Berkeley Castle Wedding Venue…King of the Cotswolds
I must admit that blogging has gone on the back burner in recent months (actually over a year!) but now that this year’s wedding season has started to quieten a little, I thought I’d kick-start things again by telling you, from a wedding photographer’s perspective anyway, about one of my favourite wedding venues: Berkeley Castle.
I’ve been photographing weddings at Berkeley Castle for ten years now which I think is enough time to be able to know that it’s a very special place indeed. I can honestly say it ticks pretty much every box you need to tick and then some when deciding upon where you want to get married.
Firstly, it has its own church (St Mary’s) which is not only one of the most beautiful in the whole of the Cotswolds but is also literally a two minute walk from the castle grounds. And if you don’t fancy a church wedding ceremony then there is the amazing banqueting hall in the castle itself. Honestly, both options are wonderful but a banqueting hall ceremony is something to behold. And in next to no time the ceremony hall is converted (by Pippa and the amazing team, more about them later…) in to a majestic wedding breakfast location and finally, bang on time, to a magnificent party ballroom. These guys are good!
Then, there’s the location itself. I could spend three weeks with a bride and groom shooting outside and we still wouldn’t have covered everywhere this magnificent place has to offer. That said, I’ve got to know the absolute must have spots and have pretty much trimmed the three weeks down to about twenty five minutes which I don’t think is bad! And if, which let’s face it we are in the Cotswolds, it happens to rain then you still have the amazing castle interior to play with so the weather is less of a thing. Personally, I think a white umbrella and a gung-ho attitude makes for great shots in the rain so be prepared…
And the other stuff…
There are two great getting ready places a stone’s throw from the church and castle: Salt House and Brook House. Both super spacious and characterful and great for all the preparation fun.
Great suppliers…I never fail to be amazed at the quality of suppliers in Gloucestershire but for their amazing flowers truly fit for a castle, Maria at Sorori Design is amazing. Many of her floral designs can be seen below.
And I couldn’t finish without mentioning Pippa and her magnificent team. I’ve known Pippa for ages and love working with her but above all am so impressed with how much she puts in to making every wedding absolutely perfect and takes care of the smallest detail to create the biggest impact. The team too are brilliant by the way.
So I’ve put together a gallery of shots which I hope shows why I love this place so much and why you should consider it too if you’re going for a grand wedding occasion. Hope you like them…
