Dunster Wedding Photographer
Documentary wedding photography, based on Exmoor
Dunster is the prettiest village on this side of Exmoor and it knows it: the castle on its wooded hill, the Yarn Market in the middle of the high street, the packhorse bridge over the Avill, and St George’s church with its long rood screen. It’s twenty minutes from my house at Exton, through Wheddon Cross and down the hill, and I’ve driven that road for weddings in every season.
I’m a documentary wedding photographer, which means I’m interested in what actually happens rather than what we could arrange. A Dunster wedding gives me a lot to work with: narrow streets full of guests walking from the church to the reception, a castle in the background of half the photographs whether you planned it or not, and the moor five minutes away when you want a few quiet pictures together.
Weddings I’ve photographed around Dunster
Knowle Manor at Timberscombe, two miles up the road, is the venue I know best here. Alex and Suzanna married in Exford church, up on the moor, and came down to Knowle for a reception that ran from a garden ceremony-style drinks hour through to dancing in the orangery; the photographs on this page are mostly theirs. I’ve also photographed a wedding at St John’s, Cutcombe, on Wheddon Cross, and two at St Audries Park, fifteen minutes along the coast.
The village as a venue
If you’re marrying at St George’s, the walk down Church Street and along the high street afterwards is the best part of the day for photographs, and I’ll be ahead of you for it. Dunster Castle holds weddings in the house and on the terraces, with the view out over the Bristol Channel; the Luttrell Arms, the old abbey guest house at the top of the high street, has a walled garden and rooms that photograph beautifully; and Dunster Beach, with its wooden huts and the long shingle, is five minutes away when you want the sea. For couples who’d rather be on the moor, Dunkery Beacon is twenty minutes up the hill and the highest point in Somerset.
A Dunster wedding in pictures
Alex and Suzanna: Exford church, Knowle Manor and a late-evening walk up onto the moor.
Venues in and around Dunster
- Dunster Castle: National Trust, ceremonies and receptions in the house and on the terraces.
- St George’s church, Dunster: one of the great village churches of Somerset, and the walk through the village afterwards.
- The Luttrell Arms: a hotel in the old abbey guest house with a walled garden at the back.
- Knowle Manor, Timberscombe: house, gardens and orangery two miles from the village.
- St Audries Park, West Quantoxhead: fifteen minutes east along the coast.
- Exford, Wootton Courtenay, Cutcombe and Selworthy churches for the ceremony, with a reception back in the village or in a marquee.
Good to know
Parking and crowds. Dunster is busy with visitors on summer weekends; I’ll be in the village early and I know the quiet corners for portraits. Light. The high street runs roughly north-south and is in shade by late afternoon, which is actually lovely for photographs; the castle terraces and the beach keep the sun longest. Weather. If the moor is in cloud, the village usually isn’t, and the castle woods are a dry, green place for pictures in the rain.
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.
