Nottinghamshire · Lincolnshire · Derbyshire · Leicestershire · and beyond

Wedding
venues.

Every venue has its own feel, the light, the rhythm, the way people move through it on a wedding day. Years of working across the East Midlands and beyond means some of these spaces have become very familiar. The photographs that come from those days are shaped by the buildings and the people within them. What follows is a record of the places I know well.

Doddington Hall Elizabethan manor house, Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Doddington Hall

The walk down the drive at this Lincolnshire estate sets the tone before you've even arrived. That long, straight approach through the gatehouse impresses everyone, couples and guests alike. Its hard to describe until you've seen it yourself. The walled garden handles portraits quietly, enclosed, structured, with no fussing required. I find Doddington gives you something at every point of the day. The moments that last longest tend to happen with family and friends. This is truly my favourite venue in the UK and the wedding planners and staff here are second to none.

Amy & Abby at Doddington Hall Louise & Martin at Doddington Hall doddingtonhall.com
Stubton Hall Georgian manor house, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Stubton Hall

People relax differently at Stubton Hall in Nottinghamshire, it has a good feel of pomp which always shows in the photographs. The parkland is more than generous, the formal pond alongside the countryside, and in the late afternoon it does something genuinely beautiful. The interiors are high-ceilinged and period-correct without feeling stiff, with natural light coming through the ceremony rooms. I've photographed several weddings here and the house holds a warmth all year round which suits shorter winter days as well as the long-shadowed summer evenings.

Sally & Luke at Stubton Hall stubtonhall.co.uk
Swancar Farm open barn ceremony space, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Swancar Farm

An amazing venue only two minutes from where I live. Its one of those venues that feels completely relaxed because it's very well thought through. I photographed the second wedding ever held there and have been back many times since. The converted farm buildings sit in open Nottinghamshire countryside and there's a generosity of space that works for any size of wedding. The surrounding fields are the real thing with many photographic opportunities depending on the time of year. In late summer those harvested fields go golden, and the portraits that come from them have an atmosphere that feels more like a magazine than a local venue. Straightforward in the best sense: great light, honest setting.

Krissie & Tom at Swancar Farm swancarfarm.co.uk
The Walled Garden at Beeston Fields, Nottingham

Nottingham

The Walled Garden at Beeston Fields

The walls do the work. A brick walled enclosure in Beeston, Nottingham, that contains the ceremony along with the whole wedding day, with trapped light which bounces and softens in a way an open field never quite manages. It's an intimate space and there's nowhere for anyone to hide which gives it an honest intimate feel. It means the photographs are close and connected. The garden is lush in summer and holds a different quality in the cooler months with less colour but more texture. I've photographed here across different seasons and it consistently delivers.

Laura & Gavin at The Walled Garden thewalledgardenbeestonfields.co.uk
Carriage Hall converted barn ceremony room, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Carriage Hall

Victorian railway heritage is present everywhere you look, from the ironwork, the proportions, the feeling that this building was built to last rather than to impress. The Perkins Bar is warm and atmospheric from early in the day. Intimate winter weddings work particularly well here, with candles, brickwork, low natural light, and an intimacy that the camera certainly responds to. The reeds along the approach give the exterior a stillness that belongs to no other Nottinghamshire venue. I've photographed here many times and found more to work with than some venues in midsummer.

Ellen & Ben at Carriage Hall carriagehall.co.uk
Pheasantry Brewery barrel store interior, East Markham, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Pheasantry Brewery

Working venues either work or they don't, and this one in Nottinghamshire really does. The copper equipment and exposed industrial materials give a photographic texture that a blank-canvas barn simply can't provide. The site has layers to it, indoor and outdoor spaces that connect naturally without feeling staged. Couples who marry here choose it deliberately, and that attitude usually comes through in the photographs. The Pheasantry ticks many boxes for couples wanting something away from the norm as there's enough to work with here that I'm rarely waiting for something to happen. Hey, the beer's not bad either.

pheasantrybrewery.co.uk
Donington Park Farmhouse, Castle Donington, Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Donington Park Farmhouse

Stone farmhouse, open grounds, and a scale that keeps everything close. It sits in proper countryside near Castle Donington and has the unhurried quality that hasn't been over-engineered. The ceremony rooms are intimate. The grounds give space without grandeur, and the log burning stove gives a winter wedding that warm homely feeling. Portraits feel natural here because there's no imposing architecture to perform against but it also has fields for those evening sunset shots. One thing worth knowing, the ceremony room has zero natural light which can be a surprise for people that haven't been here before. It's the kind of venue where the wedding fills the space rather than rattling around in it.

doningtonparkfarmhouse.co.uk
Wollaton Hall Elizabethan house and deer park, Nottingham

Nottingham

Wollaton Hall

This amazing Elizabethan house sits inside a working deer park, and conditions there change more unpredictably than almost anywhere else I work. Ceremonies are typically held in the hall itself, under original stonework and ceiling. The photographs can be taken anywhere as the backdrops are simply stunning but the crown jewels of Wollaton Hall for a photographer is the Prospect Room, which you have to experience to believe. Anyone from Nottingham spends family time here, there is nothing quite like it in the whole of Nottinghamshire and beyond.

Wollaton Hall weddings

A few more places I've worked across the East Midlands and beyond.

Venues

Some of the places I have worked

Nottinghamshire

  • 4550 Nottingham
  • Amalfi White
  • Beauvale Priory
  • Bestwood Lodge
  • Bridgford Hall
  • Canalhouse
  • Carr Bank
  • Chapel on the Hill
  • Cockliffe Country House
  • Colwick Hall
  • East Bridgford Hill
  • Eastwood Hall
  • Goosedale
  • Gurdwara Guru Panth Parkash
  • Harts Hotel
  • Hazel Gap Barn
  • Hodsock Priory
  • Holme Pierrepont Hall
  • Kelham Hall
  • Kelham House Country Hotel
  • Langar Hall
  • Newstead Abbey
  • Norwood Park Country House
  • Nottingham Council House
  • Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara
  • Stubton Hall
  • Sutton Bonnington Hall
  • The Carriage Hall
  • The Chequers
  • The Nottinghamshire
  • The Old Cow Shed
  • The Old Vicarage Boutique Hotel
  • The Pheasantry Brewery
  • The Pumping House
  • The Village Hotel
  • The Walled Garden at Beeston Fields
  • Thrumpton Hall
  • Trent Lock
  • Swancar Farm
  • Whatton House
  • Wollaton Hall
  • Woodborough Hall

Lincolnshire

  • Doddington Hall
  • Stoke Rochford Hall
  • Washingborough Hall

Derbyshire

  • Inkersall Grange Farm
  • Morley Hayes
  • Priest House Hotel
  • Risley Hall
  • Sawley Waterside and Marina
  • Shottle Hall
  • The West Mill

Leicestershire

  • Bawdon Lodge Farm
  • Belvoir Castle
  • Donington Park Farmhouse
  • Foxtail Barns
  • Hall Farm
  • Hilton East Midlands Airport
  • Hothorpe Hall
  • Prestwold Hall
  • Quorn Country Hotel
  • Quorn Grange
  • The City Rooms

Further afield

  • Alrewas Hayes, Staffordshire
  • Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle
  • Hard Day's Night Hotel, Liverpool
  • Radisson Blu Hotel, Nottingham
  • The Boat House Aston Marina, Staffordshire
  • The Cottage Hotel
  • The Shore, Loch Lomond

Getting married at one of these?

Tell me about your day
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