Canada Lodge and Lake Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A lodge on a lake, on the edge of Cardiff

Canada Lodge and Lake sits on Heol Pant-y-Gored in Creigiau, on the outskirts of Cardiff (CF15 9NF). The venue describes itself as nestled in the Welsh countryside, and it has two wedding venues beside the same lake: The Lodge, which is the larger of the two, and Rhodri's by the Lake, a lakeside log cabin for smaller days. Its website says weddings are available through 2027.

We have photographed and filmed four weddings here, from August 2022 to June 2024, across February, June, August and October. This page follows two of them in photographs: Danielle and Harry in February 2024 and Christian and Gabriella in June 2024, and each has a highlight film below. The same two weddings also appear, with a wider view of the area, in our Valleys and Brecon Beacons guide. Here we stay with the venue itself, its rooms and its lake. What we say about the rooms and the grounds comes from the venue's own website, and what we say about the photographs comes from looking at them.

For current venue details, explore Canada Lodge and Lake.

01 / The rooms / From the venue's own description

The Lodge, the lake and Rhodri's

The venue says that at The Lodge your ceremony takes place in the elevated Oak Room, with views of the lake, and that you move to the Lakeside Room for the wedding breakfast. The Lakeside Room has a covered patio and access to the grounds, and in the evening guests can celebrate upstairs on the dance floor or relax downstairs. The venue lists The Lodge for 120 seated guests by day and up to 180 in the evening, and says it is licensed for civil ceremonies.

Some practical points from the venue's frequently asked questions are worth knowing before you plan the morning. Ceremonies in the main Lodge run from 11am to 5pm, and you book your registrar through Cardiff Registry Office before you pay the venue deposit. Alcohol is not allowed in the Lodge before the ceremony, so drinks beforehand are taken on the outdoor terrace, and the bar closes 30 minutes before the ceremony time. The venue allows biodegradable confetti on the patio, the lawn or the main steps, and sparklers on the lawn. Rules change, so confirm each one with the venue for your own date.

Rhodri's by the Lake is a lakeside log cabin with a log-burning stove, and large glass doors lead to a lakeside balcony. When it is booked for a wedding, the venue says it is yours exclusively for the day, and that weddings there run on Monday to Wednesday. Its own pages give different guest numbers, so ask the venue for the current figure. For that cabin we are relying on the venue's own description.

02 / February 2024 / Danielle and Harry

Danielle and Harry: bare branches, a rope swing and smoke flares

Danielle and Harry married here on 10 February 2024. The photograph at the top of this page is from their portraits: they stand on the concrete path at the water's edge, smiling at each other, with a bare branch arching over them and the lodge on the far bank, its balcony and glazed gable catching the grey light. Danielle wears a lace-bodice gown with a veil and carries a bouquet of rust, cream and burgundy, and Harry is in a navy checked suit with a green tie.

Inside, the ceremony room has a timber-lined vaulted ceiling hung with strings of fairy lights. In the picture below Danielle is halfway down the aisle on the arm of an older man in a navy checked suit and an orange tie, beaming, while the groom waits at the front with his back to us. Outdoors there is a rope swing tied with white bows, and the two of them pose on it with Danielle seated and Harry standing behind her with a hand on her shoulder, a stone wall and a timber fence behind.

The party photographs are the loud ones. Bridesmaids in rust-red dresses and groomsmen in dark suits walk down a path with flares held high, trailing purple, orange and green smoke across a flat grey sky, and Danielle and Harry kiss in the middle of them.

The last photograph from their day is after dark. Danielle and Harry laugh as they walk between two lines of guests holding sparklers, Harry with a sparkler low in one hand and Danielle holding her skirt clear of the floor.

03 / June 2024 / Christian and Gabriella

Christian and Gabriella: champagne at the fountain and a pine-lined ceremony

Christian and Gabriella married at the lake on 5 June 2024, and the same water looks completely different. The conifers behind it are dark and full, and in the first photograph three women in matching blue striped pyjamas are laughing at the edge of the lake as one opens a bottle of champagne, the spray arcing to the left while the fountain on the water plays behind them.

The ceremony is in a pine-lined room with a boarded ceiling strung with fairy lights, an antler chandelier above a white curtain hung with white wisteria and trailing greenery, and the celebrant in a blue jacket reading from a black book. Gabriella, in a long-sleeved satin gown and veil, and Christian, in a light grey suit, hold hands on a white aisle runner while their guests stand around them. Ask the venue which of its rooms suits your numbers.

Afterwards the two of them walk arm in arm along the lake path. Gabriella carries a white bouquet, Christian has a hand in his pocket and is looking up and laughing, and behind them are the stone and glass lodge, a covered terrace with closed parasols and a forested hillside.

Indoors again, they cut a three-tier naked cake dressed with white roses, standing on a slice of log beside a wall of logs and a tall window, both of them laughing as the knife goes in.

February or June at the same lake

The most useful thing the two weddings show is how much the season changes the place. In February the branches are bare and the light is soft and grey, which gave Danielle and Harry the rope swing, the smoke against a pale sky and sparklers after dark. In June the conifers are full, the grass is thick and the lake path is green on both sides, which suits the pyjamas by the fountain and a slow walk beside the water.

Because the venue says both of its venues can be used at any time of year, the season is your choice rather than a limit. If you are marrying in winter, daylight is short and we keep outdoor photographs close to the indoors, straight from the ceremony. If you are marrying in summer, there is more room in the day for the lake path and for a second walk when the evening light suits, which fits inside your booked hours at no extra cost. We check sunset and light times for your date in advance.

04 / Staying on site / From the venue's own description

Cabins and apartments by the water

The venue lists 13 rooms, with 12 available on the night of a wedding. The Executive Cabin is for the couple, and there are three Guest Cabins that sleep four each, seven apartments built into the hillside that sleep two each, and a Nova Scotia apartment above the main Lodge that sleeps four. It describes the cabins as oak-built, with views across the lake and the woodland. Its stated capacity is 32 guests including the couple, and it says couples can book all of the accommodation at a discounted rate so their guests can stay nearby.

For photographs, a room beside the water means a getting-ready morning a short walk from the ceremony. Ask the venue which rooms come with your booking and how early you can have them.

Planning your photographs at Canada Lodge and Lake

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

1. Drinks before the ceremony: the venue asks for pre-ceremony drinks on the outdoor terrace, so ask where guests will wait if it is cold or wet, and tell us so we can plan the arrival photographs around it.
2. The lake path: we usually take a portrait walk of about 15 minutes, with photo and video together. Here the lake edge is the obvious route, with the Lodge close by in the background, as the photographs above show.
3. Rain: agree an indoor or sheltered option with the venue when you confirm the order of the day. On the day we settle it together with you and the venue.
4. 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, and ask a groomsman or bridesmaid who knows everyone to round people up.
5. Getting ready: if you and your partner are in different places, we move between you together, splitting our time as a team. Groom preparation typically takes about 15 minutes.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a lakeside venue with a lodge, a log cabin and a lot of water edge is 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 £300 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.

Questions about a Canada Lodge and Lake wedding