Lisa and Scott's Lake District Winter Wedding
One of my most requested blogs recently has been winter weddings. With the impact of COVID, many couples who were originally planning for spring/summer weddings are now moving into autumn and winter, and may be feeling a little bit lost for inspiration. Lisa and Scott's Lake District wedding is a perfect example of a gorgeous winter wedding (22nd December!). Inn on the Lake looked beautiful with all their Christmas lights and decorations up, and lake district wedding photographers can even create intimate couple portraits in the rain.
Lisa and Scott chose the stunning Inn on the Lake at Ullswater for their winter lake district wedding. They travel to the lakes a lot to go walking with their miniature poodle Henry, so the lakes is somewhere that's close to their hearts. The Lake District naturally is dramatic and breath taking most of the time, but I especially love it in autumn and winter, the fog and rain is so atmospheric with the mountains - perfect for a moody wedding photographer like me. On the morning of the wedding, Lisa got ready at the venue with her bridesmaids, whilst Scott, his lads, and the guest of honour, Henry, were all in the hotel next door. Naturally, Henry had his very own bespoke suit, which Scott had made off etsy to surprise Lisa with.
Lisa was really relaxed and giggly, which was super lovely to capture, and you can really feel the excitement in her bridal prep images. Scott had sent some presents over for her to open before she had her makeup done - this was really personal and emotional, funny presents, meaningful presents and sparkly presents all included. The absolutely incredible Keseme Bridal Makeup was on glam squad for the girls, whilst the team from Greg Malloy was on hair styling. Lisa's gown was the absolute ultimate for a winter wedding - heavily beaded and sparkly on the top, and simple and form fitting on the bottom, giving a little bit of Christmassy glitz, without being too bling. the gown was Mori Lee by Madeline Gardener, and Lisa paired it with a fluffy shrug (Which Scott had the pleasure of wearing a little later on too). The flowers were simple and elegant, white blooms with lots of green, by Lisa.
I love the ceremony room at Inn on the Lake. It has huge big windows which face the couple, so plenty of gorgeous natural light on them, whilst the room behind is a tad darker, creating beautiful light and shadow. Despite it being December, the natural light was perfect - which is the bonus of being aware of time with winter weddings (around 2pm is the latest you should be going!) their ceremony was at 1pm. Which left plenty of time (and natural light!) for their portraits and group shots. You might just be able to see in the pictures, but after the ceremony it was a little bit drizzly - you can't blame the lake district for that though. Lisa and Scott were happy to go out in it and create some magic still, and I'm obsessed with these portraits, and the extra element that the rain brings to them. If it does rain on your wedding day, the best thing to do is trust your wedding photographer - go with the flow, maybe have a separate pair of shoes and an umbrella and embrace it!
Tying in with the white theme - Lisa and Scott's cake was by The Little Kendal Cakery, looking stunning being framed by those huge windows! After the speeches this wedding turned into a real party, again with the surprises, Scott had decided to book those much talked about Singing Waiters, who MASSIVELY got the party going. It really was a riot right into the evening after that - so if you want to get everyone up and going, these guys could be right up your street.
So my top winter wedding tips to rock it like Lisa and Scott - EARLY ceremony. 12pm is amazing, 1pm is good, 2pm is starting to get a little cuspy! Bare in mind that the natural light starts to go at around 4pm, you want to have enough time for portraits and group shots, so make sure you do allow for this. Your style doesn't necessarily have to change for winter weddings, but if you had originally planned spring and your dress is on the lighter side, you might want to think about shrugs, leather jackets, denim jackets (which could be personalised!?) for some bride style to keep you warm. Make the most of your season - Christmas lights and decorations look beautiful in images, Lisa and Scott went for some 'snowfetti' to really add to the winter vibes - but things like sparklers could be perfect as it starts to get darker earlier! As with any wedding, what makes it special are the personal touches and how you celebrate each other.