Venues I LOVE – The Waterfront, Market Harborough 

Foxton Lock Lodges, Foxton, Leicestershire

Kerry’s big day started at the Foxton Lock Lodges which is where her bridal party prepared for her special wedding day. Kerry and her girls had arrived the evening before and made good use of the hot tub that night!  The lodges have a Scandinavian feel to them with exposed pine and plenty of natural airy space.

Particularly fantastic about this area is that it is completely devoid of built-up areas and therefore has a rustic countryside charm to it. As you will see the space leant itself very well indeed for the morning preparations for a wedding and allowed Kerry and her bridal party to feel incredibly relaxed and enjoy the morning events.

Great Bowden Parish Church, Great Bowden, Leicestershire

Kerry and Tom got married at Great Bowden church. As you will see this church is very traditional in all senses and has a fantastic amount of space for your guests and family. Particularly useful for me as a photographer, the choral pews choir were accessible to get some fantastic photos for Kerry and Tom without interrupting nor impeding the run of the service. Progressing through the wedding ceremony the high altar at Great Bowden has a very picturesque and beautiful feel to it. The wedding register signing area is off to the left hand side of the church and again is spacious enough for your family and bridal party.

The entrance way to the church opens out into the church gardens and eventually onto the village green. As a result we used this space after the ceremony and one of my favourite photos of the day is the one below of Kerry and Tom celebrating as they left the church. Kerry was particularly keen on also using this space for guest pictures as they left the church as she isn’t a fan of traditional group photographs. I quite like this idea as it gives the guests a memento and memory of the day with their significant other.

We then used the village green space for a confetti line which was received very well indeed.  Tom, being as tall as he is managed to dodge most of the confetti. Kerry on the other hand got covered in confetti and needed Tom’s help to clean it up!  Although the shoe was on the other foot when it came to getting into their wedding car!  As you can see Tom had a little bit of fun here!

The Waterfront, Market Harborough, Leicestershire

Located on the Canal Basin, the Waterfront Restaurant brings something very different to a wedding celebration from a traditional venue.  The way that the Waterfront is nestled in amongst the canal barges and on the curve of the canal means that there is so much potential on offer, particularly for couples photos.

One of my favourite moments was when we were taking some pictures on the tow path and one of the barge owners kindly offered us the keys to his vessel.  For me, it was a perfect opportunity to give Kerry and Tom an image which is unlikely to be repeated any time soon, and one that I think sums up their day perfectly.

The venue itself has space for approximately 70 guests in the dining area. It also has an upstairs area which can be used for extended dining space or may alternatively be used as a secondary bar area.  The front of the venue opens directly onto the canal tow path, and is a warm and inviting area for guests to relax and for the Bridal party and the couple to enjoy their special day in the sunshine.

When it comes to the first dance and cake cut this takes place inside the main restaurant on the ground floor. As you can see it has space for the guests to see what is going on and join in on the fun.

Possibly one of the things I love most about this venue was the way that the path of the canal was perfect for sunset. Obviously the exact lie of the sun will depend on the time of year you are having your wedding, but a professional photographer should be able to help you with that.  One of the first things I do with my couple is look at opportunities for sunset as I feel they are so VERY important.  More on that here!

I also particularly enjoyed wandering around the area with The Bridal party and as you can see we had a lot of fun in the process. I also know that one of Kerry’s favourite photographs is the one of her bridal party with the hot air balloon rising behind. You couldn’t ask for better if you tried.

As a venue the Waterfront has something unique to it. I’m certainly not aware of many venues that open up onto a canal berth and it is this essential quality which makes it very different and very intriguing. I can certainly recommend the staff at this venue as they were all incredibly helpful and went above and beyond as they worked their socks off on Kerry, Tom and my behalf.