Katie & Tom’s Wedding at Berry Head Hotel, Brixham
Katie and Tom married at Berry Head Hotel in Brixham, Devon, on Saturday 15 August 2026. I’m Paul Hickey of Once in a Lifetime Photography, and I was their Berry Head Hotel wedding photographer for the full day. I am based in Worcestershire, and this was my first Devon wedding.
The day was hot, cloudless and relaxed. It began with bridal preparations at midday and finished at around 10pm. In between came a walled-garden ceremony, sea-view group photographs and flash-lit portraits on the rocks, timed around the tide.
Katie and Tom wanted two things from their wedding day: to enjoy it, and to spend it with their children. That is exactly what documentary wedding photography is for.
Katie and Tom’s wedding at a glance
Venue: Berry Head Hotel, Berry Head Road, Brixham, Devon TQ5 9AJ
Date: Saturday 15 August 2026
Ceremony: 2pm outdoor civil ceremony in the walled garden
Coverage: from bridal preparations at midday to around 10pm
Highlights: sea-view group photographs, flash-lit portraits on the rocks, a smoke portrait at sea level and drone photographs of the coast
Holiday memories of Brixham
Brixham mattered to Katie and Tom long before they chose a venue. Tom spent childhood holidays there with his nan and grandad. Katie took her children crabbing there. Marrying on this coast put those memories at the centre of their wedding day.
Many of their guests travelled down from the Midlands to join them. The couple’s priorities shaped how I worked. Portrait sessions stayed short, and the family had long stretches left alone.
Berry Head Hotel: a wedding venue at the water’s edge
Berry Head Hotel sits at the water’s edge in six acres of grounds, beside Berry Head Country Park. The front lawn looks straight across the bay. Steep steps lead down to rocks at sea level. The hotel’s Mulberry Room opens onto a secluded walled garden and a private deck above the water.
For a photographer, that is four distinct settings within a short walk. Each one needs different light handling, which is where my approach to a wedding day starts.
Arriving a day early to scout the coast
Brixham is a long drive from Worcestershire, so my wife and I travelled down the day before. We checked in at 2pm and spent the afternoon walking the venue. We covered the deck, the front lawn, the garden and the steps down to the sea.
The rocks stood out immediately. They also disappear under the tide. I noted when the water reached them, then worked out the next day’s window. The tide would run about an hour later, which gave us a slot at around 6pm.
A relaxed morning at Berry Head Hotel
Bridal preparations began at midday at the hotel. Katie’s room was small and full of bridesmaids and children. I kept my time in there short rather than crowd them. Instead I photographed the reception room, the ceremony set-up and the gardens.
Katie and her bridesmaids were ready early. They spent well over an hour in the library lounge downstairs before the ceremony. That gave me unhurried candid photographs of Katie, her bridesmaids and her youngest daughter. One of the registrars, it turned out, grew up near my own childhood home in Birmingham.
A 2pm ceremony in the walled garden
The civil ceremony began at 2pm in the walled garden. A stone wall, a large mulberry tree and a gazebo frame the space. The light was the challenge. Katie and Tom stood in shade, while their guests and the background were in full sun.
That contrast is among the hardest conditions in wedding photography. Shade reads cool and dark; sunlit backgrounds read warm and bright. I balanced the exposure and colour frame by frame in the edit. In that light again, I would add gentle fill flash, where the registrars allow it.
Confetti followed in the same garden. Guests then moved to the deck for drinks, hugs and the view across the bay.
Group photographs with the sea behind
The plan was a full group photograph taken from above the deck. On the day, the angle was poor and half the group stood in shade. I explained the problem to Katie and moved everyone to the front lawn.
There, the sea and the bay sat behind every row. We photographed the full group and the family groups in the same spot. Group photographs are one of the first things I plan in a wedding day photography timeline, and a plan still has to bend on the day.
Afterwards I took Katie and Tom for a short walk along the front. A few walking frames, then straight back to their guests and out of the heat.
Wedding breakfast and speeches
The wedding breakfast started at around 4pm in the Mulberry Room. Katie and Tom sat at a sweetheart table with windows and patio doors behind them. The room was dim and the bay outside was brilliant.
Expose for the couple, and the view burns out to white. Expose for the view, and the couple fall into silhouette. I set up two AD200 off-camera flashes to light Katie and Tom during the speeches. Their faces stayed clean, and the bay stayed visible through the glass. I also lit Charlotte and Richard’s speeches at Ashton Lodge with off-camera flash.
Portraits on the rocks, timed around the tide
At about 6pm, after the speeches, we took Katie and Tom down the steps to the rocks. The tide window from the previous day’s scouting held. I placed them on the higher rocks and shot from below. Sea, cliff and sky filled the frame.
The low evening sun sat behind them. Without flash, that gave clean silhouettes. With an AD600 in a softbox and a MagMod strip box, it gave lit portraits against a warm sky. It is the same off-camera flash technique behind my creative night portraits.
We also made a veil portrait, and one with a smoke bomb. The smoke was used at sea level, well away from the hotel, its windows and the guests. You can read more about how smoke bomb wedding photography works, including timing and safety.
I finished with the drone, flying in from the sea towards Katie and Tom as they waved. From the air, you see what the couple chose: a hotel on the cliff, the rocks below and open water beyond.
This is the sequence I would show any couple considering a Berry Head Hotel wedding. For the same idea inland, see Liam and Shaun’s evening portraits at Hogarths Stone Manor.
An evening on the deck
Cake cutting and the first dance followed, with a local DJ. On a warm night, most guests chose the deck and the view over the dance floor. So I took the lighting to them.
A 42-inch MagMod softbox on the deck gave me portraits of couples, friends and family groups. The last colour in the sky over the bay sat behind each one.
I also tested an after-dark idea in the walled garden, using the rowing boat and the mulberry tree. It is ready for the next Berry Head couple. Coverage finished at around 10pm.
Photographing a wedding at Berry Head Hotel: what I learned
Berry Head Hotel rewards a photographer who arrives early and is confident with flash. These notes come from one wedding and a full afternoon of scouting, so check venue rules with the hotel.
Rocks at sea level: the strongest portrait location. They are covered at high water, so check tide times for your date.
Steps to the sea: steep, and not suited to every guest. The front lawn gives the same sea backdrop without the steps.
Front lawn: the best spot I found for group photographs, with the bay behind.
Walled garden: ceremonies and confetti. Expect strong contrast between shade and full sun on a bright afternoon. Fallen mulberries stain shoes in late summer.
Mulberry Room: dim inside, with bright sea-view windows. Off-camera flash keeps both the couple and the view.
Deck: drinks, candid photographs and evening portraits against the sky.
Berry Head Hotel wedding photography questions
Who should I book as my Berry Head Hotel wedding photographer?
Book a photographer who plans around the tide and can light a backlit room. Once in a Lifetime Photography photographed Katie and Tom’s full day there in August 2026. Paul Hickey is a multiple Wedisson Award winner and a Flashmasters Gold Award recipient, with 150+ weddings photographed since 2014.
Do you photograph weddings in Devon?
Yes. I am a Worcestershire wedding photographer, and I photograph weddings in Devon and further afield on request. For a coastal venue, I travel down the day before to scout locations and check tide times.
Can we have portraits on the rocks at Berry Head Hotel?
Yes, when the tide and your timings allow. Katie and Tom did, at about 6pm. The rocks are reached by steep steps and are covered at high water, so I plan the session around the tide table for your date.
What happens if it rains at Berry Head Hotel?
Group photographs and portraits move indoors and are lit with off-camera flash. In my assessment, the Mulberry Room could hold a large group with two flashes. The library lounge and the bar lounge would suit smaller groups. Katie and Tom had sunshine all day.
How much does a Berry Head Hotel wedding photographer cost?
Full-day coverage with Once in a Lifetime Photography costs £1,295 for 2026 weddings and £1,395 for 2027 weddings. That is the Signature package. It includes 700+ edited images in a private online gallery. Travel for Devon weddings is confirmed with your quote. See every option on the wedding photography packages page.
Planning your Berry Head Hotel wedding?
If you want natural coverage of your day and flash-lit portraits on the coast, I would like to hear your plans. Once in a Lifetime Photography is based in Worcestershire and photographs weddings in Devon and further afield on request.
Tell me your date and I will check availability. Email paul@onceinalifetimephotography.co.uk or call 01905 900911.