If you’re getting married at Bassmead Manor Barns, you’ve already chosen a venue with so much character!
From the original oak beams and historic barns to the gardens and outdoor ceremony space, there’s a lot to work with when it comes to your wedding photos.
As a Bassmead Manor Barns wedding photographer, I’m always looking for ways to capture a venue as it actually feels on the day, while making sure the photos still feel like you. You don’t need to spend hours posing or disappear from your guests for half the afternoon to get a good gallery of photos.
I am going to tell you all about wedding photography at Bassmead Manor Barns, my guide to getting the best wedding photos…
Making the Most of Wedding Photography at Bassmead Manor Barns
There are several parts of the venue that offer different opportunities for your wedding photos. Here are the main things worth considering when planning your day.
- The Barns Offer A Mix of History and Modern Style
- Outdoor Ceremony Photos and Garden Portraits
- Where to Take Group Photos
- Getting Great Photos When the Weather Isn’t Great
- Capturing the Ceremony and Reception
The Barns Offer A Mix of History and Modern Style
One of the things that makes wedding photography at Bassmead Manor Barns distinctive is the combination of traditional architecture and contemporary styling.
The Rickety Barn
The Rickety Barn, with its solid oak beams and wrought iron chandeliers, provides a setting full of texture and character. It works particularly well for photos that show the atmosphere of the ceremony, including the reactions of your guests and the smaller moments that can be easy to miss while you’re getting married.
The Bridge Barn
The Bridge Barn offers a different feel, with its lighter, more contemporary interior. As well as being the setting for the wedding breakfast, it gives you a chance to capture the details you’ve spent time choosing, from the table arrangements to the overall look of the room.
Rather than photographing every detail in isolation, I like to capture a mixture of the wider setting and the smaller things that help tell the story of your day.
Outdoor Ceremony Photos and Garden Portraits
If you’re planning a warmer-weather wedding, The Thatched Bower is another lovely option. Its oak-framed structure and woodland surroundings offer a different backdrop from the indoor ceremony space.
The gardens also give you room for natural portraits without needing to travel away from the venue. You might want a few photos together after the ceremony, or you may prefer to keep things simple and let me capture you chatting, laughing and spending time together.
You don’t need to know exactly where to stand or what to do with your hands. I’ll give you some gentle direction when it’s useful, but I won’t turn your portraits into a long series of uncomfortable poses.
The aim is to create images that look like you, rather than two people who have been told to smile at a camera all afternoon!
Where to Take Group Photos
Family and group photos are often an important part of your wedding photography at Bassmead Manor Barns, and they’re worth planning in advance.
The gardens can provide a useful outdoor setting for larger groups, while the barns offer alternatives depending on the weather and the available space. The best spot will depend on the size of your group, the light and what’s happening elsewhere at the venue.
Before the wedding, I recommend putting together a short list of the group combinations you really want. This might include immediate family, grandparents, siblings and a photo with your wider group of friends.
Keeping the list manageable means we can get the important photos done without taking you away from your guests for too long!
It also helps to ask someone who knows both sides of the family to help gather people when needed. I’ll organise the photos, but having a familiar face nearby can make things run much more smoothly.
Getting Great Photos When the Weather Isn’t Great
British weather doesn’t always follow the plan, so it’s sensible to think about indoor options as well as outdoor ones!
The good news is that wedding photography at Bassmead Manor Barns means plenty of indoor character. The historic timberwork, chandeliers and contrasting barn interiors can all contribute to photos that feel atmospheric and considered.
If it rains, we can adapt. We might use suitable indoor spaces for portraits, make use of covered areas where permitted, or wait for a break in the weather if the timings allow.
Overcast conditions can also be useful for portraits because the light is often softer and more even than it is in strong midday sunshine.
You don’t need to worry about your whole wedding gallery depending on a sunny afternoon. A good photography plan should leave room to work with the conditions we actually get.
Capturing the Ceremony and Reception
Your wedding photos should give you a record of what the day was like.
At the ceremony, that means capturing the important moments as well as the reactions around them such as your entrance, the exchange of vows, the expressions of your guests and what happens immediately afterwards.
During the drinks reception, I can document people catching up, the atmosphere in the Moat Barn and the moments that happen naturally while everyone is together.
The wedding breakfast offers opportunities to capture the room, speeches and guest reactions. Later on, the dancing, evening entertainment and outdoor food areas can bring a different energy to the photos.
If you’ve booked a hybrid wedding photo and video package, these parts of the day can also be recorded in motion, giving you more than still images to look back on!
Planning Your Bassmead Manor Barns Wedding Photography
There we have wedding photography at Bassmead Manor Barns, my guide to getting the best wedding photos!
The best wedding photos don’t come from trying to control every minute of the day. They come from having a photographer who understands what matters to you, knows when to step in and when to blend into the background.
Bassmead Manor Barns offers a good mix of indoor and outdoor settings, so there’s flexibility to create a varied gallery.
If you’re planning your wedding here and you want a wedding photography and videography package that feel relaxed and natural, I’d love to hear what you’ve got planned.
Get in touch to chat about your wedding at Bassmead Manor Barns and find out more about my hybrid photography and videography package.
