Lodore Falls Cumbria wedding photos
The English Lake District is one of my favourite places, so I was delighted to be asked to photograph Kinga and Shiral’s wedding at the Lodore Falls Hotel in Borrowdale. The hotel is right next to the famous waterfall that cascades down the hillside and out into Derwent Water. I had hoped to get some photos of Kinga and Shiral by the waterfall, but sadly the floods that Cumbria suffered in late 2015 have made the bridge across the stream unsafe. So the waterfall area is hard to reach unless you have a good pair of hiking boots – not something that goes with a wedding dress!
Even though photos at Lodore Falls itself turned out to be impractical, we were able to get some stunning photos at twilight down by the shores of the River Derwent where it runs into Derwent Water.
My day started with photographs of the couple getting ready in their respective rooms. I always enjoy doing preparation photos. It’s a slightly stressful time for the couple and their families but there’s always lots going on for me to photograph as everyone gets ready.
Wedding ceremony in the gardens
The weather was warm but overcast so the ceremony was able to go ahead as planned in the gazebo in the hotel gardens. Afterwards we did the usual family group photos and then everyone relaxed and chatted over a drink before going in for the wedding breakfast.
Kinga’s family is from Poland so the speeches were subtitled in both English and Polish – it took a few minutes to get the laptop and projector to talk to each other but all was well in the end.
Photos on Derwent Water
I decided to wait until after the wedding breakfast to take photos of Kinga and Shiral together. Although we didn’t get a sunset as such, the clouds produced a very dramatic sky. Set against the greens and greys of the Cumbrian mountains this made for an amazing backdrop for their photos, as I hope you’ll agree. We just took a short walk across the B5289 and through the hotel car park into the meadow by the Derwent River, where it flows into Derwent Water.
Looking up Borrowdale to the south towards Brown Dodd and Grange Fell, west across the water to Cat Bells or north to Derwent Water and the town of Keswick, I had a choice of amazing backdrops.
A big thank you to Kinga and Shiral for asking me to shoot their wedding – I had a great time and it was a pleasure to meet both families who were great fun. And if anyone else is thinking of getting married in the Lake District, please get in touch!
Lake District wedding highlights slideshow
Here’s a video slideshow of some highlights from the day – below is a gallery if you prefer to look at stills or are viewing on a slow internet connection – click on any thumbnail to enlarge.
Lodore Falls Cumbria wedding photos
Click any thumbnail to enlarge in a pop-up window.
