A Wedding at Staunton Harold Hall, Leicestershire: School Sweethearts and Evening Light on the Hill
Under a painted plaster ceiling and a glittering chandelier, Claire and Derrick shared their first kiss as a married couple to a room full of applause. I first met them at school in Ashby-de-la-Zouch twelve years earlier, so photographing their wedding at Staunton Harold Hall, a few miles down the road, felt like coming full circle.
Staunton Harold Hall: a Georgian wedding venue in Leicestershire
Staunton Harold Hall is a Grade I listed Georgian country house in a small valley about three miles north-east of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. It was largely rebuilt from 1763 for Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers, and sits in a landscape park of the same era, where formal canals were turned into lakes. Beside the water stands Holy Trinity, a chapel built by Sir Robert Shirley in 1653 and now owned by the National Trust.
Today the Hall offers exclusive-use weddings on a handful of dates each year. Civil ceremonies are held in the first-floor Saloon for up to 100 guests, with a reception in the Great Hall and dinner in the Ballroom. For a photographer it has everything: painted ceilings, a grand staircase, lakes edged with weeping willows and a hillside with a view over the whole estate.
Back where it all began
I must have said it a hundred times, but when you photograph a wedding it’s impossible not to feel connected to the couple. Arriving back in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, at the school where I first met Claire and Derrick, set the tone for an incredible day that we couldn’t have been more proud to be part of.
Even at school they seemed different from the rest of us and our teenage romances. When the time came for all of us to move on, to university or into work, we’d all heard that most couples wouldn’t last. Claire and Derrick were always going to be the one special couple that would, and their connection is as obvious now as it was back then.
Nervous excitement and a grand staircase
I arrived at the boarding house where Derrick was getting ready, while Verity photographed Claire and her bridesmaids (and bridesman, of course!) over at the Hall. Looking through the photos afterwards, we loved seeing how the two of them shared the same nervous excitement in the hours before the ceremony. There were cards dealt out on the floor to pass the time, shoelaces tied and cufflinks fastened, and Claire waited quietly by the window in her dress.
After the ceremony we stopped on the grand staircase for a few photos, with its green walls, gilded portraits and an iron balustrade wrapped in white ribbon. Then we headed outside to the lake. Claire and Derrick were reflected in the water beside a weeping willow, while their guests gathered on the lawn in front of the Hall.
A wedding all about family
It really was a wedding all about family, with both sides coming together from across the world. It was a poignant reminder. Even for those of us whose families all live in the UK, a wedding is often the only time in our lives we get everyone we love in one place. The speeches brought plenty of laughter, and later came a first dance under the chandeliers of a red room hung with paintings.
Before the evening reception began, we took Claire and Derrick up the hillside overlooking Staunton Harold, where we could hear music and guests drifting over the fields. We didn’t have long, just ten or fifteen minutes in the beautiful evening light. While they took a moment to reflect on their day, I thought about how much things have changed for all of us. And how special it was to see them back where it all began, every bit as in love as they were as teenagers.
Why we love a wedding at Staunton Harold Hall
If you’re thinking about Staunton Harold Hall for your own wedding, here’s our honest take:
- The rooms flow together. Ceremony in the Saloon, reception in the Great Hall and dinner in the Ballroom next door, so the day never feels spread out.
- The staircase is a gift. Green walls, ironwork and old portraits make it one of the best indoor spots for photos, whatever the weather.
- Save ten minutes for the hillside. The view back over the lake and the Hall in the evening light gave us some of our favourite photos of the day.
- Book early. The Hall offers only a handful of wedding dates a year, between April and September.
Planning your own Staunton Harold Hall wedding?
See more on my Staunton Harold Hall weddings page, browse our destination wedding photography for weddings across the UK, or get in touch to check your date.
See also: Engagement shoot at Claire & Derrick – Staunton Harold.
