Warwick Castle Wedding Photography

Photographing Rhiannon & Jonny’s wedding at Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle is a wedding venue we’ve long wanted to work at.  More than 900 years of history and a truly magnificent building.  The magnificent main hall, the huge curtain wall and towers as well as the vast grounds make this a truly inspiring place in which to take pictures –  and as backdrop for a wedding celebration, it’s right up there with the best of them.

Warwick Castle is a prestigious wedding venue and one with a fine reputation, but our experience of wedding venues is based not much on the wow factor, but on the staff.  Having a great team can really make or break our impression of a venue and we’re glad to say that Warwick Castle’s team was just excellent.  Event manager Hollie was so helpful, from the weeks prior to the wedding, to the venue tour, the the day itself.  And the rest of the team were on-point too – everything just felt connected and well-communicated – and the food was absolutely superb! :-)

Rhiannon and Jonny came to us after finding us through Instagram.  They liked our work because – in their words – “We love that in your photographs, joy and fun is captured and that’s what we’re hoping for on our day (and life!!)” together!).  Always lovely get that kind of comment in an enquiry! :-)

What we really loved about their plans was the contrast – a truly personal wedding ceremony at a church they’d attended for years – and a reception in the grand surroundings of the castle.  And although there was a fair bit of travelling to do, everything came together nicely and resulted in a fantastic day.

The village of Long Buckby is situated about 45 mins or so from Warwick, across the border into Northamptonshire.  It’s here, at her parents’ home, that Rhiannon and her bridesmaids got ready for the day .  The Long Buckby Baptist Church is in the centre of the village and it was here that the wedding ceremony took place with a string quartet accompaniment courtesy of Leo’s Strings.  A lovely, personalised ceremony – with Rhiannon’s dad conducting the proceedings – and with lots of music, singing and laughs – with ice cream for everyone afterwards! :-)

Reception drinks at The Conservatory in the gardens of Warwick Castle

As a  wedding venue, Warwick Castle is a little unusual in that the guests cannot gain entry until later in day, when the public are starting to leave.  So while this means timings have to be just so – it does mean that everyone at the wedding can enjoy the grounds and castle without the presence of the public.  It really does help make weddings at Warwick Castle feel that extra bit special.

The drinks reception was held at The Conservatory – which lies a short walk from the main castle and is surrounded by topiary gardens and with the resident peacocks strutting their stuff!  It’s a really lovely spot to enjoy a drink and mingle on a summer afternoon.  We arrived at the venue first, followed shortly after by Rhiannon and Jonny so we got a handful of couple photos done with them in the area before the rest of the party arrived – led by a toastmaster in knight’s outfit and the court jester!  Loved these little bits of theatrics!

Bride & Groom photos in the Warwick Castle grounds

As people relaxed into the late afternoon and with photos at the drinks reception wrapped up, it was time to take Rhiannon and Jonny off for a slightly longer photo excursion around the Warwick Castle grounds.  The grounds are huge and it would be very easy to shoot in them all day – so getting timings right is a top priority.  Robin had visited the venue the previous week and met up with Hollie, the Weddings & Event Co-ordinator, who was very generous with her time and gave Robin a guided tour of the venue.  Although we don’t really plan individual photos in advance (as light and conditions can vary so much from day to day), we do like to have a good grasp of the layout of a wedding venue and how to best make use of time.  So thanks to all this preparation, we were able to get photos of the couple is a myriad of locations around the castle and grounds before re-joining  the rest of the party for a big group photo in the main courtyard – and all on time! :-)

Meal, speeches & evening party in The Great Hall & State Rooms

Originally constructed in the 14th century, rebuilt in the 17th century and restored after a fire in he 19th century, the Great Hall served as a grand entrance hall to make visitors feel welcome (or intimidated).  With its beautiful tiled floor, tall vaulted ceiling and vast array of weapons and armour, the Great Hall makes quite a backdrop for a wedding meal!

But before the next part of Rhiannon and Johnny’s wedding could take place, the guests had a bit of time to wander the State Rooms, which adjoin the Great Hall and served a multitude of purposes over the long history of the castle.

We spent a few minutes photographing as many of the details in the Great Hall as we could before the guests announced in to their seats, just before the couple themselves made their entrance for the meal and a little later, the speeches and evening party.