Whitley Hall is one of the venues I have come back to most over the years, which means I have watched it change. What has not changed is the reason to book it: twenty acres of gardens, and a hall covered in ivy sitting at the top of a long mown lawn.
Faye and Ryan's day had two surprises in it, and I did not know about either of them in advance.
"From the front it was a wedding cake. From behind it was a Barnsley FC cake, and Ryan had no idea."
The VenueWhat Whitley Hall gives a photographer
- iThe lawn, with the hall behind it. Walk down to the bottom, turn round, and you have the ivy-covered front of a 16th-century house at the top of a long striped lawn. It is the first frame I take here every time and I have never had a couple not want it.
- iiTwenty acres, and dark hedges. Tall conifer hedges run along the grounds and they go almost black when the sun is low behind them. Stand a couple in front of that and the light does the rest.
- iiiIndoors and out, both licensed. You can hold the ceremony either way here, which in a Sheffield autumn is worth more than a nice view. The Whitley Hall Suite is the largest room; the Queen Mary Suite is where the morning happens and it will take a bride and five bridesmaids without anyone standing in the wardrobe.
- ivEverything on one site. 110 for the day, 300 in the evening, 32 bedrooms. Nobody has to arrange cars between venues, and there are rooms upstairs for the people who do not want to go home.
A Real Whitley DayFaye & Ryan
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The Queen Mary Suite
Faye, five bridesmaids and a flower girl who happened to be her and Ryan's daughter. She was, and I say this having photographed a lot of flower girls, the best one I had that year.
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Ryan, crying
The ceremony was in the Whitley Hall Suite. Ryan did not get through Faye walking in, which is the moment I am always watching the groom for rather than the bride.
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The singing waiters
Faye had booked singing waiters for the breakfast and told nobody, guests included. If you are going to spring something on a room mid-meal, that is the way to do it, and it is worth warning your photographer so he is pointing the right way when it starts.
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The cake, from behind
Then the second one. The cake looked like a wedding cake from the front. From the back it was a Barnsley FC cake, done for Ryan, who had no idea. I have photographed a lot of cake cuttings and that is the only one where the reveal was the point.
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Out to the lawn
Couple and family portraits in the grounds while the light was good, the gazebo, the hedges, and the long shot back to the house. Then a first dance in front of a wall of gold fairy lights with a lit hoop behind them.
"Twenty acres and an outdoor licence means you are not gambling the whole day on the forecast. Book the lawn for last light and keep the rest flexible."
PricingA full day at Whitley Hall
A full day of Whitley Hall wedding photography starts from £1,800, with no travel charge anywhere in Yorkshire. The pricing page has what's included and the shorter options.
SuppliersWho made the day
Venue: Whitley Hall Hotel, Grenoside, Sheffield. Hair: Gemma Bann Hairdressing. Makeup: Sarah Oldfield MUA. The surprise: The Best Singing Waiters.
