Foxtail Barns Wedding Photography
Hannah & Jonny

Newly married couple enjoying some time together at viewpoint overlooking the beautiful gardens at Foxtail Barns

“We are so happy with the wedding photos, they have turned out so much better than we even could have imagined, so thank you both so much!”
Hannah & Jonny

Our first time photographing a wedding at Foxtail Barns

When Hannah and Jonny first tried to book us, their chosen venue was still a building site! Foxtail Barns is a new, purpose-built wedding venue located in a corner of the Consall Estate near Stoke-on-Trent.

Hannah and her bridesmaids prepared for the day in the venue’s dedicated bridal room, while Jonny and the fellas got ready at a nearby AirBnB before making their way to Foxtail Barns.

Working at a new wedding venue is always exciting and is something we always enjoy doing.  We really liked Foxtail Barns – it ticks many of our boxes from a photography perspective and the gardens were just fabulous to photograph in (even in February!).  The staff too were just lovely to work alongside and we recognised some of them from working at other venues.

Wedding ceremony in The Orangery

Indoor civil wedding ceremonies at Foxtail Barns take place in the glass-roofed Orangery.  Even on a relatively dull February day like this, the ceremony had tons of natural light, which just makes things that bit simpler.  This was a lovely ceremony, with friendly registrars, lots of emotion and great little moment when the pageboy dropped one of the wedding rings!

Drinks & group photos in The Walled Garden

For a wedding venue, having a good amount of space inside and outside for drinks, canapes and ‘mingling’ is a must.  Having a nice bit of space for group photos is something else that we are always on the look-out for.  It must look attractive, be easily accessible for everyone and have enough space and flexibility that we can use no matter where the sun is positioned at the day.  Thankfully all this has been taken into consideration at Foxtail Barns – the bar area, courtyard and Walled Garden are all immediately outside the ceremony room and work well for this part of the day.

The drinks reception is so important – this is the time when the formality of the ceremony is done and the guests actually get chance to congratulate and chat to the couple so of course this is when many of the ‘candid’ photos tend to happen.

Group photos are a key element of the day.  A handful of them is usually enough to cover the most important people, but they’re an important record of those closest to the couple.  We like to get them looking great but to also work through them quickly and efficiently so people don’t get bored!

Bride and groom photos in the gardens at Foxtail Barns

Every wedding we photograph includes a bit of time with the couple alone.  We’re really not precious about how long we have with them – it’s really driven by them – so if they want 5 minutes, or 20, or an hour – that’s fine, we’ll work with whatever they prefer.  At a venue like Foxtail Barns however, the gardens are a key element of why people chose to get married there, so it makes sense that have a little more time to make the most of the surroundings.

The venue is part of the wider Consall Estate and the trails and gardens cover more than 70 acres – so it takes a little while to get around.  There’s so many spots here that work well for photos, but, being a February wedding, we knew we had to get all these pictures done during the afternoon.   Robin had driven up to the venue the previous week to have a look around.  Although we never plan individual pictures  – the ‘recce’ visit is a great help for us to just get a feel for the place and get familiar with the layout, which helps us make the most of the time we have.

Meal & speeches

So with a fantastic set of photos in the bag, it was time for food!  The main party barn at Foxtail is a large (but not too large) space with  a good amount of light.  It looks rustic, but modern, clean but not sterile.  It’s a good space for the meal and speeches, all of which were superb!

Evening portraits & party

Although February days are still quite short in terms of daylight, the dark early evening does mean we get chance to break out the lighting gear for some pictures of the couple that look very different to those earlier in the day.  These night-time couple portraits take a little longer to set up, so we don’t do lots of them in one session, but they’re a lot of fun and give the couple chance to stretch their legs a little after the meal.

Guests relaxed and chatted in the bar area and then it was time to start the music and dancing.  Live band The Footmen provided the entertainment as Hannah and Jonny did their first dance before being joined by their guests.

We did one final picture with Hannah and Jonny just before we left them to enjoy what remained of the night – under beautiful metal gazebo which sits in the Walled Garden.  A lovely way to say out goodbyes to the couple before starting our journey home.

A really big thank you Hannah and Jonny – a lovely couple surrounded by a great crowd of family and friends.

Other suppliers for this wedding

Catering: Jenkinsons

Hair: Carrie Campbell

Makeup: Tash Wooton Makeup

Florals: Mandy Gower – A Dash of Magic

Evening band: The Footmen

Dress supplied by: TDR, Halesowen

Suits: Heaphy’s Redditch

Bridesmaid’s dresses: Six Stories

About Foxtail Barns:
A Staffordshire Wedding Venue

Foxtail Barns is beautiful new venue located on the Consall Estate near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.  The estate was acquired in 2019 by Ben and Sarah Reeves who own several other wedding venues under the ‘Best Day Ever‘ brand.  As well as a brand new building to host weddings, the Foxtail Barns boasts a large walled garden and more than 70 acres of wider gardens.

Foxtail Barns is licensed for civil wedding ceremonies in The Orangery, a relaxed, ceremony space with a glass roof for up to 150 guests.

Foxtail Barns
Consall Ln, Stoke-on-Trent ST9 0AG
Te; 01538 717 050