Old Palace Chester Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A Georgian manor house overlooking the River Dee

Old Palace Chester is on Little St John Street, Chester, Cheshire (CH1 1SN). The venue says it is an exclusive use wedding and events venue overlooking The Groves and the River Dee, in a Georgian manor house built in 1751, with private gardens and 23 en-suite bedrooms.

We have photographed and filmed one wedding here, Chloe and John on 31 August 2022. This page follows their day in photographs. Our Cheshire guide and Liverpool guide show Old Palace Chester beside other north west venues, and here we stay with the house itself. What we say about the building comes from the venue's own website, and what we say about the photographs comes from looking at them.

For current venue details, explore Old Palace Chester. Our wedding here was at the end of August, so ask the venue how its gardens and terrace work in the other months you are considering.

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

A river room, a ballroom and a garden terrace

The venue lists indoor ceremony choices in the light filled River Room, which it describes as the old Bishop's chapel, and in the larger Ballroom, or an outdoor ceremony on the Garden Terrace, which is enclosed by private gardens. Other spaces include the Peploe Lounge and Bar and the Arrival Hall, and the venue describes a private garden terrace with an outdoor kitchen.

On the venue's own figures, the River Room is licensed for 110 guests for a ceremony and the Ballroom for 150. Outdoor ceremonies can seat up to 150, and the Ballroom hosts a sit-down meal for 150. The venue gives 200 as its capacity for the evening, using the Ballroom, Arrival Hall and Peploe Lounge and Bar, and says outdoor ceremonies depend on the weather.

For getting ready, the venue offers the Morning Room from 9am, with hair and make-up stations, a full length mirror and a shower room, and the Palace Suite, its honeymoon suite, from midday. A second dressing room, the Den, is for the other partner, and the venue says it is available in the morning only if it is booked as an overnight bedroom.

02 / August 2022 / Chloe and John

Chloe and John: a very well dressed dog and sparklers on the bridge

Chloe and John married at Old Palace Chester on 31 August 2022. The photograph at the top of this page is from their portraits: Chloe in a fitted gown with a long lace edged veil, carrying a bouquet of blush roses, John in a black dinner jacket and bow tie, hand in hand and looking at each other as they walk down a shaded path in dappled sunlight, with their small grey dog on a lead beside John.

The dog gets a photograph of its own: sitting on the path in a black and white tuxedo style bib with a bow tie, mouth open in a grin, the edge of Chloe's long veil on the ground beside him.

After dark, Chloe and John kiss in the middle of a ring of friends and family in front of a suspension bridge in Chester, the sky a deep blue, bridesmaids in soft grey dresses on one side and men in dinner suits on the other, each holding a sparkler.

03 / Staying at Old Palace Chester / From the venue's own description

Twenty-three bedrooms and a honeymoon suite

The venue says guests can stay in 22 bedrooms in the house plus the Palace Suite, its honeymoon suite, up to 55 people in total, and that everyone can have breakfast together in the Ballroom the next morning. It says the Palace Suite has views and makes a beautiful backdrop for photographs.

For photographs, ask which rooms you can use for getting ready and when they open, so we can plan the morning around where each of you is.

Planning your photographs at Old Palace Chester

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

1. Timing: The venue says last orders are at 11.15pm, music winds down at 11.30pm and the venue closes at midnight, with guests who are not staying booked into taxis for midnight. The Garden Terrace closes at 11pm. Tell us your timings once you have agreed them with the venue and we will plan the portrait walk around them.
2. Your dog: The venue says well behaved dogs are welcome at the ceremony and for photographs, but must be taken off site before the wedding breakfast, and it asks you to request its dog policy. If your dog is part of your day, as it was for Chloe and John, name someone to look after them and tell us when they will leave.
3. Evening photographs: The venue says fireworks are allowed only on 5 November and New Year's Eve and that sparklers are not allowed. If you want an evening photograph with sparklers or lights, ask the venue what is permitted and where.
4. Rain: Agree an indoor or sheltered option with the venue when you confirm the order of the day. The venue licenses the River Room and the Ballroom for ceremonies, and says outdoor ceremonies are weather dependent. On the day we settle it together with you and the venue.
5. Group photographs: We do as many as you like and typically recommend around 15, which usually take about 20 minutes. Ask a groomsman or bridesmaid who knows everyone to round people up. Ask the venue which part of the gardens or terrace suits a large group.
6. 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 Georgian manor house with a river room, a ballroom and a private garden terrace 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 Old Palace Chester wedding