The Four Seasons Hampshire is Dogmersfield Park, a Grade I listed Georgian house begun in 1728 and set in 500 acres of Hampshire countryside. It’s been a Four Seasons since 2005. It feels a long way from anywhere, but it’s about an hour from London, which is why so many London couples end up here.
I’ve photographed weddings at the Four Seasons a number of times.
The spaces
The Walled Garden. A sixteenth-century walled garden, and the obvious place for an outdoor ceremony. Brick walls, a lot of green, and the house just beyond it.
The Orchard and the croquet lawn. For drinks and canapés after the ceremony, and for the group photographs.
The Mandeville Ballroom. The main indoor room for dinner and dancing, with the Mandeville Foyer alongside for the drinks if the weather turns.
Couples often make a weekend of it, because there’s plenty to keep guests busy either side of the wedding: the spa in the old stable block, tennis, riding, and a zip wire through the trees for the more energetic groomsmen.
Photographing it
What I like about the Four Seasons is space. You can walk ten minutes in any direction and have somewhere different to photograph, with nobody else in the picture. The walled garden gives you shelter and softer light, the parkland gives you long views, and the house gives you the Georgian brick and sash windows behind you.
As always, I stay quiet for most of the day and photograph what happens. Then, at a time that suits you, fifteen or twenty minutes for the portraits, usually out in the grounds when the light is low. You’re back with your guests before anyone notices you’d gone.
These two are from other weddings, in Sussex and at Old Marylebone Town Hall, to give you a feel for the style.
Prices
My prices are all on the prices page. For a full day at the Four Seasons, most couples choose eight or eleven hours so the portraits can happen in the evening light.
Tell me your date and I’ll let you know straight away whether I’m free. Get in touch here.
Barrie
