Porlock Wedding Photographer
Documentary wedding photography, based on Exmoor
Porlock is the far end of my home ground: the village in the bowl of the hills, the harbour at Porlock Weir a mile down the road, Bossington beach and the salt marsh, Selworthy’s thatched cottages above, and Porlock Hill climbing out of it all onto the open moor. I live at Exton, near Dulverton, and the drive over the top of Exmoor to Porlock is twenty-five minutes of the best road in Somerset.
Weddings here are mostly small and mostly outdoors in spirit, even when the ceremony is in a church. Couples choose Porlock because they want the sea and the moor in their photographs, and that’s exactly the kind of day I like: I work in a documentary way, following the day as it happens, and I keep the posed part short so you can spend the time with the people you brought here.
Weddings I’ve photographed around Porlock
I’ve photographed church weddings and marquee weddings on this side of the moor, an engagement shoot for Elsa and George on Dunkery Beacon above the village with the whole of Porlock Vale laid out beneath them, and an engagement shoot on the rocks and shingle of the coast for Jamie and Sieske before their wedding. The two big venues within easy reach are Knowle Manor at Timberscombe, fifteen minutes back towards Dunster, and St Audries Park on the coast beyond Minehead, and I’ve photographed weddings at both.
Where the photographs happen
Porlock gives you more backdrops in a mile than most venues do in an estate. St Dubricius church in the village has its famous truncated spire and a lychgate that frames the walk out perfectly. Porlock Weir has the harbour wall, the boats and the Ship Inn. Bossington beach is a ten-minute walk through the marsh for the big shingle-and-sky pictures, and Selworthy Green is the thatched-cottage postcard, five minutes by car. For couples who want the moor, Dunkery Beacon and the Porlock Hill toll road both get you up above the cloud line in a quarter of an hour. I’ll plan one short escape, not a tour.
Porlock and the Exmoor coast in pictures
Dunkery Beacon, Knowle Manor and an engagement shoot on the coast.
Venues around Porlock
- St Dubricius church, Porlock, and St Nicholas, Porlock Weir, for the ceremony, with receptions at the village hall, the Ship Inn or in a marquee on the farms around.
- Porlock Weir: the harbour, the Anchor and the boats, five minutes from the village.
- Selworthy and Bossington, on the National Trust’s Holnicote Estate: church, green and beach.
- Knowle Manor, Timberscombe: the nearest country-house venue, fifteen minutes away.
- St Audries Park, West Quantoxhead: thirty minutes east along the coast.
- Elopements on the moor itself, with the ceremony in a village church and the rest of the day on foot.
Good to know
The hill. Porlock Hill is steep and the toll road is prettier; allow time either way if guests are coming over the moor from the Dulverton side. Light. The bay faces north, so the beach is softly lit all day and the sunset lands on the hills rather than the water; the last light on Selworthy Beacon is worth the drive. Weather. If it’s wet, the church and the harbour pubs are generous with their porches and windows, and sea mist photographs better than you’d think.
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.
