding photographer page.

Planning your own wedding near Doncaster? Have a look at my Doncaster wedding photographer page.