Lakeside Venue Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A private lake near Bridgend

Lakeside Venue is at Blackmill, near Bridgend, in South Wales. The venue describes five acres of private grounds around its own private lake in a Welsh country setting, with parking for over 50 cars, the M4 about ten minutes away in either direction and a one wedding per day policy. Its packages are tailored rather than fixed, with no set prices or minimum numbers.

We photographed and filmed Amy and Ieuan's wedding here on 28 May 2022, and their day is told in the photographs on this page, opened by the two of them in the sun. Our Bridgend guide mentions Lakeside beside other venues in the county; here we stay with the venue itself. What we say about the buildings 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 Lakeside Venue.

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

The Barn, the marquees and the lake

The venue says its Barn is licensed for ceremonies and can also be set as a barn reception room, with wooden floors, high ceilings, exposed beams and draped walls. Couples can instead marry in front of the private lake, with guests watching from the grounds. The Deck Marquee sits over the water with clear window walls for a more intimate reception, and the Grand Marquee is self-contained with a designer bar and over 25,000 twinkly lights. It gives no guest numbers on its wedding page, so ask for current figures in writing.

In Amy and Ieuan's photographs the day happens in a white draped marquee under a round timber arch, on a sunlit terrace, and under a tree beside a white vintage VW Beetle.

02 / May 2022 / Amy and Ieuan

Amy and Ieuan: a groom in tears, a white VW and a bouncy castle

Amy and Ieuan married at Lakeside on 28 May 2022. The photograph at the top of this page is from their portraits: Ieuan in a grey check suit and Amy in a lace gown with a bouquet of pink and white flowers, embracing in bright backlit sunshine on a terrace.

The morning is full of laughter, Amy in a white robe with a friend touching her hair beside a window and a pink bridesmaid dress hanging behind. In the marquee, Ieuan wipes his eye beneath a round timber arch as Amy comes towards him on her father's arm, and afterwards the two of them kiss under a timber hoop arch hung with white drapes and flowers while their guests watch from rows of chairs.

They raise glasses of pink drinks together from the open top of a white vintage VW Beetle, and later the bridesmaids in long pink dresses and two small children bounce and dance on a white bouncy castle.

03 / Staying near Lakeside / From the venue's own description

Accommodation just minutes away

The venue says there is a wide range of accommodation just minutes away, with a separate accommodation page on its website. Ask which places it recommends and how guests get home.

For photographs, tell us your plan for the morning, wherever you and your guests are staying, and we will plan the day around it.

Planning your photographs at Lakeside Venue

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

1. Ceremony: The licensed Barn or in front of the lake. Tell us your choice so we can plan the morning around it.
2. The lake and the terrace: The lake, the terrace and the grounds give plenty of room for portraits. We check sunset and light times for your date in advance and agree the plan with you before the day.
3. Rain: Agree an indoor or sheltered option with the venue when you confirm the order of the day, and we settle it together on the day.
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. Portraits: We usually take a portrait walk of about 15 minutes, with photo and video together. The lake, the terrace and the marquee give you very different backdrops.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a private lake with a barn and two marquees 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 Lakeside Venue wedding