Struggling to find the right venue for your wedding day? Well, we’ve been visiting quite a few lately and we’re going to share a little bit about each one from a photographer’s perspective in this new blog series.
We’re kicking it off with Clearwell Castle. Located in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, this is a stunning castle ideal for the big day. On our visit to Clearwell, I photographed bridal prep up in the bridal suite while Mike was photographing the groomsmen. They too were getting married on site in a modern lodge built from a studio situated in a portcullis. The ceremony room is long and grand with pillars making for a great frame at the end of the ceremony. Group shots were also made easy here with the steps at the front of the castle providing some great tiers for a whole group photograph. On our visit, the guests mingled in and around the castle grounds while the room that was previously used for the ceremony was turned around in time for the wedding breakfast. Had the weather not been fluctuating between showers and dry spells there were lawn games available at the back, something that makes for great reportage photography usually with some very enthusiastic guests! Towards the evening, we took our bride and groom out for a few pictures around the grounds and were really spoilt for choice. A path leads around the edge of the lawn at the rear of the castle leading to several features including a small pond and a wooded area. The first dance then happened downstairs in the basement of the castle where they’ve converted it into a bar with a very relaxed feeling, lined by moody blue lighting.
It’s a venue with loads of space for people to fill after the ceremony while they relax and mingle enjoying the celebrations. There’s a lot of photographic scope, and while we at Novel Focus pride ourselves more so on our reportage photography there are huge amounts of variety if you’re looking for some posed couple shots.
I’ve added a few images below showing some of the main features of the Castle from our visit there.
