Friday 31 October 2025 · Documentary wedding photography by Jon & Mary
Cody + Dale: A Halloween Wedding at The Old Barn at Esholt
Cody and Dale got married on Halloween, and they made the most of it. The daytime was a proper autumn wedding, with orange leaves, pumpkins full of flowers and a ceremony under fairy lights. Then, once it got dark, it turned into a party: angel wings, Dracula capes, glow sticks and an inflatable dragon.
The day at a glance
- Venue: The Old Barn at Esholt, near Shipley
- Date: Halloween, Friday 31 October
- Ceremony: 2pm in the barn
- After the ceremony: confetti and bubbles
- Cake: a cupcake tower with skulls, top hats and pumpkins
- Our coverage: 7 hours, 1pm to 8pm
Arriving at the Old Barn
The Old Barn at Esholt is a stone barn tucked away near Shipley, and at the end of October the trees around it were turning yellow and orange. Inside, the flowers sat in little pumpkins along the aisle. They were soft peach and cream roses, blue sprigs and gypsophila: a nod to the date without going full horror.
Cody arrived beaming from the back seat of the car, with her bouquet on her lap.
The ceremony
The ceremony room had stone walls, bunting along the beams, a wall of fairy lights at the front and white chairs with pale blue sashes. Dale waited at the front, then Cody walked in, her veil trailing behind her.
After the vows came a kiss, and the whole room clapped.
Confetti and bubbles
Cody and Dale wanted bubbles as well as confetti. So as they came out of the barn, there was a mix of both: petals flying from one side, and bubbles floating past from the other.
Then we did a short list of family photos: both sets of parents, Cody with her grandma, and Dale with his three brothers. After that, everyone went back inside to warm up.
Autumn portraits
Late October did a lot of the work for us. We took Cody and Dale out into the grounds for a few minutes. There was a bright orange tree over a dry-stone wall, a tree-lined lane, and low autumn light on the grass behind them.
“Get married at the end of October and the trees do half the work.”
Skull cupcakes and speeches
Instead of a cake, there was a tower of cupcakes. Some had orange icing with white sugar skulls, some had little black top hats and roses, and there were sugar pumpkins and blue flowers scattered around. Then came the speeches, with a toast from the top table and a lot of laughing.
Then the Halloween party
Once it was dark, the costumes came out. Cody added a pair of white angel wings to her dress, and Dale climbed into an inflatable dragon costume. The guests turned up as Dracula, witches and everything in between, with glow sticks on the dance floor.
Cody and Dale also had a gaming van booked for the evening, plus a snack wall downstairs that had been there all day, so nobody went hungry or bored.
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Planning a wedding at The Old Barn at Esholt?
The Old Barn at Esholt is a stone barn near Shipley, with grounds full of trees, so the colour in autumn is hard to beat. The ceremony, meal and party all happen in one place. If you’re thinking about an autumn or Halloween wedding, there are a few things worth knowing. The clocks go back at the end of October, so by Halloween the sun sets at about 4:40pm in Yorkshire. Plan your portraits for straight after the ceremony, while there’s still light. The leaves are usually at their best in the last couple of weeks of October. And if costumes are welcome in the evening, tell your guests early. Half the fun at Cody and Dale’s was seeing what everyone turned up as.
We’ve photographed three weddings here. Our Old Barn at Esholt venue guide covers capacities, prices and how a day here usually runs. You can also see Laura and Mark’s summer wedding and Jamie-Lea and Adam’s here.
Suppliers
- Venue: The Old Barn at Esholt
- Photography: Jon & Mary, Stories Of I Do
More weddings at The Old Barn at Esholt
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