My wedding photography style is a mix of informal documentary coverage and relaxed and fun portraits, and Brockholes Nature Reserve is a perfect location for this. The nature reserve provides a natural backdrop for laid back photos during the wedding reception, and the ceremony room with lots of natural light is a great space for exchanging vows. I loved being able to capture some cute wedding photos of the couple in the wetland walks of this outdoor Lancashire wedding venue.
Brockholes Nature Reserve Weddings
Situated on the outskirts of Preston in Lancashire, this is a unique, natural wedding venue that is floating on water. It is an attractive and unusual venue with its seemingly endless greenery and floating wooden buildings. This is primarily a nature reserve, which means that there is a strong eco vibe to the place while still having all the amenities and accessibility you could want. It is teeming with amazing wildlife and there are so many options for wedding photography within the 250-acres of wetland and woodland. The staff there are all friendly, helpful and welcoming.
A Brockholes visitor can check out their website as their is usually something going on here aside from just the nature walks.
Beth and Mat’s Brockholes Wedding
From my first meeting with Beth and Mat, I knew we were going to get along. They are a fun, quirky young couple who love music and the outdoors. Because of their love of the outdoors, they had been looking at getting married out in the wilds of Wales. In the end, this beautiful place in the North West was a more sensible choice. They could be surrounded by nature and amazing wildlife, but still have their wedding somewhere easily accessible.
Neither of them was worried about being in front of the camera. They were just really excited about their upcoming wedding day at Brockholes. The wetlands reserve built from an old quarry and maintained by Lancashire wildlife trust appealed to them. It was the perfect place for their perfect day.
Brockholes Wedding Barbershop Quartet
I often put together slideshows of their photographs for my couples. When I learned that Mat was part of a barbershop quartet and they would be performing for their guests in the evening, I decided to throw in some video. So I took some gear for sound recording. I’m glad I did. I’ll add the slideshow at the end for you to check out.
The slideshow I put together was a new one for me, a mix of videography and wedding photos. A couple of Beth and Mat’s guests were so impressed with my wedding photography that they cancelled their own photographer and booked me instead. My ego has nearly come down to normal proportions again. You can read about Sarah and Nick’s wedding here.
I enjoyed this wedding so much that it’s often my featured wedding on my homepage.
Equipment Notes
The filming and photography was done with my Sony A7III’s, for sound I used Sony TX650’s. These are great little recorders and are used by a lot of wedding videographers.
Weddings at Brockholes Nature Reserve are a pleasure to photograph and I would love to hear from you. So if your having a big or micro wedding then I’m your man.
The Photographs & Slideshow
The wedding prep was at a nearby hotel. The room was small, but I had the opportunity to get some lovely photos of Beth and her beautiful wedding dress.
The ceremony room for a wedding at Brockholes is quite large but not too big. It has high ceilings and large windows overlooking the lake on two sides. Bringing the wildlife so close to their wedding certainly added to their special day. They managed to get through their wedding vows without many fluffed words. The ones they did make made their wedding vows more memorable and funny.
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Wedding Reception at Brockholes Nature Reserve
After the ceremony, the guests made the most of the beautiful weather and explored the area made so perfect by Lancashire Wildlife Trust.
There was some time to pass before the wedding breakfast, but this passed quickly. One young man even explored the water with the help of his older brother. Asked why he’s pushed him in, the young man said: “Well, he was stood on the edge…”. Can you spot the photo below? The young man was fine, by the way, and the nature reserve has plenty of safety devices around.
Their wedding inspiration was wild and quirky, and they totally nailed it. This was the first time I’d ever photographed a wedding at a venue floating on water.
After the meal, I took Beth and Mat for a walk around the wildlife trust for some portraits. We didn’t cover the whole 250 acres. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them. There hadn’t been a chance to do a pre-wedding shoot, but that was no hindrance here. Beth and Mat are naturals in front of the camera.
Singing and First Dance
Their special day was rounded off in the Meadow Lake Suite, which entailed a performance by Mat and his barbershop quartet. A loving and fun first dance followed this, and then all the guests joined them on the dance floor. The Meadow Lake suite also has stunning views over the water. This really is a wedding venue for nature lovers!
Check out my packages, portfolio and contact me.
Take a look at my Brockholes Wedding Photography Page
To see more of my weddings at venues in this area, head over to my Lancashire wedding photography page.
Brockholes Wedding Photographer
