Wedding Photography at Danby Castle Barn

I’m so excited to share some of my wedding photography at Danby Castle from my first ever visit this May.

If you’re planning to get married at Danby Castle, I’ll share my wedding photography and experience below, along with tips I hope will help with your own wedding plans.

Danby Castle is a completely unique wedding venue offering a blend of rustic charm and character, modern light-filled spaces and epic countryside views of the North York Moors. There is no shortage of amazing backdrops for wedding photos, which I was thrilled about!

A Hidden Gem on the North York Moors

You’ll find Danby Castle tucked away on the edge of the North York Moors, surrounded by nature and farmland. If you’re looking for somewhere that feels peaceful with beautiful views, there’s no better wedding venue in North Yorkshire.

If you’re dreaming of getting married somewhere with lots of history, then this 14th-century castle might just be the perfect option! Once home to Catherine Parr (pre-marriage to Henry VIII), the partial ruins of Danby Castle offer a unique background for your wedding. If you’re having an outdoor ceremony, the ruins will be front and centre in your wedding photos.

What’s on Offer at Danby Castle Barn

Danby Castle Barn offers exclusive use for weddings, so you can roam around the castle to your heart’s content and imagine what it would have been like to live there back in its glory days.

The venue has a number of different rooms and barns to choose from for your indoor ceremony, and it also has the potential for an outdoor ceremony on the main grassy area.

You won’t have to worry about who not to invite to your Danby Castle wedding, as their brand new reception barn holds 180 day guests for dinner and a further 40 evening guests for dancing.

Wedding Day Photos at Danby Castle

I really enjoyed my first time photographing at Danby Castle. I love the challenge of arriving at a new venue, as it helps to keep me on my toes and be creative with how and where I shoot.

As a documentary photographer, it’s important for me to have no preconceptions about how the day will look and instead just focus on capturing the moments and the atmosphere of the wedding day in my candid, colourful style.

Weddings at Danby Castle have such a relaxed atmosphere, which I really love.

Getting Ready Photos

After wandering around to get my bearings, I was able to judge the flow of the day and capture both partners getting ready in different areas of the venue: her in the bright and airy ‘Getting Ready Room’ with her closest people, and him in the moody stone Threshing Barn on the other side of the lawn. It’s great for each of them to see what the other one was up to before the wedding through these images.

As well as capturing this, I also spent time photographing suppliers decorating the barn and reception room and guests setting up and hanging bunting and streamers.

This is important for me as a photographer as it adds to the story of the day and it gives the couple an insight into what goes on on the morning of their wedding!

Ceremony Photos in Danby Castle’s Barn

The barn at Danby Castle is a stunning space with exposed stone walls and high ceilings with wooden beams. A set of doors let natural light into the room on one side, creating dramatic lighting.

As an experienced wedding photographer, I know this lighting can be difficult to shoot in, as one person will always be backlit. I move around the couple and their wedding party during the vows, capturing them from different angles in order to work with the low-light conditions. The result is colourful photography that still captures the mood and atmosphere of the room.

This was a celebrant wedding, which made it easier for me to move around as much as I liked. I was able to photograph family and friends as well as the couple, which is always a bonus, as the couple never see what’s going on behind them.

Outdoor Drinks Reception under the Castle Ruins

The weather in the area can be unpredictable, but luckily, we were blessed with blue sky and sun for most of the day, which meant guests could have drinks outside and relax with the view.

This is one of my favourite parts of the day to photograph, as I get to concentrate on capturing candid moments of people enjoying themselves. I particularly love it when there are lawn games available, as I can get creative with compositions. Check out this blog if you’re looking for wedding entertainment ideas.

My photography style is mostly documentary, but during the reception, I take the time to capture group photos and a few relaxed portraits.

This couple had a short and sweet portrait session whilst guests were being seated for the wedding breakfast. This is the perfect opportunity to slip away as family and friends won’t even notice you’ve gone!

Photographing in The Daleview Barn

The Daleview Barn is the newest of the spaces on offer at Danby Castle and the most modern in appearance. It has gorgeous wooden beams and feature windows with an epic view of the dales below and seats 180 for your wedding breakfast.

When I saw the space, I immediately knew that I wanted to preserve the view for the couple in their gallery, but as their sweetheart table was under the window, I would need to use flash to lift the shadows in the room to match the exposure of the brightest part of the windows.

If you want to see the behind the scenes of the process, check out this Instagram reel.

Now the couple have bright and colourful images of themselves during their wedding speeches with a view of the gorgeous green hills behind them. Perfect for their wedding album!

After the wedding breakfast, space was cleared for a dancefloor and the fun continued into the night!

The Full Wedding Story at Danby Castle Barn

Scroll to see more colourful wedding photography at Danby Castle. If you’re looking for a photographer for your relaxed wedding at a castle surrounded by the North York Moors, I’d love to hear from you!

Venue // Danby Castle Barn, North Yorkshire