Woodlands Hotel Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A boutique hotel with landscaped gardens on the edge of Leeds

Woodlands Hotel is at 79 Gelderd Road, Gildersome, Leeds (LS27 7LY). The venue describes itself as a luxury boutique hotel, wedding and event venue, privately owned and restored, set in landscaped grounds, with 22 bedrooms. It says the building dates from 1871, when it was built for a local textile mill owner.

We photographed and filmed one wedding here: Analise and Mcauly on 18 August 2022. Their day is the one in this guide, from a kiss under the trees with the house behind them to speeches at a long table.

For current venue details, explore Woodlands Hotel.

01 / August 2022 / Analise and Mcauly

Analise and Mcauly: a kiss under the trees, speeches and the rings

Analise and Mcauly married on 18 August 2022. The photograph at the top of this page is the two of them kissing on a lawn beneath the trees, Analise in a lace gown with a long train and a bouquet of pink roses, and the gabled stone building behind them.

Inside, the speeches take place along a long white-clothed table, with a lit letter sign and tall black-framed windows behind the guests.

A close view of their hands shows the rings against the lace of Analise's dress and Mcauly's navy suit.

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

The Terrace, the Study, the Garden Room and the Orangery

The venue's spaces page names four. The Terrace is a paved area in front of the hotel overlooking the gardens, suited to outdoor ceremonies and drinks receptions. The Study has large picture windows over the gardens and is used for smaller ceremonies. The Garden Room, next to the Study, is described as perfect for larger civil ceremonies and can host a wedding breakfast for up to 50 people, with direct access to the Terrace.

The Orangery is a glass-fronted room with high ceilings and natural daylight, built for weddings and celebrations, and the venue's home page says it holds up to 250 guests for parties and receptions. The pages do not give other capacities or say whether the hotel is licensed for ceremonies, so ask the venue for both in writing.

03 / Staying at Woodlands / From the venue's own pages

Twenty-two bedrooms and a bridal suite

The venue lists 22 individually decorated bedrooms, in standard, deluxe and luxury types, and says weddings are exclusive-use events where couples can use all of the bedrooms and the grounds. It also lists a bridal suite with a super king four-poster bed and a ground-floor bridal preparation room, available from 7am on the morning of the wedding. Check-in and check-out times are not on the pages, so ask when you enquire.

Planning your photographs at Woodlands Hotel

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

1. Which ceremony space: the Terrace, the Study, the Garden Room or the Orangery. Tell us your plan so we can arrange the morning around it.
2. Getting ready: ask when the bridal suite and the bridal preparation room are yours on the morning, since that is where the first photographs happen.
3. Rain: agree an indoor option with the venue when you confirm the order of the day. The Study, the Garden Room and the Orangery give you indoor choices.
4. Group photographs: we do as many as you like and typically recommend around 15, which usually take about 20 minutes. The Terrace and the gardens give you room, so choose a spot with a sheltered backup.
5. Portraits: we usually take a portrait walk of about 15 minutes, with photo and video together. The lawn, the trees and the gardens give you backdrops close to the house. In August, we check sunset and light times for your date in advance and agree the plan with you.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a boutique hotel with a lawn, a terrace and a glass-fronted room 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 Woodlands Hotel wedding