St Donat's Castle Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A castle on the Glamorgan coast, home to UWC Atlantic

St Donat's Castle is near Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan (CF61 1WF). The castle is home to UWC Atlantic, and its wedding page, on the UWC Atlantic Experience website, describes the setting as the South Wales coastline, about 40 minutes from central Cardiff and 50 minutes from Swansea. It lists a hall for the wedding breakfast, a courtyard and a church for ceremonies, and Tudor gardens and lawns that run down toward the Bay of St Donat's.

We photographed Rebecca and Ben's wedding here on 11 September 2021, and their day is the one in this guide: a church ceremony, portraits at the castle gatehouse and in a rose garden, a few minutes on the shore, confetti under a stone arch and guests gathering in a long stone hall. Our Vale of Glamorgan guide shows more weddings nearby, and here we stay with the castle. What we say about the venue comes from its own website, and what we say about the pictures comes from looking at them.

For current venue details, explore St Donat's Castle. This wedding was in September, and the venue's current page describes a mid-June to mid-August wedding season outside the college term, so ask the venue which dates are open to you.

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

Bradenstoke Hall, the Inner Courtyard and a church on the grounds

The venue's wedding page names the Bradenstoke Hall, the Inner Courtyard and the Great Hall. It says the Bradenstoke Hall has exposed bath stone walls and 20ft ceilings, takes 150 guests for a wedding breakfast and 200 for an evening party, and can host an indoor ceremony. The Inner Courtyard is licensed for outdoor ceremonies for up to 150 guests. The Great Hall is named but given no capacity, so ask what it can hold.

The page also lists a church on the grounds, St Donat's Church, for ceremonies of up to 100 guests, with bookings made through the parish office rather than the castle. It says Chiavari chairs are included, that a Steinway piano can be hired for £150 for ceremonies in the Bradenstoke Hall, and that venue hire runs from 12pm to midnight with supplier set-up from the morning. Catering is by the castle's own hospitality team.

Because the castle is a college, weddings fit around its term: the page gives mid-June to mid-August. It sets a minimum of 80 guests for Friday, Saturday and bank holiday weekend weddings and 60 for weekdays. Viewings are by appointment only, because the castle is not open to the public. Hire rates and menus are published as documents on the page, so ask for the current ones.

02 / September 2021 / Rebecca and Ben

Rebecca and Ben: a church kiss, a castle gatehouse, a rose garden and the shore

Rebecca and Ben married on 11 September 2021. The photograph at the top of this page shows the two of them among climbing roses in a stone-paved garden, Rebecca in a lace-backed gown and veil with her arms around Ben's neck and a bouquet in one hand, Ben in a dark uniform with a red sash and a white flower pinned to his jacket, both of them smiling.

The ceremony was in a stone church. At the front, Ben leans in to kiss Rebecca with their hands joined, her veil falling behind her, while their guests watch from the pews, some of them in face masks. A milk churn of gypsophila stands at the end of the row.

Outside, they stand in front of the castle gatehouse beside a white open-top vintage-style car, Ben in a green beret, Rebecca holding her bouquet with her train spread on the grass. Battlements rise above the arch, and a carved coat of arms sits over the entrance.

Beneath the rounded arches of a stone arcade they kiss again, a leaded window glowing behind them and the bouquet resting at Rebecca's side.

Their time on the shore was short and unhurried. With low cliffs and a calm sea behind them and the breeze lifting Rebecca's veil, they touch foreheads and laugh. In the next frame Ben lifts her off the ground and they kiss.

In front of a stone archway the guests close in for confetti. Rebecca ducks her head, laughing, with her bouquet raised, and Ben, still in his green beret, holds her hand as they walk through it, while a guest reaches in from the left.

Inside, a long stone hall with a carved stone fireplace, a beamed roof and a chandelier fills as guests find their seats at round tables in white cloths, with fairy lights hung down one wall. The venue names the Bradenstoke Hall and the Great Hall on its wedding page, so ask which room suits your numbers.

The last photograph is from the evening. Ben has changed into a navy suit, and he and Rebecca kiss in warm, low light with trees glowing behind them, her hand on his shoulder and her ring catching the light.

Planning your wedding photographs at St Donat's Castle

Questions worth putting to the venue before you settle the day, and how we would plan around the answers:

1. Where you marry: Rebecca and Ben were married in a church. The venue lists a church on the grounds for up to 100 guests, the Inner Courtyard for outdoor ceremonies and the Bradenstoke Hall for indoor ones. Ask which suits your numbers, and how long it takes to get from the ceremony to the reception.
2. Dates and numbers: The venue's current page gives a mid-June to mid-August season and minimum guest numbers of 80 or 60 depending on the day. Check both against your plans before you fall for a date, and tell us the date once it is agreed so we can look at the light.
3. Gatehouse and garden: The gatehouse, the arcade and the roses gave this couple three very different backdrops within a short walk. Ask the venue which parts of the castle and grounds are open for photographs, and whether a car can come up to the gatehouse as it did here.
4. The shore: Rebecca and Ben took a few minutes on a pebbly shore below the castle. The venue's page says the gardens run toward the Bay of St Donat's, so ask how to reach the water, whether guests can come too, and what the tide will be doing at your portrait time. Think about footwear and the hem of your dress.
5. Group photographs: We do as many as you like and recommend about 15, which take roughly 20 minutes. A castle courtyard gives you a stone backdrop, but pick a sheltered spot too and ask someone who knows everybody to gather people.
6. Timings: The venue gives hire from 12pm to midnight. Share your running order with us and we will fit a portrait walk of about 15 minutes with photo and video together around the ceremony, the confetti and the meal, and keep a little time in hand for the light.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a church ceremony, a castle gatehouse and a long stone hall are ground we know well. One booking, one plan for the day and one set of questions for the venue keeps the details in a single place.

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 St Donat's Castle wedding