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A Wedding Photographer’s Guide to North Wales Wedding Venues (Part 1)

As a wedding photographer based in Flintshire, I’m ideally placed for weddings across North Wales, Chester, Cheshire, and the North West. This means I get to work at some truly fabulous venues: I believe that North Wales and Cheshire have some of the finest wedding venues in the UK.

As a wedding photographer, I often get asked which are my favourite wedding venues to shoot at, so I decided to start to put together a run down of my most-loved wedding venues throughout the North West. This month I’ll be focusing on two wedding venues in North Wales…

Wedding Photography in North Wales

When it comes to venues that are super-inspiring for wedding photography, North Wales is hard to beat. North Wales boasts fairytale castles, stunning stately homes, rural countryside venues, and elegant coastal hotels, so whatever type of venue you’re looking for, you will be sure to find it in North Wales.

As a wedding photographer, it’s a pleasure to shoot at North Wales venues. Surrounded by the breathtaking Welsh countryside or coastal scenery, these venues always make for outstanding wedding photography.

So without further ado, here are the first two of my favourite North Wales wedding venues to shoot at, along with a sneak peek of some stunning wedding photography from each venue…

Tyn Dwr Hall, North Wales

As a wedding photographer in North Wales, Tyn Dwr Hall is one of my all time favourite wedding venues to work at. Tucked away in the Welsh countryside, this stunning Grade II* country wedding venue is nestled amongst ancient woodland and is steeped in history.

Tyn Dwr Hall North Wales
Tyn Dwr Hall was built in 1866, and from a wedding photography point of view it really does have it all: beautiful grounds, its very own waterfall, and grand interiors. It truly is a fairy tale wedding venue: ideal for romantic photographs both inside the Hall and outside in the grounds.

Inside Tyn Dwr Hall you’ll find handcrafted fireplaces, stained-glass windows and dark wood staircases. I love to capture photos of brides on the elegant staircase, and I have taken some beautiful images during ceremonies in front of the grand sandstone fireplace in the stunning Ballroom, which is a romantic room full of light (a wedding photographer’s dream!)

Wedding Photographer North Wales
Outside you’ll find magical waterfalls bordered by trees and wildflowers, and hidden fairytale cottages. Tyn Dwr Hall is nestled in the Dee Valley of North Wales, and is surrounded by ancient forests and countryside with panoramic landscapes: the perfect setting for unique wedding photography.

North Wales Wedding Photographer

Yew Tree Cottage Tyn Dwr Hall
If you’re looking for a country hall wedding venue in North Wales that really is the wedding venue of dreams, look no further than Tyn Dwr Hall.

The Quay Hotel, Deganwy, North Wales

The Quay Hotel in Deganwy is a stylish coastal hotel with breathtaking views over the Conwy Estuary towards the medieval Conwy Castle – a UNESCO world heritage site. If you’re looking for a coastal wedding venue in North Wales, The Quay Hotel is the one for you.

The Quay Hotel Wedding Photographer

The Quay Hotel have recently invested in excess of £1 million refurbishing the hotel, making this a luxury destination for your wedding. As a wedding photographer, the best thing about shooting weddings at the Quay Hotel is the idyllic scenery. There are expansive views across the water to majestic Conwy Castle, which makes for unique wedding photography. I’ve captured some beautiful atmospheric shots in front of the castle: not the kind of wedding photography you see every day!

Inside the venue is also the perfect setting, with a swirling staircase and a sun kissed terrace for your drinks reception. The interior rooms are sleek and stylish: ideal for a contemporary wedding. The event rooms boast full length windows which allow for spectacular views of the estuary and North Wales mountains during your celebrations.

When I am asked to be the wedding photographer for a wedding at the Quay Hotel, I make the most of the unique coastal setting by taking couples for a special photo shoot on the nearby beach. Not every couple can say they’ve had their wedding photography on the seashore, so these shots make for some really memorable photos!

Wedding Photographer North Wales

Hopefully this has been a useful glimpse into two of North Wales’s best wedding venues. Stay tuned for more instalments where I’ll be shining a light on more of the North Wales venues that I love to work at as a wedding photographer.

If you are thinking of getting married in North Wales and are considering either of these venues, I would love to discuss your plans for the day and offer some tips and advice on your wedding photography- please get in touch for a chat.

May 9, 2022

Blog, Real Weddings

A beautiful Nunsmere Hall wedding

Following the excellent news that we should be back to some kind of normality from June onwards, I thought I’d share a beautiful wedding that was shot last October at Nunsmere Hall. The wedding of Holly and Katie managed to go ahead after being postponed from May 2020. During the times during lockdown, I’ve mainly kept myself busy doing family photoshoots, which I’ve adored. But I have to say, I was so excited to shoot another wedding, as they’re my passion.

The Wedding of Holly and Katie

Holly and Katie had already postponed their May wedding date, but come October, they’d decided that they wanted to try and go ahead with their small ceremony before the National lockdown kicked in in November. And I’m so glad they did! Despite the small numbers (just 13 guests), the wedding was truly beautiful and they were both so happy.

Holly got ready at Nunsmere Hall, booking both a hair and makeup artist for the occasion, along with her mum, her two bridesmaids and Katie’s niece, who made the most adorable flower girl!

The ceremony room was adorned beautifully, with blossom trees, LOVE letters and gorgeous pink chair covers. The chairs were all spaced out so that the 13 guests weren’t sitting too close to each other.

I love taking photos of the groom or bride as the bride walks down the aisle and I captured this shot of Katie as Holly entered the room.

While I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to seeing guests in masks, the ceremony was still beautiful and personal. Both brides walk back up the aisle following the ceremony with huge smiles on their faces.

Following on from the ceremony, it was time for some fun wedding photos and these two were all up for smoke bombs!

Smoke bombs are so much fun and really make for some beautiful, colourful photographs, particularly when you have such gorgeous scenery behind you, as Nunsmere does.

The stunning sunset allowed us to get some gorgeous low-light photos too, with a beautiful orange glow. This is why I love autumn weddings so much. The orangery in the trees combined with the sun peeking through makes for a gorgeous photo.

After photos, the couple were able to have a small wedding breakfast, complete with speeches, where the blossom trees were reused and helped to set a gorgeous backdrop.

And finally, the evening was finished off with some stunning fireworks. I love this shot of Holly wearing Katie’s jacket, hugging as they watch the lights!

I hope these photos make you as excited as I am for June, when large weddings can be held again and we can all laugh, drink and be merry!

March 3, 2021

Blog, Real Weddings

A Small Last-Minute Lockdown Wedding

Every wedding is beautiful, no matter the style, setting or number of guests. But COVID has certainly made getting married harder. This doesn’t mean your wedding can’t be absolutely stunning and the perfect day you always imagined. In fact, Amy and Chris had their beautiful day….that was organised in just 4 days!

The Wedding of Amy and Chris

Amy and Chris were originally supposed to get married in April 2020, however this had to be postponed. They had no plans for when their wedding would be when it was postponed, but I’m sure as many people thought, that they assumed this would all blow over in a few months. Well, it gets to September and rather than the virus disappearing, it was coming back with a vengeance.

As restrictions were becoming tighter, it became clear to Amy and Chris that if they didn’t get married soon, it could be another few months or even longer before they could get married. So they took the plunge and decided to get married with 4 DAYS’ NOTICE as they could still do so with up to 30 people in attendance.

So they began replanning their small wedding on Wednesday 23rd September and on Sunday 27th September, they tied the knot!

Getting ready

Amy got ready at home and had a hairdresser to help out with the hair styling, but they decided they could all do their own makeup for the day. As you can see from the images, the girls had a blast getting ready and all gathered around mirrors in the conservatory.

I absolutely love the above photo of the bridesmaids having their dresses down up in a sort of train while Amy has final fixes done to her hair.

Luckily, as they were due to get married in April, Amy had already sorted details like her dress, so there was no panic shopping before the day!

Once everyone was dressed and ready to go, we had some time to get some fun shots outside. Amy was so chilled and, as you can see from the below photo, was having so much fun!

The couple had managed to organise a vintage car for the day, and it picked up Amy and her entourage and whisked them off to the local church. The weather was perfect and meant that the car could have the roof down.

St Stephen’s Parish Church, Hightown, Liverpool

The wedding was set at St Stephen’s Church, a small but beautiful building that was the perfect place to get married for Amy and Chris. Guests could space out within the church while all getting an excellent view of the ceremony (one of the perks of a small wedding). The couple wore masks to start with which they were allowed to take off during the ceremony.

This couple were as happy as any other I’ve seen, despite the quick organising and the reduced numbers. I adore the confetti shot above which seems to light the couple up in the sunshine.

The Reception

Their reception was held next door at the village hall, the perfect setting for a small number of people.

The couple had some beautiful flower arrangements that just lit up the village hall. As you can see from the photo above, they’re surrounded by stunning bouquets. The speeches were hilarious and had Amy and Chris in stitches.

We did some beautiful, spaced-out couple photos as the sun was beginning to get lower.

The beauty of this location on the outskirts of Liverpool, near Formby, was its proximity to the beach. At sunset, we headed down there and the photographs came out absolutely beautiful! We couldn’t have planned such a beautiful photograph if we tried, and it shows that whether you plan a wedding in 4 days or 4 years, the day will be perfect.

The cake was simple but beautiful, adorned with fresh flowers. Amy said that Amazon Prime was a lifesaver when planning a wedding in 4 days and that lots of her little extras came from here.

I hope this wedding day doesn’t put people off having a small wedding, and encourages you to do it anyway despite coronavirus. A virus cannot and will not destroy love and weddings will continue for years, centuries to come!

November 1, 2020