Hazel Gap Barn Wedding Photographer

Hello there,

I’m Dave from Dave Waller Photography, and if you’ve landed here you’re probably planning your wedding at Hazel Gap Barn.

Hazel Gap sits on the Welbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire, in the old Sherwood Forest country, and it’s run by Cripps & Co. There’s a courtyard with a fountain and mulberry trees, an Oak Room that fills with light, bluebell woods on the doorstep, and a late licence that runs to one in the morning.

It’s a barn that has been thought about properly, and it photographs beautifully at both ends of the day.

Looking for a wedding photographer for Hazel Gap Barn? Check my date here.

Hazel Gap Barn Photography Packages

Hazel Gap Barn at a Glance

Where: Budby, on the historic Welbeck Estate, Nottinghamshire.
Ceremonies: Licensed for civil ceremonies in the Ceremony Hall, for up to 150.
Guest numbers: 150 for the ceremony and the wedding breakfast, up to 250 in total in the evening.
Exclusive use: The barn is yours for the day.
Late licence: Until 1am.
The courtyard: A fountain, mulberry trees and planters, with fire pits, lanterns and fairy lights after dark.
The Oak Room: Light filled, looking out over the garden and the woodland.
Photographs: Bluebell woods on the estate.
Staying over: None on site. Cuckney House on the estate has 15 bedrooms and sleeps 38, about five minutes away, with a further 12 estate cottages.
Run by: Cripps & Co.

Bride and groom walking back down the aisle after their Hazel Gap Barn ceremony

Photographing a Wedding at Hazel Gap Barn

Knowing a venue well changes what you come away with. Here is how a day at Hazel Gap tends to run from behind the camera.

The courtyard is the evening. Fountain, mulberry trees, fire pits and lanterns. Once the light goes it becomes the best part of the venue, and the late licence means there is no rush to get to it.

Guests toasting marshmallows at a fire pit in the courtyard at Hazel Gap Barn

Bride and groom under an umbrella outside Hazel Gap Barn at night

Black and white portrait of the bride and groom in the grounds at Hazel Gap Barn

The bluebell woods are seasonal. If you’re marrying in late April or May, the woods on the estate are worth ten minutes of your day. Outside those few weeks they are still woodland, but they are not the same thing.

Bride and groom kissing in the grounds of Hazel Gap Barn on the Welbeck Estate

Plan for indoors. The licensed ceremony space is the Ceremony Hall, indoors, so the ceremony itself is weatherproof. That takes a lot of the anxiety out of a British wedding.

The Ceremony Hall at Hazel Gap Barn set out for a wedding

Civil ceremony under the chandelier in the Ceremony Hall at Hazel Gap Barn

Groom kissing the bride on the forehead at Hazel Gap Barn

One in the morning is late. A 1am licence is generous, and it changes how the evening runs. Worth deciding early whether you want photography that late, or whether the money is better spent earlier in the day.

First dance at Hazel Gap Barn beside illuminated LOVE letters

A Short History of Hazel Gap Barn

Hazel Gap sits on the Welbeck Estate, in the part of north Nottinghamshire that was once Sherwood Forest. The estate is still a working one, with its own farm, school and cottages.

The barn is run by Cripps & Co, who were started by Mark and Felicity Henriques. Their first venue, Cripps Barn in the Cotswolds, was converted back in 1990, and Hazel Gap follows the same thinking — feasting food, long tables, fires and candles.

Table details with a vintage clock at a Hazel Gap Barn wedding breakfast

What that means in practice is a venue built around a long, unhurried day rather than a tight schedule.

Location of Hazel Gap Barn

Hazel Gap Barn is at Budby on the Welbeck Estate in north Nottinghamshire, about fourteen miles from Chesterfield and nineteen from Newark. It’s a run down the A1 or the M1 from West Yorkshire, and worth it.

Hazel Gap Barn, Budby Road, Budby, Nottinghamshire NG22 9EY

Real Weddings at Hazel Gap Barn

AMY & CHRIS | HAZEL GAP BARN WEDDING

View the wedding blog

Bride having her make-up done on the morning of her Hazel Gap Barn wedding

My Wedding Photography Approach

Every couple, every wedding, every venue is different, and that is how I approach your day.

At Hazel Gap I’m there to tell the story of the day rather than to direct it. Documentary photography for the parts that happen on their own, and portraits that feel relaxed rather than posed.

The barn gives you two completely different looks in one day — daylight through the Oak Room, then fire pits and lanterns in the courtyard after dark. Not many venues change character that well.

Wedding cake with red and white sugar roses at Hazel Gap Barn

Bride and groom with their groomsmen against the lantern-lit brick walls at Hazel Gap Barn

If you’re planning your wedding at Hazel Gap Barn and looking for a photographer, I’d love to hear from you. Have a look through my wedding photography packages and let’s have a chat about your plans.

Planning Your Hazel Gap Barn Wedding

Hazel Gap Barn is on the Welbeck Estate at Budby in Nottinghamshire, and the barn is yours for the day, with a late licence until 1am. There’s no accommodation at the barn itself, so it’s worth booking rooms early. Cuckney House, on the estate and about five minutes away, has 15 bedrooms and sleeps 38, and there are a further 12 estate cottages, which makes it easy to keep your closest people together for the weekend.

If you’re getting ready at Cuckney House, let me know, and I’ll plan the morning so I can be with you there and still get to the barn in good time for the ceremony. It’s a short hop, which keeps the timings relaxed.

The Ceremony Hall seats up to 150, and the evening can grow to 250, so think about who you’d like with you for the whole day and who joins later. The courtyard is a big part of the day here. After dark the fire pits, lanterns and fairy lights come on, and that’s a lovely time for a few relaxed pictures of your guests around the fire.

For portraits, the bluebell woods on the estate are beautiful in spring, so if you’re marrying in late April or May, ask the team when they’re at their best. The Oak Room looks out over the garden and the woodland and is filled with light, which helps on a grey day. I keep portraits to around twenty minutes, so you’re not away from your guests for long.

The food is cooked over open flames, on Cripps’ signature barbecues and French rotisseries, with wines chosen by their own wine buyer. If you’re not sure what to choose, their Friday Feast Nights are a lovely way to try the signature dishes with matching wines. In winter, the underfloor heating, open fires and candles keep the barn warm and cosy, and that warm firelight looks beautiful in pictures.

If you’re planning a wedding at Hazel Gap Barn, get in touch to see if I’m free on your date.

Hazel Gap Barn Wedding Questions

Up to 150 for the civil ceremony and the wedding breakfast, and up to 250 in total in the evening, all on an exclusive use basis.

In the Ceremony Hall, which is licensed for civil ceremonies for up to 150 guests. It is indoors, so the ceremony itself is weatherproof.

Yes. The barn is yours for the day, so there is no other wedding running alongside yours.

There is a late licence until 1am, which is later than most barn venues manage. Worth thinking about how much of that you want photographed.

The courtyard after dark, with its fountain, mulberry trees, fire pits and lanterns, is the highlight. If you marry in late April or May, the bluebell woods on the estate are well worth ten minutes of your day.

The ceremony is indoors anyway, and the Oak Room is light filled and looks out over the garden and the woodland, so there is good light to work with inside. A wet day changes where we take your portraits rather than whether we do.

There are no bedrooms at the barn itself. Cuckney House on the Welbeck Estate has 15 bedrooms and sleeps 38, about a five minute drive away, and there are a further twelve estate cottages, all booked through Welbeck.

Check my date

Getting married somewhere else nearby? My Nottingham wedding photographer page covers the other venues I know in the area.