I had been looking forward to this venue. There are not many options for a castle wedding in Devon but this one is quite unique and very, very beautiful! If you’ve ever thought of getting married in a Castle, read on…

Haldon Belvedere (Lawrence Castle) is located at Higher Ashton, near Dunchideock. It’s well signposted and, coming from Torbay, I took the Kenn turn off. The Castle is located near the Haldon Forest. Two of the walks at Haldon Forest take in views of this amazing-looking castle.

Don’t let the small size fool you. You can have up to 50 guests at your wedding. They close off the Castle for weddings so you will have the inside, outside and rooftop all to yourself.

Let’s have a look at some of the wedding photos from my November 2021 wedding there.

The views are simply stunning from the rooftop. The Spiral Staircase is an incredible spot for a very unique wedding photo.

Apart from the wedding cars, no guest vehicles are allowed to park at the Castle. You can drop off the less able walkers but all cars will need to park at the bottom of the hill where there is parking for a couple of dozen cars. This means for photos, there are no cars to ruin the group shots and grounds shots.

Tip:
The hill is quite steep so if you’re wearing high heels it may be an idea to wear normal footwear and then change into your heels at the Castle. A few people at this wedding did this and those who didn’t wish they had 😊

There is a camera in the main ceremony room so when the bridal party enters the castle on the ground floor, they can see the nervous Groom via a large TV screen on the floor above.

Once the ceremony is over you can have confetti but it has to be biodegradable and has to be thrown just by the main door (see photo above).

Wedding Reception at the Ley Arms in Kenn, Exeter

After the ceremony, everyone headed to the Ley Arms thatched country inn. The venue has a real homely, warm, friendly feeling to it. The lighting and mood it gives the room are really nice.

There is plenty of parking and a large outdoor area as well. Karen and the team at the Ley Arms really looked after us well!

If the photos above are the style of wedding photography you’re after, I’d love to have a chat with you!

Wedding Photography Camera Equipment Used

My Son was once again my second photographer. I’m super proud of his work, which is also included in the photos above.

Between us we used:

• 2x Sony A9
• 1x Sony A7iii
• 1x Nikon D500
• Sony 85mm F1.4 GM
• Sony 24mm F1.4 GM
• Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM
• Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM
• Godox AD 600 Pro
• Godox AD200
• 2x Godox V1
• Godox TT685s