Houchins Wedding Photography& Film

Houchins weddings are a firm favourite in Essex with a converted barn and beautiful landscaped gardens and a separate house for preparations

Houchins Wedding Venue

For wedding photography, the venue at Houchins offers plenty of beautiful scenery, great preparation areas and a large wedding marquee. For wedding films too it really is a lovely venue and we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to Bride & Groom shots.

Houchins is situated near Cogglesham between Colchester and Braintree and is proving very popular for its beautiful outdoor spaces. The grade 2 listed farmhouse venue has a patio space outside the main building, a field with a pond and mature trees perfectly manicured and a well-designed mingling area to enjoy.

The Grounds

The Preparations at Houchins

Your own private preparations building

The natural daylight in the preparation area makes the photography effortless and the bridal party will have the kitchen facility in the house for their own use as well as the thoughtful supply of towels, complimentary toiletries and even an ironing board for those stubborn creases. In my honest opinion, it’s a little tight for larger groups but the drawing room downstairs can also be used and that’s spacious. I usually take some bridal portraits there as well as the bridal party.

The Outside Ceremony

Although you’ll have a choice of four ceremony areas the Marquee remains a firm favourite in the summer with lovely diffused light protecting the guests from harsh sunshine or rain. It’s very close to the main reception and wedding breakfast area separated by the patio and well-kept gardens. It’s large too and although I’ve photographed weddings with around 80 guests it can cater for up to 150. They also have ceremony options in the garden room, the drawing room and the woodland ceremony.

The Drinks reception

When the weather is nice the patio and bar area is spacious with lots of tables and of course the lawn and paved walks. Guests will usually enjoy drinks and canapés after the ceremony with games available too that can be hired out. The giant jenga proves popular and makes for some entertaining photography and film. The foundry and bar area will accommodate your guests when the weather has a turn for the worst. In the picture above the dance floor area is on the left the bar area is in the centre with the wedding breakfast area at the back.

The gardens here are great for our photography and film as you’ll always get plenty of natural laughs and smiles as the guests interact and the backgrounds for these images really are lovely.

The Group Photographs

Usually after 10 or 15 minutes, it’s a good time to get the group photos started. I really prefer to take the group to the beautiful adjacent pond area with its lovely backdrops and willow trees. Of course, some can be taken in the garden area too or have a mixture.

The Special Couple Photos

The wedding photographs and video will be very special at Houchins because you’re spoilt for choice with the outdoor spaces. Once the group shots are completed I’ll send the guests to the Foundry for drinks and keep the couple back in privacy for their portraits. I would recommend starting in the large pond and tree area and then walking down the pebbled path. You can take advantage of a nice little bench and backdrop before a 1-minute walk to the magnificent fields. Of course, it depends on what time of year and the weather but there really is a great choice of photography options.

The sunset can be magnificent too if its playing ball, as it sets on the far side of the fields, so you can take a walk and I’ll capture some beautiful and natural sunset photos.

Wedding Breakfast

The wedding breakfast area has a high ceiling and mezzanine floor that overlooks the main seating area as well as a large open fire opposite the mezzanine. The meal area backs onto the bar at the front but is blocked off by a pretty flower wall with lights. The access is open planned left and right of the bar so it does have a nice flow. As they have the mezzanine I’ll take advantage at opportune moments to get up there during the entrance and speeches for some top-down photography. For the video, we’ll place an extra camera up here for an unusual perspective that we can cut to occasionally.

The Evening

Foundry Dance Barn area which I mentioned earlier is reasonably large and when the partition doors are open in the evening it reveals a new dance floor space for the guests and it flows nicely from the bar. This is one of the better venues for dance floor areas as it’s right where it should be as well as flowing into the bar and outside patio areas. Guests will be everywhere, especially in summer and it gives the feeling that everyone has their own special space but no one is ever far away from the other guests.

It has plenty of room too and if you’re having a band they’ll be more than happy with the space provided. The dance floor area is painted black but has some nice discreet lighting and a sprung wooden floor. The decor works really well and for our photography and film, we really can’t complain.

Accommodation

There’s no accommodation at the venue itself but a very short distance away you’ll find the 16th century farmhouse and Honeymoon Lodge. Bear in mind though that it can only cater for 14 people max. There are a scattering of hotels all nearby too though including a Premier Inn which is a 12-minute taxi ride away.

Real Weddings at Houchins

Houchins Latest Wedding Galleries

Charley & Luke Wedding photos

Wedding Films At Houchins

Chris and Alison Wedding Videography at Houchins

If you’re looking for a wedding photographer or Videographer I’d love to hear from you. We cover Essex and the surrounding counties.

www.adrianmiller.photography

07584412926

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