If you’re planning an outdoor wedding at Dalston Hall, or just trying to picture what a summer wedding day here actually looks like, this one’s a proper example of it. Sandstone towers, a walled garden, good weather that held its nerve, and two people who met on a fell path in the Lakes and ended up here. Grab a cuppa, this is a long one.
Why Dalston Hall Works So Well for an Outdoor Ceremony
Dalston Hall sits just outside Carlisle in Cumbria, and it’s one of those venues that does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. That sandstone tower alone is worth the drive. The walled garden gives you a proper outdoor ceremony space with its own little domed gazebo, and it’s sheltered enough that even on a changeable Cumbrian summer day you’ve got a decent shot at staying dry.
Natalie and James put it best when I asked why they picked it: “Did you see it? It was epic.” Honestly, fair enough. Sometimes a venue just does the talking for itself.
Getting Ready
The morning was relaxed, which tends to be the vibe with couples who don’t take themselves too seriously. Natalie got her hair and makeup done by Bowness Bridal Hair and Hidden Beauty Ambleside, with that tattoo on full display, no attempt to hide it, just as it should be.
James, meanwhile, was on the other side of the venue unwrapping his grandfather’s cufflinks. Both he and Natalie carried a little piece of family history into the day. James wore the cufflinks his grandfather wore on his own wedding day, and Natalie wore her grandmother’s necklace, the same one worn decades before at another wedding entirely. Natalie also carried a bouquet pin from her sister with a photo of her late father tucked into it, so he could still walk her down the aisle in his own way.
There’s always a moment before a ceremony where it properly lands, and for James that was reading a letter Natalie wrote him for the morning of their wedding.
Down in the entrance hall, the staircase had been dressed with a “Welcome to the wedding of” sign, playing card roses either side, and a very deliberate pair of well worn walking boots underneath. More on those in a minute.
The Ceremony
Natalie and James met while both living in Ambleside, introduced through mutual friends, and bonded over hiking, the Lakes, and their dog Lyra. What started as walking the same paths quietly turned into something else entirely, and James proposed on the summit of Loughrigg, a spot they’d climbed together more times than either could count. Engaged for just over a year and ten months, they got married at Dalston Hall on 24th July 2026 in front of around 80 guests.
The ceremony itself ran about half an hour, out in the walled garden under that gazebo, and instead of confetti it was bubble guns, which suited the tone of the day nicely. One of the best moments came during the “speak now or forever hold your peace” line, where Natalie couldn’t resist playing it up for the crowd. Guests still bring it up.
The rings themselves came with their own surprise. Rather than a best man or bridesmaid carrying them up the aisle, the rings had been hidden under two chairs among the guests, and completely at random, two unsuspecting guests found themselves the ring bearers for the day. Neither of them had a clue it was coming.
Portraits Around the Grounds
With about an hour and a half between the ceremony ending and sitting down for the meal, there was plenty of time for group photos, some quieter couple portraits, and a proper wander round the grounds. Dalston Hall gives you a lot to work with here, stone archways, an old walled garden gate, and that sandstone backdrop that photographs well in almost any light.
The weather genuinely couldn’t have played along better. The rain held off completely, the sun was out without being uncomfortably hot, and it meant the two of them barely had to come indoors all day.
Reception Details, Playing Cards and Fells
The colour scheme, by Natalie and James’s own admission, came together at the very last minute. What wasn’t last minute was the thinking behind the table centrepieces. Made from playing card roses by Peekie Bloomers in Carlisle, they were a direct nod to the early days of the relationship, when after work pub trips meant hours over games of Shithead and Gin Rummy.
Each table was named after a fell the couple had climbed together, with a pair of walking boots sat underneath, the very boots worn to actually walk up them. Wedding decor with a proper personal story behind it always makes for a better set of photos, and this was a good example of that.
Speeches and the Evening
Rather than the usual run of speeches from various directions, Natalie and James kept things simple and did a joint speech together, which felt very in keeping with how relaxed the two of them are as a couple.
Later in the evening, once the first dance was done, Natalie and James dipped into a round of lawn games while the light was still good, along with a game of Mr and Mrs, complete with the classic shoe game where guests raise a shoe to answer for the couple.
Somewhere in the mix was a giant Kerplunk set, entirely the couple’s own idea, which spent most of the evening being built, falling apart, and being rebuilt again by a rotating cast of guests.
There was also a scavenger hunt earlier in proceedings, one person sent out from each dinner table to track down items including ties and assorted things found on other guests. By all accounts it got properly competitive.
First dance was to “I Get to Love You”, a cover by Lyndsey Elm, and by Natalie’s account her favourite moment of the whole day was simply seeing James at the end of the aisle in the second before she started walking towards him.
Working Together on the Day
Natalie and James booked me off the back of our first video call, and their reasoning stuck with me: compared to other photographers they’d spoken to, I came across as a lot less serious and rigid. For a couple who describe themselves as pretty chilled out, that mattered. My job on a day like this isn’t to direct it, it’s to be there capturing it as it actually happens, and to stay out of the way while I do it.
Their advice for anyone planning a wedding of their own? Elope, throw a blowout party with the money you save, and book someone whose approach matches your vibe. And if your soon to be wife hands you a checklist, just do it.
The Details
Venue: Dalston Hall, Cumbria
Florist: Peaky Bloomers
Cake: Freshers Cafe Ambleside
Hair: Bowness Bridal Hair
Makeup: Hidden Beauty, Ambleside
Dress: Northallerton Bridal Outlet
Suits: Tasker and Shaw, Carlisle
If you’re planning your own outdoor wedding ceremony at Dalston Hall and want a photographer who’ll capture it as it actually happens, get in touch, I’d love to hear about your day.