A Relaxed Wedding at Swancar Farm Country House
If you’re looking for a Nottinghamshire wedding venue that combines a countryside setting with rustic interiors and plenty of space for the whole wedding day, Swancar Farm Country House is definitely one worth looking at.
Located in Trowell, just outside Nottingham, Swancar Farm is surrounded by countryside while still being within easy reach of Nottingham.
I recently photographed a wedding here as a second photographer, and what stood out to me wasn’t simply how the venue looked. From a wedding photographer’s point of view, it’s how easily you can move from one part of the day to another without everything feeling overly staged or interrupted.
And for the relaxed, documentary style of photography I love, that’s important.
Getting Married at Swancar Farm
One of the advantages of Swancar Farm is that couples can hold their ceremony and reception in the same place.
There are different spaces available throughout the venue, including the Glass Barn, which immediately stood out to me from a photography point of view.
It’s a bright ceremony space with large areas of glass, exposed timber and plenty of natural light.
And that light makes a difference.
Rather than a dark ceremony room where I’m fighting against the available light, you’ve got daylight coming into the space while the timber gives the room warmth and character.
But I always think it’s more useful to see a wedding venue with people in it.
An empty ceremony room can look beautiful, but once you fill it with your family and friends, that’s when you get a much better idea of how the space actually feels.
A Nottinghamshire Wedding Venue That Works Well for a Relaxed Day
Something I noticed while photographing at Swancar Farm was that the different areas of the venue flow together well.
You’re not constantly getting everyone into cars or losing chunks of the wedding day travelling between locations.
Once the ceremony finishes, guests can move into the drinks reception while you actually get a chance to spend time with them.
And giving yourselves enough time for that part of the day can make a surprisingly big difference.
A drinks reception isn’t simply dead time between the ceremony and wedding breakfast. It’s often one of the first opportunities you’ll have to properly speak to people, grab a drink and enjoy being married.
I’ve written more about this in
including how much time I’d allow if you want your wedding to feel relaxed rather than constantly moving onto the next thing.
That’s something I’m always conscious of when I’m photographing a wedding.
Your wedding shouldn’t turn into one enormous photoshoot.
I’ll happily take you away for some couple photographs and organise the family photographs you want, but I don’t believe you should disappear for an hour while everyone else enjoys your wedding.
Swancar lends itself nicely to doing things in smaller chunks.
Ten minutes here. Another few photographs later when the light improves.
Then back to your guests.
Photographs Around Swancar Farm
There are plenty of opportunities for photographs without having to go very far.
You’ve got the main country house, courtyard, brickwork, established grounds and surrounding countryside, so there isn’t one single location where every photograph needs to happen.
And although there are plenty of obvious places for portraits, I wouldn’t want to spend the whole time positioning a couple in front of every nice backdrop we could find.
For me, the better approach is to use the venue while still allowing the couple to be themselves.
Go for a walk.
Have a chat.
Spend a few minutes away from everyone.
I’ll photograph what happens rather than turning it into an hour of posing.
That’s much closer to the way I photograph weddings generally.
You still get the beautiful photographs that show where you got married, but they actually feel like the two of you.
The Oak Hall Wedding Breakfast and Reception
Later in the day everything moves into the Oak Hall.
It’s one of the most distinctive spaces at Swancar Farm, with exposed brick walls, large oak beams, chandeliers and an open fireplace.
It also changes character as the day goes on.
During the wedding breakfast you’ve got natural light coming into the room, but later the exposed brick, beams and lighting give it a completely different atmosphere.
And this is normally where the documentary side of wedding photography really starts to take over.
Once everyone is seated and the formal parts of the day start happening, I’m far more interested in reactions than perfect compositions.
Someone laughing during a speech.
Parents looking across the room.
Friends reacting to a story they probably hoped wasn’t going to be told.
Those are often the photographs that become more important with time.
Speeches at Swancar Farm
The Oak Hall works particularly well for speeches because there’s room for me to move around and photograph what’s happening without having to stand directly in front of everyone.
That’s a small detail, but an important one for the way I work.
I don’t want your guests watching me photograph your wedding.
I’d rather they forget I’m there.
The less aware people are of the camera, the better the reactions usually become.
And those reactions are often where some of my favourite photographs from a wedding come from.
Evening Celebrations at Swancar Farm
As the wedding breakfast finishes and evening guests arrive, the Oak Hall takes on another completely different feel.
This is another reason I like venues where the whole day happens in one location.
You get variety without having to manufacture it.
The venue changes around you as the wedding progresses.
The bright ceremony photographs from earlier in the day become warm evening photographs surrounded by exposed brick, beams and lighting.
And once the formalities are finished, people tend to forget about the camera completely.
That’s when I can simply watch what’s happening and photograph it.
One Thing I Particularly Noticed About Swancar Farm
The staff.
This is something couples probably don’t think about quite as much when initially choosing a venue, but the people running your wedding can have a huge effect on how the day feels.
A good venue team quietly keeps everything moving without making the wedding feel like it’s being run to a stopwatch.
From my own experience working at Swancar Farm, I was genuinely impressed with the team.
They were friendly, organised and incredibly accommodating — including making sure I was fed and watered while I was working.
That might sound like a tiny thing, but when you’re photographing a wedding for hours, you definitely notice the venues that look after everyone.
And it’s one of the things I’d pay attention to when viewing any potential wedding venue.
Don’t just look at the beautiful ceremony room or where you could have your couple photographs. Think about how the venue will actually work for you and your guests for an entire day.
I’ve covered exactly that in
including things such as light, timings, space and how easily the different parts of your day flow together.
Is Swancar Farm a Good Wedding Venue for Photography?
From my perspective, yes.
But not simply because there are nice places to take photographs.
What I like more is the variety.
You’ve got light ceremony spaces, rustic interiors, the country house itself, gardens and countryside, followed by a much warmer atmosphere inside the Oak Hall as the evening starts.
That gives your wedding gallery variety without needing to spend huge amounts of the day creating photographs.
And that’s exactly what I want.
More time experiencing your wedding. Less time being taken away from it.
Things to Think About If You’re Considering Swancar Farm
If Swancar Farm is on your shortlist, I’d recommend arranging a viewing rather than making a decision purely from photographs.
And when you visit, don’t just look around it as a beautiful building.
Try to imagine your actual wedding day.
Where will you get ready?
Where will your guests arrive?
What happens immediately after the ceremony?
Where will everyone be while you’re having a handful of family photographs?
Where will you spend the drinks reception?
How does everything move into the wedding breakfast and then into the evening?
Walk through the venue in roughly the same order that you’ll experience it on your wedding day.
You’ll get a much better feeling for whether a venue is actually right for you that way.
Looking for a Swancar Farm Wedding Photographer?
If you’re planning a wedding at Swancar Farm and want photography that doesn’t take over your day, that’s very much how I work.
My approach as a Nottinghamshire Wedding Photographer is relaxed and documentary-led.
I’ll step in when some guidance is useful — family photographs, a few couple portraits or finding the best light — but for most of the day I’m looking for the real moments happening around you.
The laughs.
The nerves.
The reactions.
And all those little things happening around the wedding that you probably won’t even realise have happened until you see the photographs afterwards.
Because your wedding photographs should show more than what your wedding looked like.
They should remind you what it felt like.
If you’re getting married at Swancar Farm and think we’d be a good fit, get in touch and tell me what you’re planning.
3rdEyeImages | Nottinghamshire Wedding Photographer covering Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and all of the UK
Can you have your whole wedding day at Swancar Farm?
Yes. Swancar Farm allows you to have your ceremony, drinks reception, wedding breakfast and evening celebrations all at the same venue. From a photography point of view, I really like this because there’s no time lost travelling between locations and it helps the whole day feel much more relaxed.
Is Swancar Farm good for wedding photographs?
Definitely. There’s plenty of variety without needing to disappear for a long portrait session. The main house, courtyard, gardens, surrounding countryside and rustic interiors all provide different opportunities throughout the day. My preference is to use those locations naturally, taking couples away for short periods rather than turning the wedding into a photoshoot.
Have you photographed a wedding at Swancar Farm?
Yes. I’ve photographed a wedding at Swancar Farm as a second photographer, covering the ceremony through to the evening celebrations. Having actually worked at the venue means I’ve experienced how the different spaces photograph, how the day flows and what it’s like working alongside the Swancar Farm team.
