Hidden River Cabins Elopement, Cumbria | Andrea & Matthew

Andrea and Matthew eloped in May at Otterstone Cabin, one of the log cabins at Hidden River Barn & Cabins near Longtown in Cumbria. They chose the cabin over the main venue and had it to themselves. No friends, no family, just the two of them, with the two of us there to photograph and film the whole day. They were a young couple, madly in love, and what struck me most was how set they were on doing it their way

They arrived only two hours before the ceremony, so getting ready ran straight into the day. At 4pm Andrea walked down to the terrace on her own, with AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” playing behind her, and the registrars from Cumberland married them there and then. They signed their wedding documents with golden pens, and then, as planned, came the tequila shots.

At 6.30pm came the part I’d been looking forward to most. There’s an Estonian tradition of sending away the bride’s maiden name, and Andrea’s dad had made a miniature wooden boat for it, with her maiden name written on the side. Together they sent it off down the River Lyne, which runs through the Hidden River estate. After a quiet dinner for two in the cabin, they had their first dance outside the log cabin to Goldfrapp’s “Number 1” in the golden hour before sunset.

A larger wedding was on in the upper part of the venue that day, so we kept to the lower end of the grounds, where the cabin, the terrace and the river gave us everything we needed.