Holdsworth House was built in 1633 and it has not been flattened into a function venue since. Blackened stone, gables, mullioned windows, a hall in the middle and panelled rooms off it. The gardens are clipped box, stone spheres and a flagged path that runs straight out from the house. I have photographed more than ten weddings here and I would happily do ten more.
I am not tied to any venue. Couples book me, not managers, and I will tell you straight when a place makes the pictures harder. Holdsworth does the opposite. Every time I come back the light is falling on something I want to photograph.
The Beatles stayed here in 1964 and, the story goes, asked at breakfast whether the place was haunted. Ten-plus weddings in, I have never seen a ghost. Just very good light.
The RealityWhat Holdsworth House actually gives you
- iThe Stuart Room. A barn of 1680, now the main room: oak panelling, mullioned windows, up to 120 for the ceremony and the same again for a candlelit wedding breakfast. Evening guests up to 150.
- iiThe stone gazebo. Seventeenth century, licensed, and billed as the smallest licensed wedding venue in the country. Two of you and the registrar. Everyone else watches from the garden.
- iiiThe walled garden and the courtyard. Both licensed for outdoor ceremonies, the courtyard seating up to 80. Three acres of garden in total, which is more than it sounds when it is all hedges and corners.
- iv33 bedrooms and a bridal suite. Your side of the wedding sleeps on site. Dogs are welcome too, which is how Goose ended up in so many of Dan and Lucy's pictures.
The CeremonyPanelled room or open sky
Holdsworth gives you a real choice here, and I have shot both. It comes down to guest numbers and how much weather you are prepared to gamble on.
The Stuart Room, or a smaller room
Panelling, beams and window light from one side in the Stuart Room, which takes 120. Smaller weddings use the rooms off the hall: Dan and Lucy signed the register between two towers of orange flowers. I shoot without flash so it stays looking like the room you chose.
Garden, courtyard or gazebo
Stone behind you, hedges around you and the house doing the decorating. The gazebo is the intimate option, the courtyard the sociable one. Keep the Stuart Room as the rain plan.
The DayHow a Holdsworth House wedding flows
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Getting ready in the house
The bridal suite and the rooms around it have the gilt mirrors and the soft window light that make a morning easy. Lucy's five bridesmaids in sage green with orange bouquets against the cream walls is one of my favourite prep frames from any venue.
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The ceremony
Stuart Room, courtyard, garden or gazebo, above. I am in place before anyone sits down and I do not move during the vows.
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Drinks in the walled garden
Guests spread out along the flagged path and the lawn, the house at one end. This is where the dog gets passed round, the confetti happens and the candid pictures come from. I do not need to organise anything.
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Portraits, twenty minutes
The hydrangeas against the stone, the iron steps, the clipped box parterre. That is the whole route and it is all within a minute of the door, so you are back with your guests before anyone notices you went.
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Blue hour at the front door
When the sky goes deep blue and the house lights come on, the front porch glows gold under its ivy. Five minutes, one frame, and it is the picture people frame. Ask me to keep an eye on the sky.
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The evening in the Stuart Room
Candles down the tables, the first dance under the beams, and later, if you want it, sparklers on the flags outside under the festoon lights. Sarah and Euan's send-off is on their page.
- How old is it really? Built in 1633 by Abraham Brigg on the site of an older timber house, Grade II* listed. Older than the United States, which the American guests at recent weddings here enjoyed being told.
- Is it haunted? The Beatles reportedly asked the same thing after their night here in 1964. I have photographed it more than ten times, often after dark, and the answer is no.
- Can the dog come? Yes. Goose came to Dan and Lucy's and behaved better than some of the guests.
- Anne Lister and the Brontes? The house claims ties to both. It shares its period and its stonework with Shibden Hall down the road, which I have also photographed, so if that era is your thing, this is your house.
- Rain? The Stuart Room takes the full ceremony, the panelled rooms take the drinks, and the stone looks better wet than dry.
- Confetti, drones, fireworks? The venue sets those rules and they change, so ask when you book. I will work with whatever they say yes to.
PricingA full day at Holdsworth House
A full day of Holdsworth House wedding photography, from the bridal suite through to the first dance in the Stuart Room, starts from £1,800. No travel charge anywhere in Yorkshire. The pricing page has what's included and the shorter coverage options.
Real WeddingsSee it on a wedding day
Two full days at this venue, photographed start to finish.
Read Their Wedding Story
