St Audries Park Wedding Photographer

I’ve got a slightly unusual relationship with  St Audries Park. I’ve photographed weddings there — but I also chose it for my own.

So when I say it’s one of my favourite wedding venues in Somerset, I’m perhaps not entirely impartial.

As a St Audries Park wedding photographer, it gives me pretty much everything I could ask for: beautiful natural light, wonderful architecture, characterful interiors, extensive grounds and, most importantly, plenty of space for a wedding to unfold naturally.

My approach is predominantly documentary. Rather than turning your wedding into a photoshoot, I’ll photograph the people, atmosphere and moments that actually make the day yours, while making the most of the extraordinary setting you’ve chosen.

Photographing a wedding at St Audries Park

With its range of stunning settings, the gorgeous aged brick exterior of the main house and the beautiful gardens make it an absolute gift to wedding photography.

The interior doesn’t disappoint either. Whether it’s the Great Hall with it’s vast windows flooding it with beautiful light, one of the smaller and cosier rooms that are full of character, or the impressive staircase, opportunities abound for creating striking and memorable images from your day.

Wedding ceremonies in the Orangery

One of the most appealing aspects of getting married at St Audries Park is the opportunity to hold your ceremony in the Orangery. Not only is it a stunning setting in which to tie the knot, but it’s separation from the main house offers something unusual – a long bridal party approach! This not only builds a bit of tension (look, she’s on the way! Should I look?!) but it makes for some great opportunities for photos that you just don’t get at other venues.

And, of course, being an orangery means there’s lots of glass and lots of light, so whether it’s a cloudy day or a sunny one, you can guarantee getting some beautiful images from those all important and defining 30 minutes of your life. 

Documentary wedding photography at St Audries

No matter what venue I’m working at, my ethos is always the same – it’s your wedding day, not a photoshoot. My aim is for you to just enjoy your day as you planned it. I’ll offer guidance if it’s needed, but otherwise I just blend in and capture your day as it unfolds around me. That way you can forget the camera is even there and just enjoy yourselves. Meanwhile, I’ll be constantly observing, anticipating and composing, creating photographs that feel completely real, but are still considered and beautiful.

I won’t pull you away from your guests and I certainly won’t ask you to do any awkward posing. The best photographs happen when you’re relaxed, being yourselves and genuinely enjoying the people around you.

The beauty of St Audries Park is that whatever part of the day and whatever story I’m capturing, you can guarantee it will be in a characterful setting with lovely light that will only enhance the images. That’s why I love working at St Audries Park and why it suits my style of wedding photography so well.

Preparations photography at St Audries

Wedding preparations are one of my favourite parts of the day to document, and St Audries has much to offer couples to make this part of the day as relaxed as possible. Bride’s and their party not only get a large, multi-room dedicated area to get ready in, well away from arriving guests and wandering grooms, but they also get the option of staying the night before in a private cottage. Meanwhile, a short distance away but safely separated in the main house, the groom and his groomsmen can get ready in one of the large and luxurious bedrooms the house has to offer. As a photographer I can easily move between the two and make sure both preparation stories are told in your final collection, something very few venues can offer.

Wedding portraits around the grounds

Most of my couples want me to create some relaxed and natural portaits of them at some point on their wedding day, but I don’t want to take you away for an hour long photoshoot. I always use the venue and available light as efficiently as possible, and St Audries offers a range of stunning settings and backdrops all within a very short walk of each other, so that we can create those beautiful shots of you as newlyweds in 10-15 minutes.

Evening celebrations at St Audries Park

Whatever your evening celebration plans look like St Audries has you covered. If you want a disco the appropriately named Disco Room is purpose built for you, and it has a champagne bar conveniently attached.

For live bands, or just because you prefer the open space, the Great Hall with adjacent cocktail bar makes an impressive venue for you to see out your day. 

Why St Audries Park is particularly special to me

By the time my wife (then fiancee) and I were looking for a venue in the Somerset area for our own wedding, I had already photographed two or three weddings at St Audries Park and it was already a favourite venue of mine to shoot at. So, naturally, it was on my radar as a possibility if Helen liked it too.

Viewing it as a potential client made it clear just what a perfect wedding venue it is, and everything it has to offer. As well as all the things I’ve talked about, perhaps almost as important (at least to us) was the fact that almost all of our guests could stay overnight at St Audries, meaning we could see everyone for breakfast the following morning.

In the end no other venue really came close to giving us what St Audries offered, and it was an easy decision for us to choose it for our big day.

Of course, this means I now have a very special connection with St Audries Park and I always love going back there to shoot weddings.

Below is a post from a real wedding I’ve photographed at St Audries Park to give you an idea of how I will document your own day for you.