Top Photographers Favourite Wedding Venues in the UK

As a wedding photographer, they will have shot at many different venues in the UK and sometimes abroad, here they share with us their favourites and what they love about them.

Photographers Favourite Wedding Venues

18 wedding photographers share details of some of their favourite venues in the UK and abroad, from intimate venues to beautiful outdoor ceremonies.

Prestwold Hall in Loughborough is definitely one of my favourites.  I’ve shot weddings in many country homes and London townhouses but Prestwold has it just right with a combination of grandeur and cosiness.  People are comfortable as soon as they step inside which is great for me as a moments-focused photographer.  They’ve also got a beautiful old church on their grounds which conducts ceremonies and if the weather is right, you’ll see mist rolling in from the surrounding marshes.

ONE of my favourite wedding venue to photograph is Lainston House near Winchester in Hampshire. The location itself is simply stunning with so many possibilities to take great photos with my couples and their guests. The service there is top-notch, always friendly yet professional. Like myself, the staff at Lainston House will always bend over backwards to provide excellent service.

My favourite wedding venue is called Upwaltham Barns and is based near Chichester in Sussex.  I have photographed a lot of weddings at this lovely venue and know the owners and staff well. when I go there it is like being surrounded by family. They have two gorgeous barns, beautiful rolling countryside and even a Moroccan snug! There are always beautiful flowers planted with the seasons and it is always a joy to photograph there too. Did I mention they also have the most amazing in house caterers called Nibbles2Nosh too!

Wow, well that’s a hard question as there are so many fabulous ones! I really like when people do there own homespun ones because they are completely unique but if I had to choose I’m going to three.

I’d say St Donat’s Castle for it’s wonderful views, Hestercombe for its beautiful gardens and Elmore Court for it’s incredible eco-friendly reception room.

This is a tough one, we work between the UK and Italy and we seldomly work at the same venue more than once. If we had to choose our favourite venue though, it would be L’Antica Fattoria di Paterno, a gorgeous Tuscan villa, surrounded by endless vineyards and golden fields.

We were lucky enough to photograph there the wonderful destination wedding of Sharon&Adam, two guys from Florida who saw all their family together at once only in that special occasion.

They had an outdoor Jewish ceremony, celebrated underneath a Chuppah decorated with the most beautiful flowers by Maurizio at Flowersliving. The decor was spot on and the venue was simply anything we could have dreamt of!

I don’t have a specific favourite venue, but my top few have a couple of things in common. I like to have a large outdoor space, not just because it makes a beautiful backdrop but also because it gives guests a lot of room to move around and interact. This lends itself to my documentary style, and I’m able to capture lots of fun images.

Indoors, I have a ‘thing’ for staircases. If there’s an intricate bannister too, even better! Stairs allow for a few different perspectives in a range of images and they’re fun to work with.

This is a tough one to answer as there are so many beautiful venues down here in the Southwest, from beach venues to woodland locations, stunning manor houses, estates… the list goes on…It wouldn’t be fair to just mention 1 particular venue as they all have their charm and in my opinion it’s the couple and their guests who make the day special not the place.

A good crew can have the best day ever in any location! In general I prefer outdoorsy, beach venues with a casual relaxed vibe rather than sterile hotel wedding venues, where everything is set in a rigid order of the day.

Firstly, for us, it’s the people that make the party. We love shooting weddings at new and unusual venues though. It might be a wed-fest in a cow shed, a spectacular geodome, or in a super-cool city centre. New venues are incredibly inspiring. There are of course some amazing more conventional venues out there too. A friendly face and mega chilled, experienced team will not only help your day run smoothly, but they’ll often look after us photographers really well. Double bonus!

It may sound corny but my favourite wedding venues are new ones, ones that I haven’t visited before as I like the excitement of exploring new ideas new places to shot couples, failing that some of London’s town halls like Islington, Marylebone, Wandsworth and Merton I love Art Deco buildings.

My favourite wedding changes on the mood I am in, Mainly because there are so many amazing venues that all have their qualities and are all totally different. I am fortunate that I get to capture weddings all the country and a hand full of destinations so I get to see a huge variety of venues.

That said, Dorfold Hall, and Hedsor House are beautiful ‘houses’, Cripps Barns have a great selection of barns, London has plenty of private members clubs like Savile Club and Lansdowne Club as well as niche and chic venues like Shoreditch Studios, Wiltons Music Hall and Trinity Buoy Wharf to name a few. BUT… I have shot 200 weddings and there are thousands of venues across the UK!

My favourites venues are the ones that have light enough and white walls. Here in Ibiza, the light is super strong and really harsh when the sun is at its highest point. So white walls help a lot bouncing light and giving some soft and clean look to the picture. You find that in Churches, like Puig de Missa (Santa Eularia) and some venues, like Elixir, on the west coast.

We have covered so many that it is hard to say definitively, but I think it is probably The Marbella Club in Spain or George V in Paris, they were two personal highlights. They are both quite grand venues, but that isn’t necessarily why I like them as I have quite varied taste, however, I think it came down to the sheer effort that the staff in those venues made and how much they facilitated wonderful weddings. It wasn’t ‘just’ about the venue itself it is the joy the couple brought to their own days.

So far my favourite wedding venue has been Castello Monaci in Italy. I adored the sheer level of diversity the venue had, from the main castle, the gardens for dinner, the fields and chandeliers for night time. There so just so much scope for photography- a pure photographers dream.

I don’t really have a favorite venue. Living in Tuscany I have the opportunity to take wedding photos in different places and at the same time very beautiful, such as villas or farmhouses. I definitely prefer venues that have well-lit interior spaces to create beautiful photographs of getting ready and also outdoor spaces to organise outdoor ceremonies (that I prefer).

Tunnels Beaches in North Devon. I decided 6 years ago that I no longer wanted to travel as a wedding photographer, not outside of the South West anyway. We have some of the best wedding venues in the UK right here in Devon, Cornwall & Somerset and one of my personal favourites is Tunnels Beaches in North Devon.

I have been photographing weddings at this unique beach wedding venue since 2013 and on a sunny summers day getting married by the sea to the sound of the waves followed by a BBQ and party on the terrace watching the sun set into the sea, what could be better. The venue attracts couples from all over the world and we are so lucky to have it on our doorstep!

One of my favourite wedding venues is Froyle Park. The reason being it always gives me great images. We’ve shot so many weddings there and the photos always look great.

The old wooden panelled main hall is great for ceremonies for example and the dining area where the speeches take place always provides us with memorable images.

Knowsley Hall! I rate all my venues based on their interior, exterior and the quality of their staff. Knowsley Hall simply puts all the others to shame. Even if all other venues were rated ten out of ten on these criteria, Knowsley Hall would go all the way up to eleven! The interior decor is quite simply unbelievable.

It’s like a Renaissance art gallery – I once over heard some guests remarking to one another, “Hey mate, look at this! Proper shabby chic, eh?” to which I replied, “Fellas – this is the real thing – look at that stool over there. It’s the one that the seventh Earl of Derby knelt on to be beheaded in 1651!” (OK, so I’d read the plaque before!) Come rain or shine, the Hall’s interior is almost too good for wedding photography. But it doesn’t end there – the exterior of the building and the gardens are absolutely breathtaking as well.

Finally, the staff could write the book on how to look after a wedding party. They’re so helpful and polite! I remember one  wedding where an elderly guest came over faint, and one of the staff sat with her until she’d got her breath back, holding her hand all the while. It was lovely to see.

Froyle Park Estate. Just love it as it has a chapel, register room, outside area and everything is within walking distance. Great outdoor area for couples, guests, kids. They even have swings outside.

If the style of the venue suits the couple then I’m happy. There are so may great venues now. Local to me Crow Hill, Marsden is great, you get the venue all weekend and there are plenty of photo opportunities. Further away from me Upwaltham Barns in Petworth do everything so well and its a great relaxed venue.

Hiring a Photographer

Photographers work at many wedding venues up and down the country, and abroad, photographer may have worked at local venues more than once, however if you like the style of a photographers work, then they will likely travel and happily come and shoot your wedding.