Minehead Wedding Photographer
Documentary wedding photography, based on Exmoor
Minehead sits where Exmoor meets the sea, with North Hill above the town, the harbour at one end of the promenade and the moor rising straight up behind the houses. I live half an hour inland at Exton, near Dulverton, so a Minehead wedding is a home game for me: I know the lanes over to Dunster and Porlock, the back road through Timberscombe, and where the light goes on the coast at the end of a summer day.
My photography is natural and unposed. I spend the day watching rather than directing, and I only step in for the group photos and twenty minutes of portraits, which I’ll steer towards the best light and the view you married here for. Everything else is real: the getting ready, the walk in, the readings, the speeches, the first dance and whatever happens after it.
Weddings I’ve photographed around Minehead
The two big houses on this stretch of coast are St Audries Park at West Quantoxhead, a Victorian manor with its own chapel and gardens running down towards the Bristol Channel, where I’ve photographed a September wedding and a December one, and Knowle Manor at Timberscombe, ten minutes up the Dunster road, where Alex and Suzanna celebrated after marrying in Exford church. I’ve also photographed a church wedding at St John’s, Cutcombe, on Wheddon Cross, with the reception back down towards the coast,.
The coast and the moor in one day
What makes Minehead different from the other Somerset towns is the choice you get. From most venues here you can be on a beach, in a wood or on open moorland within fifteen minutes, so couples who want a short escape after the ceremony have options: Dunster Beach and its huts, the harbour wall at Minehead, Selworthy Beacon for the big view across to Wales, or the sunken lanes behind Dunster. I’ll suggest one or two that suit your timings and the weather, and I’ll keep it short so you’re back with your guests before anyone notices.
A Minehead wedding in pictures
St Audries Park and Knowle Manor, the two venues I’m asked about most often on this coast.
Venues around Minehead
- St Audries Park, West Quantoxhead: house, chapel, gardens and the sea, all in one place.
- Knowle Manor, Timberscombe: a country house in the hills behind Dunster with its own church next door.
- Dunster Castle and the village of Dunster: National Trust castle, the Yarn Market and St George’s church, two miles from the seafront.
- St John’s, Cutcombe, and the other Exmoor village churches: Timberscombe, Wootton Courtenay, Selworthy, Luccombe, Porlock.
- Marquee and tipi weddings on the farms between Minehead and Porlock, with the moor as the backdrop.
Good to know
Light. The coast faces north here, which means soft light on the beach all afternoon and a sunset that drops behind North Hill rather than into the sea; the colour comes late and lasts. Weather. Exmoor makes its own; I carry umbrellas, and the moor looks its best in moody light anyway. Travel. Nothing to add: Minehead is half an hour from home. Getting ready. Plenty of couples use the holiday cottages around Dunster and Porlock, which photograph far better than a hotel room.
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.
