Andy Gaines Photography

Home
United Kingdom
York
Andy Gaines Photography

I make creative wedding photography, with less cheese and more awesome. Specialising in creative wedding photography, with less cheese and extra added awesome.

Recent awards include Junebug Weddings 'Best of the Best Wedding Photographers 2016' and Masters of Wedding Photography Awards. Awarded 'Best Wedding Photographer in England 2015' at the National Wedding Industry Awards, Junebug weddings 'Best of the Best Wedding Photographers 2016', Winner of a number of Masters of Wedding Photography Awards and 'Rising Star of wedding photography in the World' b

y Rangefinder magazine - Andy Gaines is a photographer based in the north of England and working all over the UK, Europe and the world. Please visit https://andygaines.com for my portfolio, more info and to make sure the happiest day of your life looks exactly that. Follow me on Instagram here:https://www.instagram.com/andy_the_gaines/

23/05/2026

Part two of Jess & Stu’s RocknRoll, Double-Album-of-a-wedding, saw 200 of their nearest and dearest descent on York’s City Screen cinema to witness them be married. Surprise number one came in the form of ‘s Rick Witter, with his recent crash course in marriage licensing, conducting the ceremony… surprise number two came in the form of surprise number one not being entirely legally binding, so the guests got to enjoy the actual ceremony from 2 weeks earlier. More on which later…

The legends that are then led the entire wedding congregation on a pied piper walk along York’s City walls to the , for fish and chips, ice-cream, speeches, partying, rock and roll, dj’s, live music and more continued into the early hours…

Just.A.Perfect.Day. x
📷

18/05/2026

Where to begin with the last 3 weeks?!

We’ve known Jess & Stu for twenty years. If you’ve ever been involved in any way with live music in York it’s just impossible not to know them. Two incredibly talented musicians and performers, who also happen to be the loveliest, warm hearted people you could ever meet. From gigging together and hosting club nights back in the day, our paths have crossed often over the years, and so when they got in touch last year about their engagement, we were honoured to be getting to document the wedding of the King and Queen of York music! But then they told us of their cunning idea and we were utterly sold…

Their plan - to get married at the Picturehouse Cinema in York, before heading up to the Crescent music venue for a rock and roll knees up, sounded perfect for them - but unbeknownst to the entire world (apart from us) they were actually planning to elope to the far North-west of Scotland 3 weeks prior and get married (in secret) at their favourite place in the whole world - Achmelvich Beach. And then, so no one would miss out, our film of the trip (much more of which later!) would be shown to the surprised guests at the cinema in lieu of the actual wedding…

So a few weeks back Abigail and I loaded the campervan and headed off on a top-secret near-1500 mile roadtrip to capture their elopement. We spent a magical few days together in a part of the world which is truly as stunning and beautiful as anywhere I’ve shot around the globe. This was followed by 2 weeks locked in the editing suite creating the big reveal film (again, more of which very soon) and then this weekend we got to photograph and film the big York wedding and reveal! I’m still tired just thinking about it all - but our hearts (and hard drives!) are full and we CAN NOT WAIT to share more from this wonderful adventure, starring two of the most wonderful people you could ever hope to meet…

For now, here’s some of our favourite photographs from the elopement. It’s been torture sitting on these for 3 weeks! Stay tuned for more of this amazing story and adventure
📷-

17/04/2026

Always feels a bit odd giving myself a quiet little pat on the back… but it’s Friday! So I’m gonna treat myself :-)

This photograph just picked up an award from whoop!

Not exactly a “frame it for your nan” kind of wedding photo… but it made me laugh then and it still does now.

No setup, no clue what was going on. Just spotted this quiet moment of love and affection between two guests and pressed the button. After shooting as many weddings over as many years as I have and having learned a lot, you get pretty good at being in the right place at the right time…

This is my favourite side of weddings for sure - The daft, slightly chaotic bits that just happen when people relax and forget there’s a camera around.

Anyway. Nice to have it recognised. But mostly just glad I didn’t miss it :-)

14/04/2026

The Bodleian Library in Oxford is an incredible backdrop to any wedding for sure! Especially if it precedes an epic party in the Father of the Brides’s pub! Amazing times with Sophie and Alex recently!

I feel so lucky to have so many more amazing weddings and adventures to look forward to this year - I can’t wait!

📷 :
Huge high fives to:   
   
   

24/03/2026

Saturday felt like the proper start of the season again.

Because that’s exactly what it was - the first wedding of my *checks notes* 16th year as a wedding photographer. (Eeek! Good job I still love it as much as I did way back in ancient history!)

Charlotte and Philip at Danby Castle Barn, wrapped in good light, big skies and a whole lot of people who really, really love them.

It was one of those days that just flowed perfectly. Nothing too forced, nothing unnecessary. Just all of C+P’s favourites with them, enjoying special times, beautiful moments unfolding and everyone fully involved in it!

Here’s a little first look. Plenty more to come :-)

Danby castle barn wedding photography.
Thanks to the dream team of suppliers:

13/03/2026

Oops I did it again! Another slightly awkward “look what happened” post from me!

I’ve just picked up two more awards from - which is a lovely surprise and something I’m genuinely proud of. If you know the Fearless awards, you’ll know they’re not exactly handed out easily. The judging is pretty ruthless and only a tiny small percentage of images get through each round.

These two mean my total now sits at 30 Fearless Awards, which feels slightly surreal when I type it.

What I like about these two images is that they sit at opposite ends of what makes weddings so brilliant - but are both totally natural moments that I try capture week in week out
One is all about that explosion of joy just after the “I do” - the kind of moment that only happens once and is gone in a second (and a reminder to all you photographers to keep your camera up and keep shooting through and after the ‘big moments’! PSA over!)

The other is during the cake cutting at .court and it’s basically the couple just being themselves and having fun rather than worrying about how they look. That’s the stuff I love.

Because weddings aren’t really about producing a series of “perfect” pictures. They’re about this huge mix of energy, emotion and personality all happening in the same place, often within minutes of each other. My job is simply to notice those moments and turn them into photographs that still feel alive years later.

Anyway… small moment of pride, and a big thank you to the couples who let me be there in the middle of it all - I’ll be starting my 2026 season soon - and I can.not.wait!

08/01/2026

I’m currently just finishing off the last few edits from all our Christmas weddings. Once they are done it’s full steam ahead for 2026 (via a cheeky best of ‘25 feature or two!) - I *love* christmas weddings. And if one venue really knows how to host the perfect Christmas, winter, wedding it’s .

Just before Christmas, & .92 (and their amazing friends and family) enjoyed a perfect day together - and it was a wonderful way to round off my 2025 weddings. Emily and Sean even managed to bring that rarest of rare phenomenon - the Scottish winter sun (all thanks to the 2 buried sausages - iykyk).

The day was a total joy to be a part of - wonderful people and a wonderful team. Thanks 2025, you;ve been awesome - See you next year 🙂

📸-

High fives and thanks to:

31/12/2025

This is my 15th year of photographing weddings alongside my legendary wife and my 10th year of running with

I’ve worked pretty hard on both those endeavours, but the last few years my real focus has been on taking the opportunities that both those businesses give me to ensure I try build the best life and have the best time for myself and my family and friends as possible!

We only get one go around in this life, and none of us are getting out alive - so I’ve worked very hard to skew the work-life-balance equation very heavily to the ‘life’ side - And long may it continue!

Super grateful for this life I’ve carved out and the amazing adventures I get to enjoy through work and play. For 2025 that included visiting 12 countries, having some incredible climbing adventures with culminating in a month in Yosemite. Documenting some amazing weddings with wonderful people. Enjoying loads of incredible times making music with and just generally having a great time. Roll on 2026 - there’s plenty more left in me where that all came from!

To all my wonderful couples; past, present and future - thanks again for trusting me to capture memories for you - roll on 2026! X

21/12/2025

I *love* christmas weddings. And if one venue really knows how to host the perfect Christmas, winter, wedding it’s .

Yesterday, with & .92 (and their amazing friends and family) was just the perfect day from start to finish - and a wonderful way to round off my 2025 weddings. Emily and Sean even managed to bring that rarest of rare phenomenon - the Scottish winter sun (all thanks to the 2 buried sausages - iykyk).

The day was a total joy to be a part of - wonderful people and a wonderful team. Thanks 2025, you;ve been awesome - See you next year 🙂

📸-

High fives and thanks to:

16/12/2025

Last week in Scotland with Shiela and Steve. All the way from California to

An amazing couple of days with a bunch of very special people!

Address

York
YO231JR

Website

https://www.andygaines.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Andy Gaines Photography posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Andy Gaines Photography:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Travel Agency in York?