Bassmead Manor Barns Wedding Photographer & Videographer

Barns, a moat and a footbridge near St Neots

Bassmead Manor Barns is at Staploe, near St Neots in Cambridgeshire (PE19 5JB). The venue's wedding page describes a barn wedding venue that combines historic buildings with contemporary spaces, landscaped gardens, a moat and accommodation. Its about page says the Squire family has owned Bassmead since 1845, that the Grade II listed manor house and farm buildings sit within a medieval moat enclosure, and that the estate is over 700 years old.

We photographed and filmed Georgia and James's wedding here on 4 November 2025, and filmed Meg and Oli's wedding on 1 September 2021. Georgia and James's day is the one in this guide, because it is the one with photographs.

For current venue details, explore Bassmead Manor Barns.

01 / November 2025 / Georgia and James

Georgia and James: a green suit, a chandelier and a footbridge in autumn light

Georgia and James married on 4 November 2025. The photograph at the top of this page is James kissing Georgia on the cheek on the brick path of a footbridge strung with fairy lights, her long veil and tulle gown around them. The day begins in a bright room where Georgia, in a white robe, holds a young flower girl in a matching robe.

James, in a dark green suit, waits at the front of the timber barn while guests look on behind him. Later the couple kiss at the signing table beneath an iron chandelier in the brick and timber barn.

Outside, the golden light of a November afternoon falls on the arched footbridge and a large bare tree. The dining barn, with its timber frame and draped white ceiling, is laid with white linen and dark green runners to match James's suit.

02 / The spaces / From the venue's own pages

The Rickety Barn, the Thatched Bower and the Bridge Barn

The venue names the Rickety Barn, a 300-year-old barn with original oak beams and wooden floors that is used for ceremonies, and the Thatched Bower, an outdoor ceremony space with an oak frame backdrop, which its FAQs describe as a woodland ceremony area. Drinks are in the Moat Barn and the gardens, and the Thatched Bower is also used for drinks after the vows. Dining and the evening are in the Bridge Barn, which the venue describes with natural light, a timbered ceiling and views over the gardens and moat. An outdoor kitchen serves wood-fired pizzas or street food in the evening.

The venue's about page says the Rickety Barn was an old barn that stored agricultural machinery before it was restored, and that a large excavation of the old yard in 2012 uncovered a medieval cobbled courtyard, which is now part of the garden and the Bridge Barn. The barns were fully renovated in 2012.

For getting ready, the venue lists the Salon and Boudoir, with hair and make-up stations, an upstairs room for the reveal and a downstairs lounge, and the Dudeoir, a separate space across the moat for the wedding party, with a bar area and mirrors. The FAQs say the Boudoir opens at 8.30am and the Dudeoir at 10am. Menus are bespoke, from a formal banquet to a relaxed feast, and caterers are in-house only.

03 / Numbers, times and rules / From the venue's FAQs

Numbers, times, music and confetti

The venue's FAQs give a maximum of 150 guests during the day and 200 in the evening, with smaller weddings possible subject to minimum charges. The venue is yours exclusively from 12pm to 12am on the wedding day, although showrounds may take place that morning. Access runs from 10am on the day to 10am the next day, with set-up from 10am.

The entertainment licence finishes at 11.30pm, when music must stop, with last bar orders at 11.15pm, and all guests must leave by 12am. A sound limiter is set at 95 decibels, and smoke and haze machines are not permitted because they set off the fire alarms. The PA in the Rickety Barn and the Bridge Barn is for background music from your own device during the ceremony, the wedding breakfast or entrance songs.

Confetti is permitted in the courtyard but not in the buildings or gardens, and at the Thatched Bower only real flower petals are allowed. Sparklers must be planned in advance with the events manager, and fireworks and Chinese lanterns are not permitted. Only assistance dogs are allowed in the Rickety Barn for the ceremony; pets are welcome in the bar area and outside for the rest of the day. The venue lists a fully heated gazebo and two patio heaters outside.

Parking is on site, and cars can be left overnight at the owner's risk and collected by 10am the next morning. Coach drop-off and pick-up can be arranged through an event manager, and the venue has a gritting contract for the drive and, as a working farm, can clear snow from the drive and car park.

04 / September 2021 / Meg and Oli

Meg and Oli on film

Meg and Oli married at Bassmead Manor Barns on 1 September 2021, and we filmed their day. There are no photographs from it here, but you can watch their highlight film further down this page.

05 / Staying at Bassmead / From the venue's own pages

Two cottages and breakfast the next morning

The venue lists Dove Cottage, a honeymoon suite in the corner of the garden with a private patio, a sitting room, an upstairs bedroom with countryside views and a bathroom with a free-standing bath and double shower. Appletree Cottage is a restored farm cottage opposite the Manor Barns, with seven en suite bedrooms, each named after a local flower, and it sleeps up to 14.

A continental breakfast for the newlyweds and the Appletree guests is served the following morning by the venue's caterers. The venue can also provide a list of local B&Bs and hotels for other guests.

Planning your photographs at Bassmead Manor Barns

A few things worth asking the venue, and how we would plan around the answers:

1. Which ceremony space: the Rickety Barn or the Thatched Bower. Only assistance dogs are allowed in the barn for the ceremony, and only real flower petals as confetti at the Bower. Tell us your plan so we can arrange the morning around it.
2. Getting ready: ask which preparation spaces come with your booking. The venue lists the Salon and Boudoir, which opens at 8.30am, and the Dudeoir across the moat, which opens at 10am, and venue access starts at 10am.
3. Group photographs: we do as many as you like and typically recommend around 15, which usually take about 20 minutes. Choose somewhere with room and a sheltered backup. Confetti is allowed in the courtyard, and real flower petals at the Bower, but not in the buildings or gardens, so plan a confetti photograph around those places.
4. Portraits: we usually take a portrait walk of about 15 minutes, with photo and video together. Georgia and James's photographs show the arched, fairy-lit footbridge and the large tree beside it, and the moat and gardens give you very different backdrops.
5. Autumn and winter dates: daylight is short in November, so keep outdoor photographs close to the barns. The venue lists a fully heated gazebo and two patio heaters outside. We check sunset and light times for your date in advance and agree the plan with you.
6. The evening: music must stop at 11.30pm and guests leave by 12am, so plan your evening schedule around those times and tell us the order of the day.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a 300-year-old barn, a moat and a footbridge strung with fairy lights are familiar territory. You get one conversation about the timetable, one set of questions for the venue and one plan for the portrait walk.

The photo and video team package carries a £120 deposit and a £400 saving over booking photography and videography separately. We are based near Cardiff, and travel across England and Wales is included in standard full-day packages. When the drive is over two hours we always stay in a hotel the night before and cover it.

Questions about a Bassmead Manor Barns wedding