A Villiers Barn wedding in September, at the Grade II listed barn near Thorpe-le-Soken in Essex. Robyn and George had seven bays of preserved oak frame over their heads, a lake outside and the whole estate to themselves — and it is a venue I am recommended at, which I say because it is true rather than because anyone pays me to.
I photographed the day documentary-style from start to finish. Nobody was arranged, nothing was repeated for the camera, and the only forty-five minutes of direction were the three short portrait slots. What follows is the day in the order it happened.
The morning: oak, and an exclusive-use estate
Villiers is exclusive use, so nothing is being shared and nobody is being moved on. Both sides got ready on site, which means I can move between them without losing either, and the lodge by the lake gives the morning somewhere to spread out into.
I arrive about three hours before the ceremony and take almost nothing for the first twenty minutes. That is deliberate — I am working out where the light is coming from, which window is worth waiting by, and where I can stand without becoming part of the morning. After that I stop being noticeable, and the room forgets I am there.
The ceremony at Villiers Barn
The ceremony room and the Grand Barn are separate spaces here, which is unusual and useful — it means the ceremony has its own room rather than being set up and struck in the middle of the day. Seven bays of oak frame do most of the work for me.
I photograph reactions at least as much as I photograph the couple. The vows last about four minutes and there are usually twenty photographs worth having in them, of which three or four are of the two people getting married. The rest are mothers, best friends, and a small child who has entirely given up on the whole thing.
Confetti, and the one bit I do organise
The run outside the barn makes a natural confetti line. Two rows rather than a ring, held until the couple are properly into the gap, walked slowly, done once.
Ushers hold everybody until the couple are properly into the gap, the walk is slow, nobody looks at me, and it happens once, properly. Then it is done and everyone goes back to a drink. It is the only moment of the day I take charge of, because confetti is over in eight seconds and it is very easy to waste.
Portraits, and the forty-five minutes I ask for
The directed part of a Villiers Barn wedding comes to about forty-five minutes, and it is always split into three fifteen-minute slots rather than one long block — straight after the ceremony, again before dinner is called, and once more late on when the light drops. Nobody wants to be taken away from their own party for an hour, and you do not photograph any better in the fiftieth minute than you do in the fifth.
The lake is the thing to use here, late on, once the light has come off the water. Ten minutes down there is worth more than any amount of time in front of the barn doors.
Speeches, and the people listening
Speeches are the richest twenty minutes of a Villiers Barn wedding for a simple reason: nobody can leave and everybody is reacting. So I work the room rather than the top table. Half the frames I want are of the person listening, and specifically of the two or three who are trying not to cry and losing.
The evening, and why I do not leave at the first dance
A lot of photographers stop at the first dance. It is a tidy place to finish and it saves two hours, and it also removes the best hour of your own party from the story. The first dance is a formality; twenty minutes later the floor fills and the shoes come off, and that is the actual celebration.
The Grand Barn takes up to a hundred and ninety in the evening and it does not feel thin at the edges even when it is half that. I stayed until it was properly going, which is how I shoot every Villiers Barn wedding. There is no overrun charge for that, because I do not sell hours and nobody is counting them.
Planning your own Villiers Barn wedding?
If you are looking at Villiers Barn, the venue’s own site is villiersbarn.co.uk — they handle their own bookings and I am not on a commission arrangement with them, so nothing here is a recommendation I have been paid to make.
Everything I know about shooting a Villiers Barn wedding is written up in more detail on my Villiers Barn wedding photographer page, including a suggested timeline and what I think the site does well. There is more of my work in the portfolio, an explanation of how I actually work on the day, and the price is one figure with everything in it.
Robyn and George got a gallery of over eight hundred images, with more than a hundred previews in their inbox the morning after the wedding. If your date is free I would like to hear about it — send me your date and we will have a call.
Villiers Barn wedding photographer FAQs
Where is Villiers Barn?
Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex — an exclusive-use estate built around a Grade II listed seven-bay oak barn, with a lake and a lakeside lodge.
Are you a recommended photographer at Villiers Barn?
Yes. That means the venue is happy to put my name forward; it does not mean I pay them or that they pay me. You should still look at the work and decide for yourself.
How much does a Villiers Barn wedding photographer cost?
£2,500, all in. Unlimited hours, over eight hundred edited images, previews the next morning, travel included and drone where the rules allow it. There are no packages and no hourly rate to run over.
How long do you need for group photographs?
It depends how many you want. I advise eight to ten groups, which takes fifteen to twenty minutes with a list agreed in advance — then everybody goes back to their drink.
Do you travel to Essex?
Yes, and travel is included in the price. There is no mileage charge and no overnight fee if I come the night before, which I often do.
