Venue · Clitheroe, BB7
Holmes Mill Wedding Photographer
Holmes Mill wedding photographer: a Grade II cotton mill of 1823 in the middle of Clitheroe, with the Cotton Room for ceremonies up to 150, the Bar & Grill for drinks, the Bowland Beer Hall next door and 39 hotel rooms in the Spinning Block.
Why we love photographing at Holmes Mill
A Holmes Mill wedding photographer needs to be comfortable in a working building. The mill is in the middle of Clitheroe, a few hundred yards below the castle, and on your wedding day the Bowland Beer Hall, the Food Hall and the Everyman cinema are all open to the public around you. The venue does not do exclusive use for that reason, but it does one wedding a day, and the wedding rooms are yours. For us that is part of the appeal: the Ribble Valley crowd in the Beer Hall, the steam engine, the alley with the festoon lights.
The building is a limestone spinning mill. John Taylor put up the first block in 1823, a second went up around 1830, and the engine house of 1910 still holds its Clayton, Goodfellow cross-compound steam engine, which is now the centrepiece of the Beer Hall. James’ Places bought the lot in 2015, opened the Beer Hall in 2016 with a bar they measured at over 105 feet, and opened the Spinning Block hotel at the end of 2017. The chimney is listed with the rest.
The wedding runs through three spaces. The Cotton Room is the licensed room, with high ceilings, big mill windows, exposed beams and lime-plastered walls, and it takes the ceremony for up to 150, then the breakfast, then the evening for up to 180. The Bar & Grill in the Spinning Block, which is more 1920s than mill, is where the drinks reception goes while the Cotton Room is turned round. The Mill Yard is the outdoor space for drinks when it is dry. Lancashire County Council lists Holmes Mill as an approved premises under Ribble Valley, and there are no outdoor ceremonies.
Guests stay in the Spinning Block, 39 rooms, with the Penthouse at the top of the old hoist tower for the two of you, and the bedrooms are let to the public as well as the wedding party, so book early. Parking is the mill’s own pay-and-display, with overflow car parks on Mitchell Street and Whalley Road. Clitheroe station is about ten minutes’ walk, which matters for guests coming from Preston or Manchester.
Holmes Mill wedding photography: how the day runs
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Morning
Preparations in the Spinning Block, often in the Penthouse, where the original mill windows give good natural light. One of us with each of you.
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Ceremony
The Cotton Room, with the aisle down the middle and the mill windows along the wall. One of us at the front, one at the back. The venue offers reclaimed cinema seats, which photograph well from behind.
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Confetti and drinks
The alleyway between the Spinning Block and the Cotton Room, under the festoon lights, has become the confetti spot, and it is good for the groups too because the stone walls hold everyone in. Then drinks in the Bar & Grill or out in the Mill Yard if the sun is out, while the staff reset the Cotton Room.
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Portraits
Fifteen minutes around the mill: the Engine Room, the Chimney Room in the Beer Hall, the staircase. Clitheroe Castle and its park are at the end of the street for a second short trip in the evening.
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Breakfast and speeches
Back in the Cotton Room, dressed for dinner. Couples often have a Bowland Brewery ale badged with their names on the tables.
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Evening
First dance in the Cotton Room. The Beer Hall and the duckpin bowling in the old Boiler House are a few steps away, and guests drift between them, which gives us some of the most natural photographs of the night.
Best photo spots at Holmes Mill
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The festoon alley
The passage outside the Spinning Block, strung with lights, with warm stone either side. Confetti by day, a moody couple shot after dark.
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The Engine Room
The 1910 steam engine, with its original paintwork, under the roof lights. A cinematic, indoor spot that does not care about the weather.
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The Cotton Room windows
Tall mill windows and bare beams. The empty room before the guests come through, and a window portrait during the signing.
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The Mill Yard
The open yard for a big group photograph and for drinks in the sun.
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Clitheroe Castle
The Norman keep a few minutes’ walk up the street. A ten-minute evening trip for the view back over the town.
Light and timing
The Cotton Room has the best daylight in the building, through its big windows, and we photograph the ceremony there without flash. The Bar & Grill is darker and warmer, more lamps than windows, so for the drinks we work with the ambient light and a small flash bounced off the ceiling. The Engine Room and Beer Hall are lit by roof lights along the length of the 1910 range, which gives a soft overhead light that suits the engine. In the evening the Cotton Room goes down to festoon and candle levels and we light the first dance ourselves. The mill is a town-centre site hemmed in by other buildings, so there is no sunset view to chase; the evening light is the festoon alley and the castle park up the hill. Rain is no problem here, because almost everything is indoors, and the alley has cover at the edges.
Drone
Dom holds the CAA licence. There is no flight restriction zone over Clitheroe; the nearest aerodrome is BAE Samlesbury about 16 km to the south-west, and its zone stops a long way short of the town. The problem is the site itself. Holmes Mill is in a built-up area, the Mill Yard is public, and the venue publishes no drone policy, so flying over the yard means the venue’s consent and keeping clear of people who are not part of your wedding. We ask when you book, and we check the CAA Skywise alerts on the morning, because Clitheroe has had a one-day temporary drone restriction before. The aerial of the chimney and the mill roofs above the town is worth it when it works. Add it for £149 with photography, with the weather and permission refund.
Questions about photographing a wedding at Holmes Mill
Will the public be in our photographs at Holmes Mill?
The Beer Hall and the Food Hall stay open, but the Cotton Room is yours and the Bar & Grill is closed to the public for your drinks reception. In the Mill Yard and the alley there may be people passing, and we frame them out. We treat the Beer Hall as a bonus: the evening photographs of your guests in there are some of the best.
Can you photograph the ceremony in the Cotton Room without flash?
Yes. The mill windows give enough light for fast lenses, and we never fire flash during the vows.
Can you fly the drone at Holmes Mill?
The airspace is clear, but it is a town-centre site with public yards, so it depends on the venue agreeing and on where we can take off. We ask when you book. See the drone page for the rules and the refund.
Where do the group photographs happen if it rains?
The festoon alley has cover at the edges, and the Engine Room and the Cotton Room both take a family group indoors. Rain is the easiest thing about Holmes Mill.
Can we have Same-Day Prints in the Cotton Room?
Yes. We print during the evening and hand them over in the Cotton Room before the night is over. The optional set of five for the grandparents is £69.
Nearby venues
Booking us for Holmes Mill
Do you really bring two photographers to every wedding?
Yes. It’s Lee and Dom, every time.
Do you charge for travel?
Travel within 10 miles of our base (FY6) is free. After that it’s 50p a mile, and we travel up to 60 miles.
How do we book?
Check your date, choose a package and pay a £100 deposit online. We hold a date for 7 days while you decide.
When do we get our photos?
A sneak peek within 48 hours, and the full gallery within six weeks.
Getting married at Holmes Mill?
We reply within 24 hours. If it’s quicker to talk, we’re on WhatsApp and the phone most days.