My Cornwall Wedding Venue Bucket List (And Why I Cannot Wait to Tick Them Off)
So, here's the thing. After nearly ten years of photographing weddings — from country houses in the Midlands to city ceremonies, marquee madness and everything in between -I'm making a pretty big move. I'm heading back to Cornwall.
And honestly? I have been quietly (okay, not so quietly) obsessing over the wedding venues down there for a while now. Cornwall is just different. The light, the coastline, the rolling countryside, the sheer variety of settings - it's a wedding photographer's dream. So before I get there and start getting properly acquainted, I thought I'd share my personal bucket list of venues I am absolutely desperate to photograph at.
There's another reason these venues speak to me beyond the photography, though. Alongside my camera work I hold an RHS Level 2 qualification in Practical Horticulture, so when I walk into a venue with beautiful walled gardens, rambling roses, wildflower meadows or ancient woodland, I'm not just seeing a backdrop - I genuinely love what's growing there, understand why it looks the way it does, and how to make the most of it in photographs. It adds a whole extra layer to how I see and capture a space.
I'm also a member of the Sustainable Wedding Alliance, currently working towards full accreditation. So venues that take their environmental responsibilities seriously - that grow their own produce, champion local suppliers, hold eco awards, or tread lightly on the land, genuinely matter to me. You'll spot a few of those on this list.
Consider this my love letter to Cornwall - and a little hint to any couples planning their big day there, i’m here and offering 20% off my first 10 Cornish bookings for 2026 or 2027!
Lusty Glaze, Newquay
Let's start with the one that makes me do a little happy dance every time I see it. Lusty Glaze is a private beach venue tucked into a secluded cove on the edge of Newquay, and it's the only place in Cornwall where you can legally get married on the beach. The only one! Ceremony with the sound of the Atlantic as your soundtrack, golden sand under your feet, and those incredible sea views stretching out behind you? The photography practically creates itself. Dramatic skies, soft coastal light, barefoot portraits at the water's edge — yes, yes, and yes. I’ve visited many times over the years as a member of the public and just adore the cove!
Fowey hall
Fowey Hall sits high above the Fowey estuary with sweeping outdoor ceremony space on the terrace and croquet lawn, looking straight out over the water towards Polruan — landscaped gardens, sea breezes, and some of the best panoramic views in Cornwall. As a wedding venue it's properly special.
But the reason it’s on my list isn't really about the architecture. I was born in Fowey. My parents ran an ice cream shop in the town when I was a toddler so the idea of photographing an outdoor wedding on that terrace, with the whole estuary stretched out below - somewhere that quite literally shaped where I'm from - feels like the most fitting way to begin this new chapter. Full circle, in the nicest possible way.
Nancarrow farm, near truro
If you want rustic done properly, Nancarrow Farm is it. This isn't a barn venue that's been styled to look like a working farm — it IS a working organic farm, and has been for generations. Rambling roses climbing stone walls, fruit orchards, a walled cottage garden, a millpond, a wood-fired kitchen serving incredible seasonal food. With my RHS horticulture background, walking around a place like this is genuinely joyful — I can see and appreciate every detail of what's been grown and tended here, and that translates into photographs that really honour the setting. The natural light is soft and warm, there are beautiful corners everywhere you turn, and the whole place has this effortlessly lovely Cornish character. I'm a little bit in love with it already.
The Eden Project, St Austell
Could I leave out the Eden Project? Absolutely not. It's world-famous for a reason, and as a wedding venue it is genuinely extraordinary. Couples can choose between the Mediterranean Biome - all soft whites and terracotta, almost like you've been transported to southern Europe - or the Rainforest Biome, which is literally the largest indoor jungle in the world. For photography it's completely unique; there is nothing like it anywhere else, and the creative possibilities are endless. A proper bucket list venue.
Treseren near Newquay
Treseren is a gorgeous, beautifully landscaped country house venue with stunning gardens and wonderfully soft natural light inside and out. What makes it extra special for me as a photographer is that it's just a short drive from Holywell Beach - so couples often head down there for portraits, kicking off their shoes and splashing about at the water's edge. That combination of elegant venue and beach portraits in one day? Perfect. They’re also a member of the SWA which just aligns perfectly with my ethos too.
ECO PARK - porthtowan
A 42-acre clifftop park on Cornwall's north coast, within a World Heritage site and an area of outstanding natural beauty, with outdoor ceremonies held in its amphitheatre overlooking the Atlantic. As a Sustainable Wedding Alliance member working towards accreditation, this venue genuinely excites me — it runs on renewable energy, harvests its own rainwater, serves entirely plant-based menus from local, seasonal produce, and is working towards zero waste. Wildflower fields, living willow structures, a relaxed and unpolished feel — it's outdoor weddings done with real environmental integrity, and exactly the kind of venue I want to be photographing more of.
the cornish place
This one is close to my heart. Set in 26 acres of countryside near Truro and Falmouth, The Cornish Place is built entirely around intimate, micro weddings — for elopements of two right up to exclusive-use celebrations of 24. There are seven outdoor licensed ceremony spots dotted around the farm, from a courtyard between the cottages to the top of a hill with views rolling out across the countryside. It's also genuinely sustainable in practice, not just in branding — air-source heat pumps, renewable energy, UV-treated borehole water, and every couple plants a tree to mark the day.
I have a real soft spot for small, intimate weddings — I got married myself with just 12 guests, and there's something about a tiny outdoor ceremony, everyone close enough to really feel the moment, that I don't think you get any other way. A venue built specifically around that kind of day, done outdoors and done sustainably? It's exactly my sort of place.
cornish tipis, gwennap
This one might be the most "outdoor wedding" of the entire list. A 16-acre secret valley in North Cornwall, just five minutes from the Atlantic coast, with a wood, willow and canvas pavilion sitting beside a clear brook under a canopy of oak and ash - not a manicured hotel lawn in sight. Couples can marry in the pavilion, on the grass, or right by the shimmering lake, with bluebells and ferns underfoot depending on the season. It's wild, woodland, festival-spirited and properly outdoors, with camping for guests and tipis dotted through the trees. For a photographer whose whole heart is in outdoor weddings, a venue built entirely around the idea — it is irresistible.
The green, liskeard
Hidden in a pretty valley on the edge of Bodmin Moor, The Green is an entire 20-acre private estate with rolling meadows, an orchard and a lake — and outdoor ceremonies are very much the heart of it. There are two gorgeous outdoor ceremony spots to choose from: the Oak Arbour, framed by two huge English oaks looking down over a wooded valley, or the Lake Arbour, tucked beside the water among the trees. Couples can take the whole estate exclusively for a multi-day celebration, which means relaxed, unhurried mornings and golden-hour portraits with absolutely nobody else around. It's the kind of unrushed, true-to-nature setting I love photographing most.
Moving back to Cornwall feels like the most exciting thing I've done since going self-employed nearly a decade ago. The light down there is something else - coastal light has this quality that you genuinely can't replicate anywhere inland. Soft, warm, golden, dramatic. And the sheer variety of settings, from rugged cliffside forts to candlelit castles to working organic farms, means every single wedding is going to be something completely different.
My RHS horticulture background means I bring a genuine love of the natural world to every shoot - I notice things other photographers might walk past, and I think that shows in the images. And as a Sustainable Wedding Alliance member working towards accreditation, I'm always drawn to couples and venues that care about doing things thoughtfully. Cornwall, with its strong sense of place and growing eco-conscious wedding scene, feels like exactly the right fit.
If you're getting married in Cornwall and you're looking for a photographer who is genuinely excited to be there - someone who will throw themselves into every corner of your venue and absolutely love every second of it - then let's have a chat. I'd love to hear all about your day.
My Cornwall adventure starts very soon. And I cannot wait. 🌊
Based in Cornwall (almost!) and available for weddings across the South West and beyond offering 20% off for my first 10 Cornish bookings. Feel free to get in touch!
