Venue · West Bradford, BB7
Eaves Hall Wedding Photographer
Eaves Hall wedding photographer: two of us for the whole day at the Georgian-style house above West Bradford, two and a half miles from Clitheroe, with four licensed ceremony spots and 30 bedrooms.
Why we love photographing at Eaves Hall
If you have booked Eaves Hall and you are now looking for an Eaves Hall wedding photographer, here is how we would work it. The hall sits on the lane above West Bradford, on the north side of the Ribble, with Clitheroe two and a half miles down the road and Pendle Hill off to the east. It is a Grade II house built in 1864 for a cotton mill-owner and given its grander front in 1922, and the venue runs it as a Georgian-style exclusive-use place with 13 acres round it. The point for us is the layout. The south front has two wings sticking forward with the Veranda between them, so the building wraps round your ceremony and the sun is on it all day.
You get four licensed ceremony spots. Inside there is the Ballroom for up to 60, which is a light room with plasterwork and mirrors, and the Pendle Room for up to 120, neutral and full of window. Outside there is the Veranda at the front and the Wedding Pavilion on the lawn, both for up to 120, and the venue has just opened a new open-air area on the old bowling green that you reach through the Ballroom doors. We have a plan for each of them below, because they all light differently.
We come as two photographers as standard, Lee and Dom, so one of us is with the groomsmen in the Pendle Suite while the other is with the dress in the Kemple Suite, and nobody has to choose. Full Day wedding photography is from £1,049 on a weekday and £1,295 at the weekend, which covers the morning through to the first dances. Prices are on the prices page, and this is our patch: we are based in Blackpool and cover the whole Ribble Valley.
Eaves Hall wedding photography: how the day runs
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Morning
The venue puts bridal parties in the Kemple Suite, which is big and full of daylight, and the groomsmen in the Pendle Suite, which has double doors onto a Juliet balcony. That is where we start, one of us in each. If your lot stayed in The Lodge the night before, we will walk over there for the lads first. Then it is down the main staircase, which is the hall’s best bit of interior and a good spot for a quiet one with your dad before you go in.
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Ceremony
Ballroom ceremonies are close and intimate, with the mirrors giving us reflections to play with. The Pendle Room is bigger and softer, with big windows onto the garden behind the guests. On the Veranda you say your vows with the house as the backdrop and the guests on the lawn looking back at it. The Pavilion is the other way round: open lawn and trees behind you, the house behind the guests. The new bowling-green area is a short walk through the Ballroom doors and is set apart, so the arrival is private.
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Drinks and photographs
Drinks go on the terraces and in the garden in decent weather, and in the lounge and bar overlooking the garden if not. We do the group photos on the lawn straight after the confetti while everyone is still together, then take the two of you off for ten minutes down the woodland paths and back along the drive for the wide shot of the house.
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Breakfast and speeches
The bigger weddings eat in the Pendle Room. It is a bright room for speeches, with the window light coming across the top table rather than behind it, so we rarely need flash until the evening.
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Evening
Up to 250 can come in the evening and the Pendle Room turns into the party. The bar is licensed late. Our Full Day runs to the first dances, and we nip out at sunset with the two of you for the last light on the front of the house.
Best photo spots at Eaves Hall
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The Veranda and south front
The symmetrical front with the two wings and the house behind you. Sun on it all day, warmest in the last two hours.
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The main staircase
The grand staircase inside the front door. Good for the walk down, for your dad, and for a rainy-day portrait.
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The Ballroom mirrors
Reflections of the two of you with the chandeliers above. Best in the morning before the chairs go in or after the room is cleared.
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The drive and the gates
The sweeping drive up from the gates gives us the house in its grounds. We go down for this at sunset.
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The lawn and the Pavilion
Open lawn with the gardens round it. The group shots go here, and it is the evening spot when the light drops behind the trees.
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The woodland paths
Shade on a bright day and a proper walk-and-talk for the two of you while the drinks are poured.
Light and timing
The front of Eaves Hall faces south, so the Veranda and the terraces have sun on them from mid-morning to evening and you do not get the house in shadow for the outdoor ceremony. On a bright summer afternoon the light on the Veranda is hard, so we stand so the wings shade the two of you and the sun lights the stone behind. The Pendle Room has big windows on the garden side, which is lovely for the ceremony and the speeches, but we watch for the brighter window behind you and expose for faces. The Ballroom is the one room where we bring flash: the mirrors and the gold need a bounced light to stop colour casts and a dark ceiling. Sunset is behind the trees to the west of the lawn, and the best of it is on the front of the house and down the drive, so that is where we take you for the last ten minutes. If it rains we have the staircase, the Ballroom and the lounge windows, and we still go out under a brolly for one on the Veranda because the stone looks good wet. We bring two cameras each, flash for the evening, and a mono light for the first dance in the Pendle Room.
Drone
Eaves Hall is clear for the drone. There is no airport flight restriction zone anywhere in the Ribble Valley. Warton aerodrome is about 36 km to the west and Blackpool Airport about 44 km, and Leeds Bradford is further again to the east. The 13 acres give us room to take off away from the guests, and the shot we want is the house from the south with the valley and Pendle behind it. We let the venue know on the morning. Adding the drone to your photography is £149.
Questions about photographing a wedding at Eaves Hall
Which ceremony room at Eaves Hall is best for photographs?
They all work; they just look different. The Ballroom is close and glamorous with the mirrors, and suits up to 60. The Pendle Room is bigger, lighter and plainer, so your flowers do the talking. Outside, the Veranda gives you the house behind you and the Pavilion gives you the garden. If you want one picture of the whole thing, the Veranda is the one.
Can you cover both of us getting ready at Eaves Hall?
Yes, that is why there are two of us. The Kemple Suite and the Pendle Suite are both in the hall, so one of us is with each side and we are both at the staircase for the walk down.
Can the drone fly at Eaves Hall?
Yes. There is no flight restriction zone within 30 km. The nearest aerodromes are Warton and Blackpool to the west, both well outside the limit. We check the weather and tell the hall on the morning.
What happens if the outdoor ceremony is rained off?
The registrars decide, and it moves to the Ballroom or the Pendle Room. We have both covered: the Pendle Room has plenty of window light and we bring flash for the Ballroom anyway.
Can we have prints on the night?
Yes, as an optional add-on. We print a set from the day and hand them over in the Pendle Room before the night is over, from £69 for five. Details are on the Same-Day Prints page.
Nearby venues
Booking us for Eaves 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 Eaves Hall?
We reply within 24 hours. If it’s quicker to talk, we’re on WhatsApp and the phone most days.