Country Ways Wedding Photographer, Umberleigh
Natural, documentary wedding photography by Patrick Newnham
Country Ways is a family-run wedding venue at Little Knowle Farm, in the hills between High Bickington and Atherington above the Taw valley, ten miles south of Barnstaple. You take the whole place for the weekend: the Corn Barn for the ceremony and the meal, six cottages sleeping twenty-eight, an outdoor ceremony area with the North Devon countryside falling away in every direction, and the freedom to bring your own suppliers and your own ideas. I photographed Rachel and Tim’s wedding here in May, after an engagement shoot with them the month before, and it’s exactly the kind of relaxed, do-it-your-way wedding my photography suits.
The barn has the character you’d hope for, stone and timber and fairy lights, but the thing I remember most is how much of the day happened outside: guests drifting between the cottages, children on the grass, the light going gold across the valley at the end of the afternoon. It’s a venue for couples who want a weekend with their people rather than a single afternoon, and dogs are welcome, which tells you something about the atmosphere.
How I photograph a wedding
Documentary first. I don’t run the day or stage it; I pay attention to it, and I keep the formal part to ten minutes of group photographs and twenty minutes of portraits in the best light we can find. Natural light, no flash during ceremonies, and editing that will still look right in twenty years. I take a limited number of weddings a year, which is partly how I get to give each one my full attention.
Good to know about Country Ways
Size. From two guests to a hundred and twenty, which covers everything from an elopement to a full barn. Light. The farm sits high, so you keep the sun until it drops behind the Cornish hills; the outdoor ceremony area faces the view and photographs best from mid-afternoon. Suppliers. Pick your own, which means the food, the bar and the music are yours to choose. Travel. Just under an hour from me over the moor; see the Barnstaple page and the farm and marquee weddings page.
Taking a limited number of weddings for 2027 and 2028
If 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 venue and I’ll tell you straight away whether I’m free.
