I’ve known Jake’s family for over two decades. So when he introduced me to Emily and asked me to photograph their wedding, it felt like one of those full circle moments you don’t get very often in this job.
They got married at Rivervale Barn in June 2023, after a few years of waiting (a pandemic will do that to a wedding date). If you’re reading this because you’ve booked Rivervale Barn yourself and you’re now deep in the research phase, this is for you. Emily and Jake’s day, plus everything I noticed about the venue that’s actually worth knowing before you get there.
How the day actually felt
Emily and Jake have been together since 2008. We did their engagement shoot earlier in the year in Woking, their hometown. They warned me beforehand that they “weren’t that photogenic.” They were wrong, obviously, though their dog Peanut stole most of the shots anyway. He was already rehearsing his big moment as ring bearer.
The wedding day itself started with a few raindrops, which is always a fun way to begin. Emily got ready in the Pamper Room with Sarah and Amy from Rivervale Beauty doing hair and makeup. The place was calm and unhurried – given this was one of the first weddings I did as a photographer way back when, it was exactly what was needed for everyone. Joyous! Afterwards the bridal party headed to Cornstore Cottage for afternoon tea. I got given the leftover cucumber sandwiches. A well-fed photographer is a happy photographer, for the record.
Guests started arriving. Jake did not. He turned up a few minutes later looking mildly sheepish, and nobody minded in the slightest. Natasha and the Rivervale team kept the whole thing moving without ever making it feel managed, which is exactly the skill you want from venue staff on a day like this.
“We’re not that photogenic,” they told me. They were wrong.
If you’re getting married at Rivervale Barn
Here’s the practical stuff. The bit you’re actually here for.
Ceremony Barn or the Spinney
You’ve got two ceremony spaces and the choice matters more than people expect. The Spinney is the outdoor woodland option, and it’s the one everyone pictures when they book a barn wedding. But the indoor Ceremony Barn isn’t a consolation prize. Emily and Jake had rain on the day and moved their ceremony inside, and it worked. Properly worked, not just “made the best of it.”
My honest advice: don’t treat the indoor option as the backup plan in your head. Decide on the day itself, close to the time, based on what the weather’s actually doing rather than what you hoped it would do six months ago.
Where you get ready
The Pamper Room is the main prep space, and it’s a genuinely good one. Calm, plenty of light, and room to breathe. Cornstore Cottage (a converted mill building, about 450 years old, also doubles as the honeymoon suite) is where Emily and Jake’s bridal party ended up for afternoon tea after hair and makeup.
Worth flagging for anyone planning further ahead: Rivervale added a second prep space for 2026 called Shepherd’s Rest, so both partners can get ready separately without one of you camping out in a corridor. Emily and Jake didn’t have that option in 2023. You might.
The gardens are doing more work than you’d think
There’s a heart shaped bench and a bridge in the grounds that photograph beautifully without needing any direction from me at all. If you’re the kind of couple who freezes the second someone says “just be natural,” these spots are useful precisely because they don’t ask anything of you. You get great photos without having to think about a thing.
How the day flows
Ceremony, then drinks in the Courtyard, then through to the Dining Barn and the dancefloor as the evening goes on. It’s a good layout because it moves you through distinct spaces rather than keeping everyone in one room all day, which helps the energy shift naturally from ceremony calm to reception noise without it feeling forced.
The team that made the day work
Tash at Musk Wedding Films was filming alongside me, and Ring-a-Roses did the flowers. If you’re still building your supplier list, both are worth a look. A good venue is only half the equation. The people around you on the day matter just as much.
One last thing
You’ll have heard me say before that ‘little and often’ is a good phrase when it comes to portraits. That was the case with Emily and Jake. For each wedding, I’ll tell you when golden hour is, and what direction the sun’s due to set. So at the end of the day we dashed outside for some lovely informal portraits in the field, as the sun went down on this tremendous day.
Planning your own wedding at Rivervale Barn?
If you’re getting married there and you want photos that don’t ask you to perform for them, I’d love to hear about your day. No forced poses, no long list of formals unless you actually want one. I cover Hampshire, Surrey, London and the wider South East as well as Birmingham and the Midlands, so distance isn’t the issue you might think it is.
Drop me a message on WhatsApp or by email, whichever you’d rather. I’ll reply properly, with no calls unless you ask for one.
