Fran + Andy: A Tuba Quartet, Goldfinches and a Ceilidh at the Engine Shed

Fran and Andy got married on a warm Sunday in July with everything in one building: the ceremony, the meal and a ceilidh to finish. No morning prep photos. We arrived at the Engine Shed just before 11, and a few hours later Fran was officially a Goldfinch.

They’d had a bit of fun with the new surname. Two goldfinches on the welcome sign. Every table named after a bird: Bullfinch, Parrot, Red Kite. And “Mr and Mrs Goldfinch” across the top of a red velvet cake.

The day at a glance

Venue: The Engine Shed, Wetherby, with the ceremony, meal and ceilidh all in one building
Ceremony: midday in the Main Room, with music from a tuba quartet of friends
Theme: goldfinches, for the new Mr and Mrs Goldfinch
First dance: “Space” (acoustic version) by Biffy Clyro
Evening: a folk-rock ceilidh with Blackbeard’s Tea Party
Our coverage: 8 hours, from an hour before the ceremony to the first half of the ceilidh

A ceremony with a tuba quartet of friends

The ceremony was in the main room, with white chairs either side of a long aisle and the mezzanine railings running round above. Fran walked in with her mum, and the music came from a tuba quartet. All four players were the couple’s friends.

That changes what you photograph. Friends playing at a wedding aren’t background music. They’re guests too, watching the two people they’re playing for, and it shows.

“Friends playing at a wedding aren’t background music. They’re guests too, watching the two people they’re playing for, and it shows.”

Confetti, then groups out front

Straight after the ceremony everyone headed out through the front doors for confetti, then stayed outside for the group photos. Fran and Andy had planned for groups outside if it was dry and inside if not. It was dry, and warm.

There were eight groups on their list. Both sets of parents, the wedding party, each extended family, and one that was all theirs: the two of them with the tuba quartet. We finished with everyone who came to the day, lined up in front of the big arched doors under the Engine Shed sign.

If group photos are the bit you’re dreading, a list helps more than anything. So does someone who knows everyone and can round people up. Fran and Andy had both, and it showed.

Portraits without leaving the venue

We didn’t need to go anywhere for portraits. The side of the Engine Shed is old railway stone with tall black arched doors and iron staircases, and that was all we needed. Twenty minutes, a few steps from the front door, and back in time for a drink.

Drinks on the mezzanine, then the meal

A lot of the drinks reception happened upstairs on the mezzanine, which has its own bar, tables along the railings and a view straight down over the room. Downstairs, the main room was turned round for the wedding breakfast: round tables, the top table in front of the brick arches, and fairy lights along the beams overhead.

Cake, then a first dance to Biffy Clyro

Late afternoon they cut the red velvet cake, and then came the first dance: the acoustic version of “Space” by Biffy Clyro, on the big oak dance floor in the main room with everyone gathered round the edge. Fran asked for photos from the balcony as well as from the floor. This is where it pays off. From the mezzanine you get the two of them in the middle and every guest watching.

Then the ceilidh

As soon as the first dance finished, Blackbeard’s Tea Party struck up. They’re a folk-rock ceilidh band with fiddle, melodeon, guitars and drums, and they played from the stage under the brick arches. The dancing was brilliant. A ceilidh gets everyone up, and this one did: kids, parents, Fran still in her dress, all spinning round the floor. We spent the first half of it going between the floor and the mezzanine, because that’s what Fran and Andy asked for, and because from up there a ceilidh looks like organised chaos in the best way.

Jon & Mary photographed our wedding earlier this year, they were fantastic on the day and the photos are brilliant.
Fran and Andy

Want to see a whole wedding day?

Finding the right photographer for your wedding matters. You want someone you click with. That’s why we share full wedding galleries, so you can see exactly what we deliver.

Everything on our website is from actual weddings. No styled shoots, no models, just the moments as they happened.

To see one, fill in the short form below. You’ll get a link to a full gallery straight to your inbox, so you can get a feel for what your own photos could look like.

Our full galleries show a whole wedding day, as it happened: the nerves and giggles before the ceremony, the confetti, the speeches and the dance floor. You’ll see the glances and the small moments that make the day theirs.

PLANNING YOUR OWN?

Thinking about the Engine Shed?

Fran and Andy’s ceilidh is one of three Engine Shed weddings we’ve photographed, and we’re now one of the venue’s preferred suppliers. If you’re weighing it up, our Engine Shed venue guide has the prices, the capacities and how the day runs, plus where we take portraits if it rains. For a September wedding in the same room, see Becca and Sam’s day, with a Morris Minor ride out to Spofforth Castle.

Read our Engine Shed venue guide