Winstanley House Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A Georgian house in Braunstone Park

Winstanley House is on Hinckley Road in Leicester (LE3 1HX). The venue describes it as a Grade II listed Georgian house just outside the city centre, set within Braunstone Park, and its home page gives 168 acres of parkland. It lists two ballrooms, a courtyard, an Orangery and private dining rooms, says it hosts both traditional and Asian weddings, and puts itself close to the M1 and M69. Its history page says the house was built from 1775 as Braunstone Hall, the home of Clement Winstanley, whose family lived there for more than 150 years, and that it was a school from 1932 until 1996. In February 1944 it became the divisional headquarters of the US 82nd Airborne Division.

We photographed and filmed Nalini and Sanjay's wedding here on 10 June 2022. Theirs is the wedding in this guide, a bright, colourful day with a great many people in it.

For current venue details, explore Winstanley House. Ask the venue about its ceremony licence and ceremony seating, which its website does not state.

01 / June 2022 / Nalini and Sanjay

Nalini and Sanjay: family all around, trees and a pink-lit room

Nalini and Sanjay married on 10 June 2022. The photograph at the top of this page is the two of them embracing outdoors with their faces close together, Nalini in a red and orange sari and Sanjay in a cream sherwani, with leafy trees behind them.

In one photograph the two of them put their hands into a large brass bowl while smiling family members crowd in around them. In another, taken in black and white beside a window, Nalini rests her henna-decorated hand against her face, wearing a beaded sari and heavy jewellery.

In a room lit pink, Sanjay and four friends in black tuxedos and sunglasses pose playfully on a wooden floor.

Two more photographs show the front of the house. Nalini and Sanjay stand forehead to forehead in front of a black Georgian door with a fanlight and white columns, Sanjay in an ivory sherwani and Nalini in a red and teal sari with a veil. In a wide view, they walk hand in hand down the steps from the front door of the red-brick house.

02 / The spaces / From the venue's own pages

The Pavilion Ballroom, the Grand Ballroom, the Orangery and the terraces

The venue's wedding page names the Pavilion Ballroom, which seats up to 150 guests, and the Grand Ballroom, its largest banqueting room, which seats up to 450 guests, or 550 with a marquee. It also lists a courtyard, reception areas, the Orangery and private dining rooms for smaller weddings, and says the venue is available for exclusive hire, giving you and your guests the whole venue.

Its function rooms page says each ballroom has its own private terrace, reached through dual aspect windows, and that the Pavilion has views over the garden. The Orangery, next to the Grand Ballroom, is a 9 metre square room with red brick walls and plenty of natural daylight, which the venue describes as a blend of contemporary and Georgian architecture.

The wedding page does not name a dedicated ceremony room or give a ceremony licence, so ask the venue. It describes beautiful grounds for photographs, rolling parkland and terraces, says wedding cars can be parked at the front of the house, and says a wedding coordinator is assigned to each couple.

The Asian weddings page says the ballrooms seat up to 450 for dinner and that the venue regularly hosts Hindu, Islamic and Sikh weddings. Its in-house chefs cook vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, with halal options, on site, and couples can taste a selection of dishes before the wedding.

03 / Staying and arriving / From the venue's own pages

Nineteen hotel rooms, parking and electric charging

The venue's stay page lists 19 rooms, including two Bridal Suites. The Winstanley Suite is on the top floor, about 100 square metres, with a roll-top gold bath, a super king bed and a separate lounge, and the venue offers it as an upgrade from the Junior Bridal Suite. It says the suite is not reached by lift. The other rooms are three Junior Suites, Executive Rooms with four-poster beds, 12 Deluxe Doubles, some of which are reached by lift, and a single Deluxe Room. Breakfast is served the following morning, and the venue says nearby hotels are available if you need more rooms.

The wedding page says there is on-site parking for guests. The electric charging page lists four chargers, open to hotel guests, restaurant visitors and event attendees on a pay-as-you-charge basis. The venue's explore page puts the house two miles from Leicester city centre. Ask which rooms come with your booking and when you can have them on the day.

Planning your photographs at Winstanley House

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

1. Your running order: if your day has several parts, tell us the order and the times so we can plan the morning and the first photographs around them.
2. Getting ready: Ask which rooms are yours on the morning and from what time, since that is where the first photographs happen. The venue says the Winstanley Suite is on the top floor and is not reached by lift, so tell us which room you are using and we will plan for the stairs.
3. Group photographs: Each ballroom has its own private terrace and the front of the house is roomy, so you have choices. We do as many as you like and typically recommend around 15, which usually take about 20 minutes. Ask someone who knows everyone to round people up.
4. Portraits: We usually take a portrait walk of about 15 minutes, with photo and video together. The terraces, the 168 acres of parkland and the trees give you several backdrops. In June, we check sunset and light times for your date in advance and agree the plan with you.
5. Rain: Agree an indoor option with the venue when you confirm the order of the day. The ballrooms and the Orangery are the indoor spaces the venue lists, and the Orangery, with its red brick walls and natural daylight, is worth asking about for indoor portraits.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a Georgian house with terraces, parkland and large ballrooms 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 Winstanley House wedding