# Wedding photographers in Yorkshire

> Two national parks — the green limestone dales of the Yorkshire Dales and the heather moors of the North York Moors — with medieval York between them and a coast of cliffs, fishing towns and abbey ruins.

- URL: https://lensandvows.com/united-kingdom/yorkshire
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- Lens & Vows: https://lensandvows.com/

Yorkshire is big, open country. In the west, the Yorkshire Dales National Park covers some 2,180 km² of green valleys, dry-stone walls and stone field barns, with the limestone cliff of Malham Cove and the 24 arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct below Pen-y-ghent. In the east, the North York Moors hold one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in England and Wales, purple from mid-August, which ends in 42 km of coast: Staithes, Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby, with its ruined abbey above the harbour. Between the two lies York inside its medieval walls, and near Ripon the ruins of Fountains, a Cistercian abbey founded in 1132, with the Georgian water garden of Studley Royal — together a World Heritage Site.

Couples come for a wedding in a country house, a converted barn in the Dales or a medieval hall in York, or for an elopement and portraits on the moor, on a cliff path or among abbey ruins. As everywhere in England and Wales, a legal wedding needs a week’s stay before the notice, 28 days after it and a register office, an approved venue or a place of worship, and most couples from abroad also need a Marriage Visitor visa. So many marry at home and make their vows here.

## When to marry in Yorkshire

- **Best:** May, June, July, August, September
- **Good with planning:** April, October

May to September is the season. At Leeming, between the Dales and the Moors, average highs climb from about 16 °C in May to 21 °C in July, the warmest month, and 1 mm of rain or more falls on only nine or ten days a month — this side of England is fairly dry, with about 650 mm a year. May is the sunniest month, with more than six hours of sun a day. The hills are another matter: at Malham Tarn, high in the Dales, July highs reach only about 17 °C, it rains on about 14 days that month and some 1,590 mm fall in a year, so a day on the tops needs a covered plan. April and October suit couples who don’t mind cool days, an earlier dusk and the odd frost.

- **Spring:** April and May bring lambs to the dales and the longest run of bright days: May is the sunniest month of the year, and by mid-May the sun sets at about nine. The nights stay cold — frost is still possible in April, when highs are around 13 °C.
- **Summer:** The warmest weeks, with highs around 20 °C in the vale, and the busiest. The Dales’ hay meadows flower in June, before the cut in mid-July, and from mid-August the heather turns the North York Moors purple into September. At midsummer the sun sets at about twenty to ten, and from mid-May to the end of July the sky never gets fully dark. Summer showers can be heavy — August brings Leeming’s largest monthly rainfall — so keep a barn, a porch or a church in mind.
- **Autumn and winter:** September is often settled and still mild, around 18 °C, with the heather still in flower; October brings autumn colour to the woods and the dales. Winter days are short and cold: in December the sun is up only from about twenty past eight to a quarter to four, and frost comes on about eleven nights a month in the vale. A winter wedding works indoors, by a fire, with portraits in the low afternoon light.

## In numbers

- **Hottest month, average high:** July · 21.0°C — Met Office: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/location-specific-long-term-averages/gcwuvhmnv
- **Average high in the best months:** May 16.0°C · Jun 18.7°C · Jul 21.0°C · Aug 20.5°C · Sep 17.9°C — Met Office: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/location-specific-long-term-averages/gcwuvhmnv
- **Days with 1 mm of rain or more, best months:** May 8.7 · Jun 9.4 · Jul 9.3 · Aug 10.1 · Sep 9.1 — Met Office: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/location-specific-long-term-averages/gcwuvhmnv
- **Sunset on 21 June:** 21:40 (York) — NOAA: https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/
- **UNESCO World Heritage:** [Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/372) (1986)

Weather station: Leeming, normals 1991–2020 · Checked 26 October 2026

## Where couples marry here

The kinds of places — ask your photographer which ones they know well.

- **York:** Inside some 3.4 km of medieval walls, open from eight in the morning until dusk: the Minster, the crooked timber-framed lanes of the Shambles and the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in the Museum Gardens. The city’s approved venues include the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, a medieval guildhall, and the walls and lanes make easy portraits on foot between the ceremony and dinner.
- **The Yorkshire Dales:** Green dales of dry-stone walls and field barns, the falls at Aysgarth, the cliff and limestone pavement of Malham Cove and the Ribblehead Viaduct under Pen-y-ghent. Almost all of the park is private farmland — the National Park Authority owns less than 1% — so a shoot, and any drone flown for it, needs the landowner’s permission; in the hay meadows keep to the paths, as there is no right to roam. On the Bolton Abbey estate in Wharfedale drones are banned, professional photography needs written permission, and wedding photography is kept for couples who marry in its priory church or at a venue on the estate.
- **Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal:** The ruins of a Cistercian abbey founded in 1132 and, below them, a Georgian water garden of ponds, canals and lawns — a World Heritage Site in the care of the National Trust. Weddings are no longer held there, but couples in full wedding attire are welcome for a photo shoot booked in advance: one a day, with a charge for bringing a professional photographer. Drones of any size are not allowed.
- **The North York Moors and the coast:** Heather moorland that flowers purple from mid-August, the steam trains of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway through Goathland to Whitby, and a coast of cliffs and fishing towns — Staithes, Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby, where the shell of the abbey’s 13th-century church stands on the cliff. English Heritage, which looks after Whitby and Rievaulx abbeys, books engagement and pre-wedding shoots at least 30 days ahead (sometimes two weeks) and allows drones only before or after opening hours, by arrangement. On the moors the National Park Authority gives amateurs no permission to fly drones from its land; elsewhere, ask the landowner.

## How the light falls

At midsummer the sun rises in York at about half past four and sets at about twenty to ten, out in the north-west; dusk lasts until after half past ten, and from mid-May to the end of July the sky never gets fully dark. At midwinter it is up only from about twenty past eight until a quarter to four, never more than about 13 degrees high — a low, raking light all day, lovely on stone. May averages more than six hours of sun a day at Leeming; on the many cloudy days the light is soft and even, kind to faces and to the greens and greys of the dales.

## Getting there

Leeds Bradford Airport, with flights to some 80 destinations, is about 50 km from York and from Malham; Manchester Airport is about 145 km from York, two hours by road or by direct train. Direct trains from London King’s Cross reach York in about two hours, and an overnight ferry from Rotterdam docks in Hull. From York it is about 50 km to Fountains Abbey, 75 km to Whitby and 90 km to Malham. Drones: under the UK’s rules you need a Flyer ID for any drone of 100 g or more, and an Operator ID from 250 g, or from 100 g with a camera; fly below 120 m and at least 50 m from people. Check the Met Office’s warnings before a day on the moors or the coast.

## Photographers in Yorkshire

They shoot here and know the light. Their whole weddings are on their pages.

- [Marco S.](https://lensandvows.com/photographers/marco-soscia) — Based in: Roma · Shoots in: Yorkshire, Rome & Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria, Amalfi Coast & Capri, London, The Cotswolds, Cornwall & Devon, The Lake District, Wales, Edinburgh, The Scottish Highlands & Islands, Paris, Provence, French Riviera, Loire Valley, Bordeaux & the South West, The French Alps, Athens & the Riviera, Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos & Milos, Crete, Corfu & the Ionian Islands, Rhodes & the Dodecanese, The Peloponnese, Dublin & Wicklow, Clare & the Cliffs of Moher, Cork, Donegal & the North West, Kilkenny & the South East · from €970 · Speaks: English, Italian · Style: Documentary, Fine art, Editorial, Romantic, Dark & moody · Verified (We’ve verified their identity) (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/photographers/marco-soscia.md)

https://lensandvows.com/photographers?region=yorkshire
https://lensandvows.com/photographers?region=yorkshire&sort=rating (Highest rated)

## Read before you plan

- [Getting married in the UK as foreigners: the visa, Scotland, England and Wales](https://lensandvows.com/journal/getting-married-in-the-uk): How couples who don’t live in the UK marry there legally: the Marriage Visitor visa (an ETA isn’t enough), Scotland’s notice by post and outdoor weddings, England and Wales’s week of residence and 28 days, Northern Ireland, documents, costs, and registering the marriage back home. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/getting-married-in-the-uk.md)
- [How to choose a wedding photographer: the steps, and the questions to ask](https://lensandvows.com/journal/how-to-choose-a-wedding-photographer): The decision in order — whole weddings, style, availability, the package, the contract and deposit, cancellation, delivery and a conversation — then a checklist of questions, with why each one matters. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/how-to-choose-a-wedding-photographer.md)
- [A wedding-day timeline built around the light](https://lensandvows.com/journal/wedding-day-timeline): Sunset decides more of your photos than you might think. Approximate sunset times by month, where golden hour fits, and two example timelines — one for June, one for October. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/wedding-day-timeline.md)
- [How deposits and payment protection work on Lens & Vows](https://lensandvows.com/journal/deposits-and-payment-protection): A 30% deposit holds your date; the balance goes straight to the photographer, or through us with payment protection. Every step, what each choice costs, and what happens if plans change. (Markdown: https://lensandvows.com/journal/deposits-and-payment-protection.md)