On 26th August 2026, we headed to Dimplewell Lodge in Ossett for Dean and Kay's wedding, taking both the Magic Mirror and Yorkshire Magic Memories for their evening celebration.
Except this one was different before we'd even switched the Mirror on.
Kay is my cousin.
So this time I wasn't simply arriving at another Yorkshire wedding to work for a couple. I was walking into a room full of my own family.
I arrived while the wedding breakfast was still happening. Kay spotted me, jumped up to give me a hug and, as everyone else realised who had just walked in, the room lit up. It was a pretty good indication of what the next few hours were going to feel like.
Quick takeaways:
- Dean and Kay's wedding at Dimplewell Lodge in Ossett.
- Our first event at Dimplewell Lodge.
- Approximately 120 wedding guests.
- Magic Mirror and Yorkshire Magic Memories.
- Two-hour Magic Mirror booking from 6:30pm until 8:30pm.
- Guests actually started coming over at around 5:50pm.
- 98 prints during the booking.
- 19 Memories contributed by the end of the evening, with the gallery still open afterwards.
- Custom dog-pattern print design created by Kay.
- Magic Mirror positioned in the conservatory.
- Matt Hards (@matthards_weddingphoto) photographed the wedding.
- Aaron provided the evening DJ entertainment.
- Dean's suit was supplied by Suit One Suit All.
A Family Wedding This Time
We write about lots of real Yorkshire weddings, but there's no pretending this one felt the same as every other booking.
There were people in the room I've known for years. There were hugs before we'd even started. There were conversations with Kay about loved ones who are no longer with us, alongside a memory wall remembering members of our family who couldn't be there.
There were tears. There was laughter. There was a lot of love.
And then, once the Magic Mirror got going, there was Kay absolutely hammering it for the rest of the evening.
Our first visit to Dimplewell Lodge in Ossett for Dean and Kay's wedding.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
The room ready before the evening celebrations got properly underway.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
Some of the details that made Dean and Kay's wedding their own.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
They Didn't Even Wait Until 6:30pm
Our official booking was 6:30pm until 8:30pm.
The guests had other ideas.
People started coming over at around 5:50pm, a full 40 minutes before we were due to begin. Once the evening got moving properly, the Mirror stayed busy for the entire booking.
There wasn't really a quiet spell. If anything, it became busier towards the end.
By 8:30pm we'd produced 98 instant prints in two hours. With around 120 guests at the wedding — and often several people appearing in each photograph — that gives a pretty good idea of how much use it got.
Dean and Kay getting involved with the Magic Mirror — although Kay definitely didn't need much encouragement.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
The conservatory gave us brilliant light and fantastic guest flow throughout the evening.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
Eight Seconds Is Apparently a Very Long Time
One guest summed up just how immediate people expect everything to be now.
They'd taken their photograph, seen it appear on the Mirror and almost instantly asked:
"Where is my print?"
Approximately 0.01 seconds had passed.
Our 6×4 prints take roughly eight seconds to arrive, which normally feels pretty instant. Apparently when you're standing next to a printer waiting for your wedding photograph, eight seconds can feel considerably longer.
Kay Wasn't Exactly Shy of the Mirror
Sometimes we have to find the bride and groom towards the end of a booking and drag them over for a photograph together.
That wasn't going to be a problem with Kay.
She used the Mirror throughout the evening, coming back with different family members and guests. Dean's mum, Glenda, was another regular visitor.
That helped make the photographs feel like a record of the people who were actually there rather than a sequence of unrelated groups passing through.
It was busy from the very beginning and somehow got even busier towards the end.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
Kay was back at the Mirror throughout the evening with family and friends.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
Big glasses, wigs and exactly the sort of photographs the prop box exists for.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
A Dog Print Design Made by the Bride
Every Magic Mirror booking includes a custom print design, and Dean and Kay's was particularly personal.
The wedding had a green theme, while the print itself used a dog pattern created by Kay.
Rather than choosing something from a generic catalogue, the finished print was theirs — another example of why we build the artwork around each individual event.
Green details ran through Dean and Kay's wedding styling.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
The order of the day for Dean and Kay's wedding.
Photo:Yorkshire Magic Mirror
The Conservatory Was a Brilliant Spot for the Magic Mirror
This was our first event at Dimplewell Lodge, so it was also our first chance to see how the venue worked from an operator's point of view rather than simply looking at photographs of the space.
We set the Magic Mirror up in the conservatory, and it worked exceptionally well.
The footfall and guest flow were fantastic. People naturally passed through the area and could see what was happening without the Mirror being tucked away from the rest of the wedding.
The other big advantage was the light.
The conservatory light made the photographs pop. Looking through the images afterwards, some of them genuinely looked better on camera than the scene did to the eye. For a photo-based experience, that's a very nice problem to have.
Magic + Memories at Dimplewell Lodge
Dean and Kay originally booked the Magic Mirror, but after we'd developed Yorkshire Magic Memories we offered it to them as an addition only around a week before the wedding.
QR codes were placed on every table, giving guests somewhere to upload the photographs and videos they captured themselves.
By the end of the evening there were 19 Memories in the gallery.
Interestingly, the wedding also showed why Memories doesn't necessarily need to peak while an event is actually happening.
One guest scanned the QR code but didn't upload anything. Kay's mum said she thought the idea was great before immediately pointing out that she hadn't actually taken any photographs.
With the QR codes sitting on the tables and the wedding party staying at the venue, the gallery remains there for people to contribute once the party is over too. The Magic Mirror captured the organised chaos in front of us; Memories has the opportunity to collect everything everybody else saw around the wedding.
People Didn't Know This Was What I Did
One of the funny parts of working a family wedding was discovering how many people there hadn't actually seen Yorkshire Magic Mirror in action before.
They knew me.
They didn't necessarily know this version of me.
Seeing family members discover the Mirror for the first time — and then watching it stay rammed for the entire booking — made the evening particularly satisfying.
The People Behind the Evening
The wedding photographer was Matt Hards (@matthards_weddingphoto). We had plenty of time to chat during the evening and finished with Matt saying he hoped we'd see each other around at future weddings.
The DJ was Aaron, who has been working at Dimplewell Lodge for around nine years. That's some serious venue knowledge.
Dean's suit was supplied by Suit One Suit All, while the black-and-white dance floor was supplied by Dimplewell Lodge itself.
A special mention also has to go to Shaquil and Marcus from the venue team. From our side of the event, the staff were brilliant and we had no setup, access or technical issues at all.
Our First Dimplewell Lodge Wedding
From a purely practical point of view, Dimplewell Lodge gave us pretty much everything we'd want from a new venue.
What worked for the Magic Mirror?
- Excellent conservatory position.
- Fantastic natural light for the photographs.
- Strong footfall throughout the evening.
- Guests could naturally see and reach the Mirror.
- No setup or access problems.
- Helpful venue staff.
- And, importantly after two extremely busy hours, very good food.
It's exactly the sort of information that's useful when we return to a venue: not just what the room looks like when it's empty, but where the Mirror actually works once 120 wedding guests are moving around it.
Planning a Wedding at Dimplewell Lodge?
If you're planning your own wedding at Dimplewell Lodge in Ossett, we've now worked the venue for real and know how well the conservatory can work for the Magic Mirror.
- Magic Mirror Packages
- More Real Yorkshire Weddings
- Explore Yorkshire Wedding Venues
- Check your wedding date
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of numbers we could use to describe Dean and Kay's wedding.
120 guests. Two hours. 98 prints. Guests starting 40 minutes early.
But they're not really what I'll remember about this one.
I'll remember walking into the wedding breakfast and Kay jumping up to hug me. I'll remember the room realising I was there. I'll remember talking about the family members we wished could still have been in that room with us. I'll remember the tears, laughs and hugs — and then watching the same family pile into the Magic Mirror together for the rest of the evening.
I even stayed around for drinks after we'd finished. There was no rushing off to the next thing.
This one was about atmosphere, family, togetherness and love. The 98 prints just happen to prove everybody had a bloody good time as well.
Tell us your venue and wedding date, and we'll help make your evening just as memorable.
