On October 16th last year I did a wedding shoot at the venue mentioned above. The Hotel is set in 12 acres of beautiful woodland in a charming building all just one mile from the centre of Sheffield. Over the years the Kenwood Hall has experienced a number of name alterations and has changed ownership on several occasions. The oldest section of the building dates back to 1845, while the land on which the hotel is built can be traced back to the beginning of the 12th century. The hotel started out life as the home of George Wostenholm, a Sheffield cutlery manufacturer in 1845. Its most recent transformation came in the year 2007 when it was bought by the Principal Hayley group, and it was at this time it took on its most recent name – the Kenwood Hall.

Weddings are held in the old part of the hotel and provide great backdrops for photos. There is lovely detail in the ceilings and the bar area has some grand wooden cabinets. Outside there are the grounds with magnificent old trees and a lake. As this wedding was in Autumn there were leaves on the ground and it all looked stunning for the formal shots of the bride and groom.

The building itself also provides a good backdrop with arched doorways and heavy stonework. The couple chose to have fireworks in the evening and this too provided excellent material for me to produce some fantastic photographs. The staff at the hotel were very helpful to me and made my day more relaxed as well as catering for all the guests.

I would like to stress the importance of a high quality venue in order to receive high quality shots. It’s hard to create a great shot from an uninspiring venue. The time of year is also of great importance and Autumn is one of the better seasons.