Keythorpe Manor Wedding Photographer & Videographer

An Oak Barn, a marquee and lawns in South Leicestershire

Keythorpe Manor is on Uppingham Road at Keythorpe (LE7 9XJ), which the venue places in the South Leicestershire countryside. Its own website calls it a multi-award winning wedding and conference venue and describes a restored Oak Barn with exposed brick and a large wrought iron chandelier, a bespoke marquee with a veranda, manicured lawns and an on-site Bridal Cottage.

We photographed Aimee and Grant's wedding here on 18 September 2021, and their day is the one in this guide: a ceremony in a brick-walled room with timber beams and string lights, confetti on the way out, portraits on worn stone steps and on a flower-dressed swing, and sparklers after dark. Our Leicester guide shows more weddings in the county, and here we stay with the manor. What we say about the spaces comes from the venue's own website, and what we say about the photographs comes from looking at them.

This wedding was in 2021, so ask the venue to confirm today's spaces, numbers and rules before you plan around anything here.

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

The Oak Barn, the marquee and the Bridal Cottage

The venue describes the Oak Barn as a completely restored historic barn, with gambrel roof ceilings, exposed brick and a large wrought iron chandelier. It opens onto a terrace and adjoins the renovated Stables, which the venue suggests for dancing, a photo booth and food and drink stations. Tables and chairs seat 80 in the barn, and the venue says it can hold more depending on the layout.

The venue offers civil ceremonies inside the barn or on its manicured lawns, and its weddings page says the marquee can host ceremonies too. The marquee has French doors onto a surrounding veranda, which the venue suggests for drinks, an outdoor bar or a hog roast, and its marquee page says it can accommodate up to 500 guests.

The venue also lists a two-bedroom Bridal Cottage for changing and as a honeymoon suite, says it can arrange a fireworks display, and links twelve places to stay nearby. Its pages do not give a ceremony licence, a finishing time or a catering policy, so ask for each in writing.

02 / September 2021 / Aimee and Grant

Aimee and Grant: a brick barn ceremony, confetti, stone steps and sparklers

Aimee and Grant married on 18 September 2021. The photograph at the top of this page shows them walking hand in hand through a shower of confetti, Aimee laughing in a strapless lace gown and veil with a bouquet of pale roses, Grant grinning in a navy check three-piece suit, guests throwing petals from both sides and bridesmaids in blush pink at the left.

The ceremony room has exposed brick walls, timber roof beams hung with string lights and lanterns along the aisle, which fits the venue's description of its Oak Barn. Grant smiles at Aimee as they hold hands, guests watching from their chairs, and then the two of them kiss while the room applauds.

At the register, Grant sits at a dark wooden desk to sign while Aimee smiles beside him, her bouquet of pale pink and white roses and eucalyptus in the foreground against the red brick.

Portraits began on a flight of worn stone steps lined with lavender, in front of the brick house with a stone lion on each side. They stop halfway up to kiss, a small painted sign beside the steps warning that they are uneven.

Elsewhere in the grounds the two of them sit side by side on a wooden swing seat dressed with green foliage and roses, and later they stand with their foreheads together in a gap in a wall of ivy.

As the light dropped under a grey sky, Grant dips Aimee on a grass bank beside the gravel drive, her long train spread across the grass and the fences and fields behind them.

The day ends after dark. Grant, now in his waistcoat and shirt sleeves, kisses Aimee while guests on both sides hold lit sparklers up around them.

Planning your photographs at Keythorpe Manor

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

1. Ceremony: Aimee and Grant were married in a brick-walled room with timber beams. The venue offers civil ceremonies in the Oak Barn, on the lawns or in the marquee, so ask which suits your numbers and what the plan is if your date is wet.
2. Confetti: The petals on the way out gave us the strongest frame of the day. Ask the venue which kinds it allows on the paths and lawns before you order any.
3. The stone steps: They make a handsome backdrop, but a painted sign beside them warns they are uneven. Think about flat shoes and a steady arm for the portraits, and ask whether the steps are open to you on the day.
4. Dusk and sparklers: The September sky was grey by the end of the day, which suited quiet portraits. Sparklers need real darkness, so ask the venue about timings, and whether it allows them or would prefer to arrange its own fireworks display.
5. Group photographs: Around 15 groups is our usual advice, and they tend to take about 20 minutes. Pick a spot with space and a covered fallback, and ask someone who knows both families to call people over.
6. Portraits: Expect a portrait walk of about 15 minutes, photo and video working side by side. Between the steps, the swing, the ivy and the drive you get several different settings without going far.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a barn ceremony, a manor house garden and a sparkler send-off are familiar ground. You deal with one team on the timetable and the venue questions, and one portrait plan covers both photographs and film.

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 Keythorpe Manor wedding