An Elopement in Cumbria with A Roaming Brass Band
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Hannah & Rhys’ Story
Rhys and I met when I photographed his branding shoot. It became clear that we had a lot of shared interests, particularly our love of walking but it took a global pandemic, a lot of chatting in lockdown, and some socially distanced walks for us to finally realize it wasn’t just the mountains we loved. Rhys joined me and my kids on holiday in the Lakes that summer and that’s where it all began! When we decided to get married – just a few months later as the pandemic forced us to move in together a little faster than we might have done under normal circumstances – there was no other place for us to tie the knot. Both being wedding photographers ourselves and having seen just how lovely the tiny intimate weddings during the pandemic had been, we decided that was what we wanted for ourselves so we planned an elopement just us, my girls, and my best friend’s family to celebrate that Autumn. The course of true love never did run smooth, and 7 weeks before the wedding we were involved in a horrific car accident that we were both incredibly lucky to walk away from… I underwent three operations before the wedding and had to change my dress to disguise the dressings on my arm that had been reconstructed after the crash… actually having a tiny wedding was a blessing as after a short hike at sunset I’d never have had the energy to stay up late and entertain lots of guests. Instead, we had a private chef who used to work at The Waterside for Michael Roux cook for us and we ate a five-course tasting menu in our PJs and were in bed before 10 pm! Bliss!
Rhys and I originally planned to spend our wedding morning paddle boarding but my injuries but stop to that. Instead, we headed out to have coffee by the lake in the morning before returning to the hall to get ready for our afternoon ceremony. Before I was a photographer, I was a musician, and having live music was really important for me, so I booked Heavy Beat Brass Band to play for our ceremony and tiny drinks reception after; they brought such incredible energy to the wedding and, despite a horrific wet forecast that day, the sun came out just before the ceremony and we all danced outside with champagne in hand before heading out for our portraits… and we took the band with us; how many couples can say they had a roaming brass band follow them up a mountain on their wedding day? Our venue, Hause Hall Farm is nestled halfway up Hallin Fell in the village of Martindale – which has just a handful of houses so is perfectly silent – and what I hadn’t considered is that our band would in fact be entertaining all the walkers who were out on the hills and one of our best moments of the day was seeing the walkers sat on the side of Hallin Fell in the afternoon sun just listening – so special.
My fitness had taken a real tumble while in hospital but I was determined we’d make it to the top of Hallin Fell for sunset and thank goodness we did. We were treated to the best sunset of the year in my opinion and our wedding photographs really capture everything we love about autumnal lakeland; the rich oranges in the ferns, the inky blue of the lake, and the glow of sunset behind the hills, just magical.
Vendor Credits
Photographer – Tiree Dawson
Videographer – Jono Symonds
Venue – Hause Hall, Cruik Barn & The Stables
Florist – The Floralistas
HMUA – Nala and Knot
Band – Heavy Beat Brass Band
Chef – Alex Beard
Bride – very last minute combo of Top – Halfpenny London, Skirt & Shoes – ASOS, Veil – Meadowsweet Bridal, Hair accessories and earrings – Vivi Embellish + Doc Martens!
Groom – Menswearr
Wedding rings – Sarah Brown Jewellery
Confetti – Shropshire Petals
