Wedding Photography at Chenies Manor House, Buckinghamshire
A privately owned Tudor manor near Chorleywood, hired exclusively on a dry-hire basis: bring your own suppliers and alcohol with no corkage, marry in the pergola for up to 190 or the Garden Room for 118.
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Wedding photography from £750
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Chenies Manor House stands in the estate village of Chenies, overlooking the Chess Valley, minutes from junction 18 of the M25 and close to the Metropolitan line. It is still a family home, owned by Charles and Boo Macleod Matthews, and it is offered as an exclusive-use venue on a dry-hire basis, which means you choose your own caterer, bar and suppliers (wedding brochure). Couples get access to the reception space from 2pm the day before the wedding until 11am the day after (wedding FAQs).
The venue also names space in the gardens for a mandap or chuppah and its long driveway for a baraat. Our studio is at 21 Joel St, Northwood HA6 1NU, photographing weddings since 2001 and rated 4.8 out of 5 from 580+ Google reviews. We are glad to photograph at Chenies Manor House, which is a short drive from the studio, and coverage starts from £750. Below is what the venue publishes, and what it does not.
Chenies Manor House at a glance: spaces, licence and access
| Address | Chenies Manor House and Gardens, Chenies, Rickmansworth WD3 6ER |
|---|---|
| Owners | Charles and Boo Macleod Matthews; weddings@cheniesmanorhouse.co.uk, 01494 762888 |
| Hire basis | Exclusive use, dry hire, all suppliers welcome, no corkage charge |
| Ceremony spaces | Outdoor pergola, the 'birdcage' (20 to 190), Garden Room (118), Long Room (48) |
| Religious ceremonies | Gardens set aside for a mandap, chuppah or other ceremony, seating up to 190 |
| Registrars | Beaconsfield Old Town Registration Office, 01494 475092 |
| Reception | Garden Room 90 on long tables or 84 on rounds; up to 160 with the attached marquee |
| Drinks | Gardens and Rose Lawn; Long Room for up to 70 standing by the fire |
| Getting ready | Bridal Suite from 9am, kept until the evening |
| Access | Reception space from 2pm the day before until 11am the day after |
| Parking | Ample private off-road parking on site |
| Prices | Not published in text on the website or brochure; ask for the current price list |
| From our studio | About 7.2 miles in a straight line from the studio at 21 Joel St, Northwood HA6 1NU (road distance is longer) |
Figures are as published by the venue or its licensing authority. Where a venue's own pages disagree, both are shown. Confirm anything you are planning around.
Sources
- Chenies Manor House: weddings
- Chenies Manor House: wedding brochure 2025 (PDF)
- Chenies Manor House: wedding ceremonies
- Chenies Manor House: wedding receptions
- Chenies Manor House: wedding FAQs
- Chenies Manor House: history
- Chenies Manor House: how to find us
- Chenies Manor House: visitor FAQs
- Buckinghamshire Council ceremonies: Chenies Manor House and Gardens
What Chenies Manor publishes on price and capacity
Chenies Manor does not publish its hire fees in the text of its website or its 2025 brochure. The brochure says the house is available for ceremony only or a full wedding day and refers couples to a prices page or the team (wedding brochure, PDF). Ask for the current price list for your date, and check what each package includes.
What the venue does publish shapes the budget in other ways. It is dry hire, so you bring your own alcohol with no corkage charge, but evening drinks must be served by a licensed bar company or caterer (wedding FAQs). Chairs and tables are provided: 130 limewash Chiavari chairs for outdoor ceremonies, 130 oak Chiavari chairs for indoor ceremonies and meals, round and trestle tables, garden furniture, a gazebo, a speaker with two wireless microphones, and fairy lights and ceiling florals in the Garden Room and marquee.
Capacity: the Garden Room seats 90 on long tables or 84 on rounds, and the attached marquee takes the wedding breakfast up to 160 on round or long tables (receptions page). The venue strongly recommends a wedding coordinator for weddings over 90.
Booking: the brochure says a date can be held for a maximum of seven days, after which a signed booking form, terms and a deposit are required. The deposit amount and payment schedule are not published.
The pergola, the Garden Room, the Long Room and St Michael's
The venue says it is licensed for civil and marriage ceremonies both indoors and outdoors (ceremonies page). It names three spaces: the outdoor pergola, known as the 'birdcage', for 20 to 190 guests on the edge of the gardens, which also suits blessings and vow renewals; the Garden Room, its largest indoor space, for up to 118; and the Long Room, with an open fireplace and beams, for up to 48. For a civil or marriage ceremony you book the registrars yourself through Beaconsfield Old Town Registration Office.
Buckinghamshire Council's ceremony directory lists slightly different figures: the Garden Room at 120, the Long Room at 50, the Dining Room and the Pavilion at 40 each, and two outside areas, the Pavilion Portico and the Gazebo, at 6 each (council listing). The pergola is not named there, so confirm with the venue and the registrars which outdoor area your ceremony will use and the capacity its licence carries.
For religious weddings the venue offers the gardens for a mandap, a chuppah or other ceremonies with seating for up to 190, and says its long driveway suits a baraat. The Church of St Michael sits at the gates of the manor; the brochure says it is booked through the Parish Office on 01494 762233. Whether a havan or other open flame is allowed is not published, so ask in writing.
Dry hire, open suppliers, and what Chenies does not publish
Chenies publishes very little on photography for weddings. Its brochure calls the award-winning gardens "a beautiful backdrop to all your photographs" and the White Garden "a wedding photographers dream" (wedding brochure). On ordinary open days, the visitor FAQ asks that no photographs are taken inside the house (visitor FAQs); the wedding pages do not say whether that applies on your day, so ask.
| Photography during the ceremony | Not published; the registrar sets the rules for a civil ceremony, so ask them |
|---|---|
| Own photographer | Allowed: the FAQ says all suppliers are welcome; suppliers new to the venue may need a site visit first |
| Flash | Not published |
| Drones | Not published; ask the venue before planning any aerial footage |
| Confetti | Not published |
| Photographs inside the house | Not allowed for visitors on open days; the rule for weddings is not published |
| Fire pit and heaters | Fire pit and patio heaters available in the evening on the Garden Room terrace |
| Wedding coordinator | Strongly recommended, especially for weddings over 90 |
Where a rule is shown as not published, ask the venue in writing before the day.
The Bridal Suite and the White Drawing Room
The brochure describes a Bridal Suite available from 9am on the wedding day, with a full-length mirror, a table mirror, a bathroom and a rail. It overlooks both the arrival drive and the gardens and ceremony, and stays yours until the evening, so it doubles as a changing room for an evening outfit (wedding brochure). The White Drawing Room on the ground floor, surrounded by the gardens, is where the registrars meet the couple and is offered as a quiet room for guests. Guest bedrooms on site are not listed; the brochure says local accommodation is within walking distance. A second preparation room for the other half of the couple is not published, so ask.
A planning outline for a wedding day at Chenies Manor
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Day before, from 2pm | Access to the reception space for set-up and decoration. |
| From 9am | Getting ready in the Bridal Suite, which looks over the drive and gardens. |
| Ceremony (suggested) | Registrars meet the couple in the White Drawing Room, then the ceremony in the pergola, the Garden Room or the Long Room, or a religious ceremony in the gardens. |
| After the ceremony | Drinks on the Rose Lawn, garden games on the South Border Lawn, and portraits in the White Garden and Sunken Garden. |
| Wedding breakfast | Garden Room for up to 90, or with the marquee for up to 160. |
| Evening | The Garden Room becomes the party space, with the bar at one end and the DJ or band at the other; fire pit or heaters on the terrace. |
| Next day, by 11am | Clear the reception space. No finish time for the evening is published, so confirm it in writing. |
An outline for planning, not a schedule. Times are shown only where the venue publishes them; everything else is a stage to time with you and confirm with the venue.
Light by month at Chenies, Buckinghamshire
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour from | Clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 08:02 | 16:21 | 15:24 | GMT |
| February | 07:17 | 17:16 | 16:28 | GMT |
| March | 06:17 | 18:06 | 17:22 | GMT |
| April | 06:07 | 19:59 | 19:13 | BST |
| May | 05:10 | 20:48 | 19:58 | BST |
| June | 04:43 | 21:22 | 20:28 | BST |
| July | 05:01 | 21:14 | 20:22 | BST |
| August | 05:47 | 20:26 | 19:39 | BST |
| September | 06:36 | 19:17 | 18:33 | BST |
| October | 07:26 | 18:09 | 17:23 | BST |
| November | 07:20 | 16:12 | 15:19 | GMT |
| December | 08:02 | 15:52 | 14:50 | GMT |
Computed for the 15th of each month of 2027 at the venue's postcode centroid with the NOAA solar equations. Evening golden hour starts when the sun drops to 6 degrees; trees and buildings shorten it. Times are UK clock time.
Photographing the White Garden, the Rose Lawn and the pergola
- The pergola sits on the Parterre at the edge of the gardens, with the maze beside it, so guests can be photographed exploring the gardens before and after the ceremony (wedding brochure).
- The Sunken Garden has seasonal displays of tulips and dahlias; the brochure names them, which makes spring and late summer the dates to ask about if you want flowers in the portraits.
- The White Garden is the venue's own suggestion for portraits, and the Rose Lawn is the hub for drinks and candid pictures of guests.
- The Garden Room has four sets of double doors onto the gardens and fills with daylight; its beamed ceiling has fairy lights with adjustable lighting, useful for the evening.
- The Long Room offers a fireside setting for up to 48 at a ceremony or 70 standing, suited to a winter wedding.
- The visitor FAQ says the house is over 500 years old and has no disabled access inside, while the gardens, tea room and accessible toilet have step-free access. Plan family groups for older relatives outdoors or in the Garden Room.
From the Cheyne family to the Macleod Matthews
The manor's history page traces the estate to the Cheyne family from 1185. By 1296 Sir John Cheyne had built a fortified brick manor house, parts of which survive. The house passed by marriage in 1526 to the Russells; Sir John Russell became the 1st Earl of Bedford. Henry VIII visited several times, in 1534 with Anne Boleyn and in 1541 with Katherine Howard, and Elizabeth I stayed for a month in 1570 (Chenies Manor history).
The family seat moved to Woburn around 1627. Colonel and Mrs Macleod Matthews bought the house in 1956 and restored it, and their family still owns it, opening it for visitors, filming, events and weddings.
The M25, Chorleywood and Chalfont and Latimer
Chenies Manor is at Chenies, Rickmansworth WD3 6ER. From junction 18 of the M25, follow the A404 towards Amersham for 1.7 miles, turn right onto Latimer Road towards Chenies and the Bedford Arms, go straight over the green and up the manor drive. The nearest stations are Chorleywood and Chalfont and Latimer, both on the Metropolitan line and served by Chiltern trains from Marylebone. The venue lists local taxi firms and notes that Uber does not serve the manor, so book return taxis ahead (how to find us). We travel to Chenies from our Northwood studio, and travel is set out in the written quote.
Parking at Chenies Manor for wedding guests
The wedding page says guests can use extensive private off-road parking on site, and the visitor FAQ adds that there are accessible spaces, pointed out by staff on arrival (weddings page). A space count and overnight parking rules are not published, so ask if guests will leave cars until the next morning.
Chenies Manor House wedding photography, frequently asked questions
How much does a Chenies Manor House wedding cost?
How many guests can Chenies Manor hold?
Can we have an Asian wedding at Chenies Manor?
Is Chenies Manor dry hire?
Can we get married outside at Chenies Manor?
Can we marry in the church at Chenies?
Is there accommodation at Chenies Manor?
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Kaushik Bathia, established 2001, FBIPP and FMPA, five European Kodak Gold Awards, photographs every wedding himself and travels to any venue from the Northwood studio.
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