St Audries Park Wedding Photographer
Natural, documentary wedding photography by Patrick Newnham
St Audries Park is one of those venues that stops you on the driveway. You wind through a hundred acres of deer park, the Gothic front of the house appears, and behind you the Quantocks roll away to the Bristol Channel. I’ve photographed weddings here and it’s a place I’m always happy to come back to.
Why I love photographing weddings at St Audries Park
Light, mostly. The Victorian orangery, where civil ceremonies happen, is a glass room, so the ceremony is bathed in natural light rather than the usual gloom of a licensed room with the curtains drawn. For a photographer that’s a gift. Then there’s the sheer variety: a Great Hall with a vaulted ceiling and minstrels’ gallery that feels, in my opinion, a bit Harry Potter meets Game of Thrones; a drawing room with a baby grand and the famous “Burst of Angels” ceiling; manicured gardens for the drinks; and that deer park for portraits.
The spaces, and how they photograph
- The Orangery. Civil ceremonies. Glass walls, soft light from every side, no harsh shadows.
- St Etheldreda’s Church. A stroll from the house at the top of the estate, for a traditional church ceremony with the walk back through the park as your confetti moment.
- The Great Hall. Double-height, vaulted, dramatic. Lovely for the guests’ first look at the house and for wide shots.
- The Drawing Room. Gilded, ornate ceiling, bay window looking over the orangery, and the spot where the cake usually sits.
- The Banqueting Hall. Wedding breakfasts for up to 130, with floor-to-ceiling windows over the rose garden and deer park, white walls and chandeliers. Bright and flattering.
- Evening. A champagne bar next to the disco, an LED starlit dancefloor and a DJ included, which makes for very easy party photographs.
Freddie and Olivia at St Audries Park
A wedding that used all of it: the orangery for the vows, the gardens for the drinks, the Banqueting Hall for the meal and the park for the portraits as the light went.
Practical notes for your photos
- Portraits. The deer park and the front of the house. Ten minutes is enough if we time it with the light.
- Rain plan. The orangery and the Great Hall both work indoors, and honestly the house looks wonderful in soft grey weather.
- Getting there. West Quantoxhead, on the A39 between Minehead and Bridgwater.
Questions couples ask me about St Audries Park
Have you photographed at St Audries before? Yes. I know the rooms, the staff and where the light goes.
What’s your style? Documentary and natural, with the family groups done quickly and a few relaxed portraits. The rest of the day I photograph as it happens.
Do you offer an engagement shoot? Yes, and worth doing on the Quantocks or Exmoor so you’re relaxed with me before the day.
See also: Somerset wedding photography and my Exmoor page, half an hour down the road.
Taking a limited number of weddings for 2027 and 2028
If you’re getting married here and my way of working sounds like your kind of thing, I’d love to hear about your plans. Drop me a line with your date and I’ll tell you straight away whether I’m free.
Taking a limited number of weddings for 2027 and 2028
Drop me a line with your date and venue and I’ll tell you straight away whether I’m free.
