REAL WEDDING · THE ENGINE SHED, WETHERBY

Saturday 17 September 2022 · Documentary wedding photography by Jon & Mary

Becca + Sam : The Engine Shed Wedding in Wetherby

We met Becca and Sam through their friends. We’d photographed Beth and Liam’s wedding during lockdown, and when it was Becca and Sam’s turn, they asked us. Beth and Liam were their maid of honour and best man, so it felt a bit like a reunion.

It was a sunny Saturday in September, and the day had the two of them all over it: a cake topper signposting the places they’d travelled together, a cream Morris Minor, Becca singing a song for Sam with her brother, and sparklers once it got dark.

The day at a glance

Venue: The Engine Shed, Wetherby
Getting ready: Becca at home in Leeds, Sam at the Mercure in Wetherby
Ceremony: 2pm in the Main Room, in front of giant light-up LOVE letters
Portraits: a cream Morris Minor out to Spofforth Castle
Evening: Becca and her brother singing a song for Sam, a sparkler exit under the entrance canopy, then a DJ
Our coverage: 10 hours, from getting ready to the first dance

Getting ready: two places, two of us

With two of us, we can be in both places in the morning. Mary was with Becca at home in Leeds: hair, make-up, bridesmaid teacups, and the moment her bridesmaids first saw her in the dress. Then Mary travelled to the venue in the wedding car with her. Jon was with Sam and the groomsmen at the Mercure in Wetherby, where there was a lot of tie-straightening.

There were some lovely small details. Becca’s shoes had “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe” engraved on the soles, with a real sixpence tucked inside. And there was a hip flask in the gift box labelled “for wedding jitters”.

The ceremony in the main room

The ceremony was at 2pm in the Engine Shed’s main room: white chair covers, a long white aisle, and giant light-up LOVE letters at the front. Becca walked in with her dad.

From the mezzanine above you can fit the whole room into one frame: the aisle, every guest and the two of them at the front. It’s one of our favourite things about this venue.

Confetti, then fourteen group photos

Confetti happened out the front, under the canopy at the main entrance.

Becca has a big family, with step-siblings and plenty of people who all needed to be in the right photos. We usually suggest about ten groups. Becca asked whether we could do fifteen, and she sent a list in the order to shoot them. Bridesmaid Abigail, who knows everyone, rounded people up. That’s how a long list of groups goes quickly: the order is sorted in advance, and someone who knows every face does the calling.

The bridesmaids wore mismatched teal, burnt orange, bottle green and red. The groomsmen were in sage green with floral ties. Against the Engine Shed’s stone walls, that’s a lot of colour.

A Morris Minor ride to Spofforth Castle

After the groups, Becca and Sam headed out to Spofforth Castle in a cream Morris Minor for their portraits. It’s the ruins of a 14th-century fortified manor house built by the Percy family, in the village of Spofforth between Wetherby and Harrogate, and it’s looked after by English Heritage. Crumbling stone arches, grass underfoot and sunlight coming through the gaps. A total contrast to the industrial look inside the Engine Shed.

You don’t have to leave the Engine Shed for portraits. The stone walls and arched doors right outside work really well. But if you want a change of scene and you’ve got a car, Spofforth is a short trip away.

“Crumbling stone arches, grass underfoot and sunlight coming through the gaps. A total contrast to the industrial look inside the Engine Shed.”

Travel, cake and a song

Becca and Sam love to travel, and it showed. The cake topper was a wooden signpost pointing to Singapore, Bali, Kuala Lumpur and Sri Lanka. Next to it was a neon sign that just said “The Bonifaces”.

Later on, with everyone still at their tables, Becca took a microphone and sang a song for Sam with her brother, who played guitar, with the LOVE letters lit up behind them. You don’t see that at many weddings.

Sparklers and a first dance

Once it got dark, everyone lined up under the entrance canopy with sparklers. The canopy is covered and lit, so it works whatever the weather. Then they had their first dance on the main floor in front of the LOVE letters, and the DJ kept the dance floor going for the rest of the night.

PLANNING YOUR OWN?

Getting married at the Engine Shed?

The Engine Shed is an 1847 railway goods shed with room for 180 at dinner and 450 in the evening. As one of the venue’s preferred suppliers, you’ll often find us at its wedding fayres. Everything we’ve learned there, from the Mezzanine to the 1am bar licence, is in our Engine Shed venue guide. For a summer Engine Shed wedding with a tuba quartet and a ceilidh, see Fran and Andy’s day.

Read our Engine Shed venue guide