Rivervale Barn Wedding Venue, Yateley

Filming at Rivervale Barn

Rivervale Barn sits at Mill Farm just outside Yateley, close enough to the Surrey border that half the guest list usually arrives from the other side of it. It goes out on exclusive use, which is the single thing that makes the biggest difference to a wedding film. There is no second party in the next room and no staff clearing somebody else glasses behind me while I am filming your speeches.

There are two places to say the words. The Ceremony Barn seats a hundred and fifty and the Spinney does it outdoors in the trees for a hundred, and I would take either. The Spinney gives me dappled light and the sound of the place, and the barn gives me a clean line down the aisle when the weather does what English weather does.

The layout is the quiet strength here. The Ceremony Barn, the Dining Barn, the courtyard and the dancefloor all sit within a few steps of each other, so the day flows from one to the next without anybody being herded. For me that means I am never running to catch up, which is when handheld footage starts to look like handheld footage.

Rivervale Lodge has ten ensuite bedrooms and the Cornstore Cottage takes the couple, so the morning happens on site. The Pamper Room and Shepherd’s Rest are proper preparation spaces with real daylight rather than a spare room with a mirror in it, and that shows up in the first ten seconds of the film.

To get more information about Rivervale Barn you can visit their website at rivervalebarn.co.uk.

Their address is Rivervale Barn, Mill Farm, Mill Lane, Yateley, Hampshire, GU46 7SS.