Oakwell Hall sits in Oakwell Hall Country Park in Birstall, West Yorkshire. A genuine Elizabethan manor — Gentleman Jack was filmed here — with gardens most venues would spend a fortune trying to copy. Ceremony in the great hall. Drinks and family photos in the gardens. Meal and party in the barn across the courtyard. Two different settings, a two-minute walk apart, and that does more for the photographs than any amount of dressing.
It's run by people who care. The staff are some of the best I've worked with, and they keep the day moving without anyone clocking they're doing it.
One of my favourite historic halls in West Yorkshire. Well looked after, and laid out so the day just rolls.
The RealityWhat Oakwell actually gives you
- iThe great hall. Vows under leaded windows in a room the Gentleman Jack crew chose for a reason. Atmospheric and, yes, dark.
- iiThe gardens. Immaculately kept, right outside the door. Canapés, family photographs and the couple portraits all happen here.
- iiiThe barn. Across the courtyard for the wedding breakfast and the evening. A short, relaxed walk that photographs beautifully.
- ivThe LOVE green. The pitch and putt beside the hall spells it out from above. Drone shot, once, for you.
The CeremonyLighting the great hall
The hall is dark, and that's the point of the place. The difference between an Oakwell Hall wedding that looks like Oakwell and one that looks like a conference room is how the photographer handles the light.
Blasted with flash
Flat, bright, every shadow gone. Technically exposed, and the room could be anywhere. All that history flattened into a white wall.
Lit like the room
The sun through the leaded windows stays the main light. A little fill, placed carefully, lifts the faces and leaves the shadows where the building put them.
The DayHow an Oakwell wedding flows
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Vows in the hall
Sun through the leaded windows, guests close, the wood and the history doing the decorating. I've worked out where the light needs to come from before your day; that's the advantage of a venue I keep coming back to.
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Straight out to the gardens
Drinks and canapés among the flowers. This is where the family photographs happen: proper backdrops, plenty of room, nobody queuing in a car park. Ten minutes, done, back to your guests.
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The couple portraits
The back gardens and the woodland edge. Summer or autumn, it works. If the light's good late on, we go out again for twenty minutes before the first dance.
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The wander to the barn
My favourite bit of an Oakwell day. A relaxed walk across the courtyard to the wedding breakfast, everyone together, everyone photographed on the way without knowing it.
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The barn in the evening
Speeches, the meal, the first dance and the party, all under one roof and a two-minute walk from where you married. Very few historic halls run by a council flow this well.
"Seen from above, the pitch and putt green beside the hall spells out the word LOVE. At Annabelle and Andy's wedding I talked the newlyweds into lying down in the middle of it. Slightly cheeky, completely worth it, and as far as I know nobody else has one."
The FutureRepairs, rumours and bookings
Oakwell Hall is a Grade I listed building and it needs essential repairs, which Kirklees Council are planning. The part that matters if you're reading this to book: the hall is open and still hosting weddings. There has been talk that it might stop after the works. I've said publicly that I think it should carry on, and I wrote a piece about why after Annabelle and Andy's day. If you're weighing it up, read that, then ring the venue and ask them directly about your date.
- How dark is the hall? Dark enough to need a photographer who's worked in it. That's not a problem, it's the point of the place.
- Where are the family photos? The gardens, straight after the ceremony, while the drinks go round.
- Drone? The LOVE green is the shot. The venue and the park have their own rules on flying, so I check on the day rather than promise.
- Rain? The hall and the barn are both under cover and the courtyard between them is short. Lisa and Chris's day threw three curveballs at them and the photographs are still some of my favourites.
PricingA full day at Oakwell Hall
A full day at Oakwell Hall, from the bridal preparations through to the barn in the evening, starts from £1,800. No travel charge anywhere in Yorkshire. The pricing page has everything that's included and the shorter options.
Real WeddingsSee it on a wedding day
Three Oakwell Hall weddings, photographed start to finish.
Read Their Wedding Story
Read The Piece
