Elmhay Park Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A walled garden on the Orchardleigh Estate

Elmhay Park is on the Orchardleigh Estate near Frome in Somerset (BA11 2PB). On its wedding page the venue describes gardens and an Orangery, a Walled Garden with a fountain and a bandstand, and an Italian Garden planted with olive trees. It sits beside a sister venue on the same estate, Orchardleigh House, a Victorian mansion with its own bedrooms.

We have photographed and filmed three weddings on the Orchardleigh Estate, in September 2021, May 2026 and July 2026. This page follows the July 2026 wedding of Rachel and Jarrad at Elmhay Park in photographs. Our Somerset guide shows the venue beside others in the county, and here we stay with Elmhay Park itself. What we say about 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 Elmhay Park. Elmhay Park and Orchardleigh House are separate venues on the same estate, so check which one you are visiting.

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

The Walled Garden, the Italian Garden and the Orangery

For civil ceremonies the venue lists the Walled Garden Fountain, the Walled Garden Bandstand, and a long aisle with the Orangery as the backdrop. It also describes a covered Italian Garden, which it says holds up to 250 guests for a civil ceremony, and says a civil ceremony can usually be moved indoors a couple of hours before it begins if the weather turns.

If you are marrying in church, the venue names three nearby choices: St Mary's, an island church on the estate that holds up to 100 guests; All Saints in Lullington, about 400 metres away, which holds up to 150; and St John's in Frome, a Grade I listed church that holds up to 300.

For the meal the venue offers indoor banqueting for 60 to 250 guests and, on dry hire, up to 300 seated or 500 standing guests with a full commercial kitchen. Some of its packages include exclusive use of the Walled Garden, the Orangery and the Italian Garden, so ask which package applies to the date you want.

02 / July 2026 / Rachel and Jarrad

Rachel and Jarrad: pink bridesmaids, brick walls and a golden lawn

Rachel and Jarrad married at Elmhay Park on 17 July 2026. The photograph at the top of this page is from their portraits on the lawn, Jarrad in a white shirt and black trousers kissing Rachel's cheek while she laughs, a brick wall hung with red roses behind them and the grass gone gold in the sun.

In the next photograph the bridesmaids in bright pink dresses walk across the grass beside Rachel with their bouquets lifted, a tall brick wall and trees behind them. In the second portrait Jarrad, in a black dinner suit and bow tie, walks with Rachel along a gravel path beside the same wall, past an arched wooden door, her off-the-shoulder gown trailing and a pink bouquet in her hand.

03 / Staying on the estate / From the venue's own description

Cottages in Elmhay Village and a bridal suite in the Bell Tower

The venue lists Elmhay Village, twelve cottages that sleep up to 70 guests on the wedding night, including the Bell Tower bridal suite with a four-poster bed and a Jacuzzi bath. Its larger packages add a night before and a night after in other lodges and houses on the estate, and it says dog-friendly rooms are available.

For photographs, getting ready on the estate means the morning is close to the gardens. If you and your partner are staying in different cottages, tell us before the day so we can plan around where each of you is.

Planning your photographs at Elmhay Park

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

1. Where the ceremony happens: Decide with the venue whether you want the fountain, the bandstand or the Orangery aisle, and tell us, so we can plan the morning around it.
2. Rain: The venue says the Italian Garden is covered and that a civil ceremony can usually be moved indoors a couple of hours beforehand. We agree an indoor or sheltered option for portraits and group photographs with you and the venue on the day.
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, and ask a bridesmaid or groomsman who knows everyone to round people up. The lawns and the walled garden give you space.
4. Portraits: We usually take a portrait walk of about 15 minutes, with photo and video together. The brick walls, the gravel paths and the open lawn give very different backdrops within a few steps of each other.
5. Getting ready: If you and your partner are in different cottages, 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 walled garden, an Orangery and an estate of cottages 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 £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 Elmhay Park wedding