Venue · Cow Ark, near Clitheroe, BB7
Browsholme Hall Wedding Photographer
Browsholme Hall wedding photographer: two of us for the day at the Parker family's Tudor hall near Clitheroe, with the Tithe Barn, the Regency Drawing Room, the Lily Pond and 600 acres of the Forest of Bowland.
Why we love photographing at Browsholme Hall
If you are searching for a Browsholme Hall wedding photographer, you have picked a place we would happily photograph every weekend. Browsholme is out at Cow Ark, five miles north-west of Clitheroe on the lane past Bashall Eaves, where the Ribble Valley turns into the Forest of Bowland. The Hall was begun in 1507 by Edmund Parker and the Parkers still live in it, which makes it, by their account, the oldest surviving family home in Lancashire. It is Grade I. The weddings happen mostly in the Tithe Barn, a 17th-century stone barn restored in 2010, with the Hall and its gardens for the ceremony and the pictures.
You have more ceremony choices here than almost anywhere in the valley. The Tithe Barn itself, with its oak beams and flagstones. The Regency Drawing Room in the Hall for up to 60. The Cart Shed for up to 30. And outside, the Lily Pond with its oak pavilion at the bottom of the Wilderness Garden, the Italian Steps under yews that are 300 years old, the Lonesome Pine in the old woodland, and the Front Lawn in front of the Hall. The seated day runs to 130 and the evening to 200, and the barn and courtyard are yours until half past midnight.
We come as two photographers as standard. On an estate this size that is the difference between having the Lily Pond ceremony and the guests gathering in the courtyard both covered, or missing one. Full Day Browsholme Hall wedding photography is £1,049 on a weekday and £1,295 at the weekend; the rest is on the prices page. We are based in Blackpool and cover the Ribble Valley and Bowland.
Browsholme Hall wedding photography: how the day runs
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Morning
Most couples who stay the night before are in the Woodland Lodges or the Mews Cottage, so the morning is in the woods: lodge doors open, a kitchenette, a firepit outside. One of us is there and the other is at the barn as the flowers and the guests arrive. The Hall is a working home, so getting ready inside it is something to ask the family about rather than assume.
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Ceremony
The Tithe Barn is the default and the wet-weather plan for all the outdoor spots. One of us is at the front by the registrars and one at the back under the Upper Barn. Outside, the Lily Pond pavilion gives you water and the panorama behind; the Italian Steps put you on stone with the yew walk as the aisle; the Front Lawn gives you the Hall itself. The Regency Drawing Room is the one for a small ceremony with the family’s portraits round you.
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Drinks and photographs
Drinks are in the courtyard, which is a sun trap in summer, with the Upper Barn bar for anyone wanting shade. We do the groups on the Front Lawn with the Hall behind, then take the two of you down the Italian Steps and through the Wilderness Garden to the Lily Pond. There is a rowing boat on the lake if you fancy it, and the buggy if the heels say no to the walk.
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Breakfast and speeches
In the Tithe Barn under the beams. Barn light is lovely but it is directional, so we bring flash and keep it soft. The Upper Barn looks down on the Main Barn, which gives us a high angle for the speeches that you do not get in a hotel.
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Evening
Back out to the courtyard for the firepits and the pizza oven, then into the barn for the party. The doors stay shut for the music because of the neighbours and the livestock, so the evening is inside. Our Full Day runs to the first dances, and at sunset the courtyard catches it in winter and the Front Lawn in summer.
Best photo spots at Browsholme Hall
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The Front Lawn and the Hall
The Tudor front with the lawn in front of it. Groups, the wide shot, and a summer evening portrait.
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The Italian Steps and the yew walk
Stone steps under 300-year-old yews. Shade at midday, and a proper aisle for the ceremony or a walk-away.
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The Lily Pond and the oak pavilion
Water, the hand-shingled pavilion and the view. The one for the two of you on your own.
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The lake and the rowing boat
The estate’s private lake. Ten minutes in the boat if you want something nobody else has.
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The Tithe Barn courtyard
Firepits, fairy lights, the barn doors. Drinks in the sun and the winter sunset.
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The Lonesome Pine
A single pine in the old woodland. Dramatic in flat light and good in rain.
Light and timing
Browsholme is a big estate with the light changing from spot to spot, so we plan the day by the clock. The courtyard is a sun trap and faces the low winter sun, so a December drinks reception there is warm and gold at four o’clock. The Front Lawn is open and bright, best mid-afternoon onwards. The yew walk and the Italian Steps are shaded, which is where we take you when the midday sun is hard. The Lily Pond sits at the bottom of the Wilderness Garden with open sky, so it is lovely from late afternoon. Inside the barn the light comes through the doors and the few windows, so faces near the door are bright and the far end is dark; we bring flash and bounce it off the beams, and a mono light for the first dance. The Regency Drawing Room is a proper period room with window light from one side, and we shoot that without flash where we can. Sunset is to the west over Bowland and the courtyard catches it in winter. Rain plan: the barn, the Upper Barn looking down, the Hall porch and the yews with a brolly. We bring two cameras each, flash, a stand light and wellies.
Drone
Browsholme is clear on airspace. There is no flight restriction zone within 30 km; Warton aerodrome is about 32 km to the west and Blackpool Airport about 40 km. But it is a private estate, a family home and a working farm with livestock, so we ask the estate office before the day and fly where they say. The shot is the Hall in its parkland with the barn and the woods, and Bowland behind. The drone is £149 added to your photography.
Questions about photographing a wedding at Browsholme Hall
Which ceremony spot at Browsholme is best for photographs?
For the Hall itself, the Front Lawn. For the two of you, the Lily Pond. For shade on a hot day, the Italian Steps. If you want it all in one place, the Tithe Barn with the doors open and the courtyard behind. We will talk it through once you have picked.
Can you cover both of us getting ready in the lodges?
Yes. The Woodland Lodges and the Mews Cottage are close together, so one of us is with each side and we are both at the barn for the arrivals.
Can the drone fly at Browsholme Hall?
The airspace is clear, but it is a private estate with livestock and a family living in the Hall, so we ask the estate office first and fly where they allow. We will do the asking.
Is the Tithe Barn dark for photographs?
It is a barn, so it is darker at the far end than by the doors. We bring flash and bounce it off the beams so the pictures look like the barn and not like a flash went off. The Upper Barn gives us a high angle you will not get at a hotel.
Can we have prints on the night?
Yes, as an optional add-on. We hand them over in the Tithe Barn before the night is over, from £69 for five. See the Same-Day Prints page.
Nearby venues
Booking us for Browsholme Hall
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 Browsholme Hall?
We reply within 24 hours. If it’s quicker to talk, we’re on WhatsApp and the phone most days.