Kings Croft sits on Wakefield Road in Pontefract, a Grade II listed stone hotel run by the same family for over twenty years. It is a mile from the M62 and the A1, which makes it one of the easiest venues in West Yorkshire for guests coming from anywhere, and you would never guess it from the grounds.
The reason photographers like it is the pavilion. It is glass on all sides, it sits out in the gardens by the lake, and it means a ceremony that feels outdoors without anyone having to gamble on the weather.
"In a day with that many highlights it is hard to pick one. It would have to be the sunset. I still have not seen a better one over Kings Croft."
The VenueWhat Kings Croft gives a photographer
- iThe glass pavilion. Three hundred and sixty degrees of it, out in the gardens with the lake beside it. Light comes in from every side, so nobody is lit from one window and half in shadow, and the view stays in shot behind you.
- iiThe lake, and what happens over it. There is a fountain in the lake and open countryside behind it. When the sky goes, it goes properly, and it reflects. This is the one thing I would build a timeline around here.
- iiiThe red staircase. White spindles, a gilt mirror and a deep red runner, photographed from above with a train spread down the steps. That is your picture if it rains.
- ivEight acres, and a licence for all of it. The whole hotel is licensed, so the ceremony is not tied to one room. Thirty-seven bedrooms means guests stay put, and the tree-lined path out to the pavilion is a walk worth photographing on its own.
A Real Kings Croft DayMrs & Mrs Senior
I had been looking forward to this one for a while. I met the two of them at their pre-wedding shoot at Newmillerdam, and by the end of that shoot I already knew the wedding would be a good day out.
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Two sets of preparations, two photographers
They had booked the package with an album and a second photographer, which meant we could cover both sets of preparations properly. I drove over to Barnsley. Mike took the other side, at the hotel itself. It was a laugh at both ends, the champagne was going round at both ends, and between us we did not miss either of them getting ready.
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The Beetle
Charlotte arrived in a soft-top VW Beetle. I am a big VW fan anyway, so I would have enjoyed photographing it regardless, but the car had its own story: it was her mum and dad's wedding car. You do not get many arrivals better than that.
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The pavilion
The ceremony was out in the gardens in the Pavilion. One of them wore a navy three-piece suit, the other a white lace dress, and both were walked in by their dads. Both had bridesmaids, all of them in pale blue. The whole room felt it. That is still one of my favourite entrances I have photographed.
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The gardens, then the cake
Family and bridal-party groups out on the lawn, portraits by the big tree with the twisted trunk, and a buttercream cake dressed with white sugar flowers and pale blue leaves.
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That sunset
Then the sky turned. Deep orange the whole way across, fountain still going in the lake, and the two of them out on the terrace in front of it. I have photographed a lot of evenings at a lot of venues. This one I still talk about.
"Hold ten minutes back for the terrace after the meal. At Kings Croft the sky is the thing, and it will not wait for you to finish your dessert."
PricingA full day at Kings Croft
A full day of Kings Croft Hotel wedding photography starts from £1,800, with no travel charge anywhere in Yorkshire. A second photographer and an album, as Mrs & Mrs Senior had, are on the pricing page with the shorter options.
SuppliersWho made the day
Venue: The Kings Croft Hotel, Wakefield Road, Pontefract. Second photographer: Mike. The rest of Mrs & Mrs Senior's suppliers weren't written down at the time, so I have left the list at what I can actually stand behind.
