Wedding Photography at Fanhams Hall, Ware
A Jacobean manor in 27 acres of listed gardens with a Japanese Teahouse, where a Saturday Great Hall wedding for 80 in 2027 is costed by the venue at £20,439.
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Wedding photography from £750
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Fanhams Hall is a Jacobean manor house on the edge of Ware, run as a hotel by Exclusive Collection. Its gardens run to 27 acres and include a Grade II listed Japanese Teahouse, an ornamental lake and a "little Fujiyama", tended before the war by gardeners who came from Japan (about Fanhams Hall). Ceremonies can be held in the Long Gallery, Sakura, the Great Hall, the Oak Room, or outdoors at the Teahouse and on the Gazebo Lawn, and the Croquet Lawn takes a marquee for up to 300.
Our studio is at 21 Joel St, Northwood Hills HA6 1NU, photographing weddings since 2001 and rated 4.8 out of 5 from 580+ Google reviews. We are glad to photograph at Fanhams Hall, and coverage starts from £750. Below is what the venue publishes, including one rule that matters for any ceremony involving fire.
Fanhams Hall at a glance: rooms, numbers and access
| Address | Fanhams Hall Road, Ware, Hertfordshire SG12 7PZ |
|---|---|
| Operator | Exclusive Collection; weddings team 01920 460511, fanhamshallweddings@exclusive.co.uk |
| Grounds | 27 acres of listed gardens, including a Japanese garden, an ornamental lake and a Grade II listed Japanese Teahouse |
| Ceremony spaces | Long Gallery, Sakura and the Great Hall (up to 130 on the spaces page, 120 seated in the packages PDF); Oak Room 25 to 45; Japanese Teahouse and Gazebo Lawn outdoors (up to 130) |
| Wedding breakfast | Great Hall up to 120 seated (packages PDF) or 130 (spaces page); 200 standing in the evening |
| Marquee | Croquet Lawn, up to 300 guests, via Country Tipis or Alternative Stretch Tents |
| Minimum numbers | Great Hall: 80 adults on Fridays and Saturdays, 60 on other days; Oak Room minimum 25 |
| Package price | Fall in Love package £124 per person (April 2026 to March 2027), plus room hire and evening food |
| Exclusive use | All 77 bedrooms; from £36,500 per the seasonal offers PDF |
| Bedrooms | 77 or 78, depending on the venue document |
| Parking | 200 spaces, with EV charge points |
| Nearest station | Ware, 2.5 miles; direct trains from London Liverpool Street in about 45 minutes |
| From our studio | About 22.9 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
- Fanhams Hall: weddings
- Fanhams Hall: wedding spaces
- Fanhams Hall: Fall in Love and Intimate packages (PDF)
- Fanhams Hall: seasonal wedding offers (PDF)
- Fanhams Hall: Exclusive Use pricing (PDF)
- Fanhams Hall: Exclusive Use
- Fanhams Hall: marquees and dry hire
- Fanhams Hall: food and drink
- Fanhams Hall: FAQs
- Fanhams Hall: find us
- Fanhams Hall: about
What a Fanhams Hall wedding costs: room hire plus a per-head package
Fanhams Hall prices a standard wedding as two parts: a per-person package and room hire, with evening food required on top (packages PDF). The Fall in Love package (drinks reception, three-course breakfast, half a bottle of wine per guest, a sparkling toast, chairs, linen and a Signature bedroom for the couple) is £124 per person from April 2026 to March 2027, £130 to March 2028 and £139 to March 2029. Children are charged from £25 (0 to 2) and £40 (3 to 12).
Room hire for the Long Gallery or Sakura (ceremony) and the Great Hall (reception) is published by season and day. A sample:
- October 2026 to March 2027: Sunday to Thursday £520 and £1,375; Friday £1,225 and £2,475; Saturday £1,495 and £2,895.
- April to September 2027: Sunday to Thursday £1,045 and £2,230; Friday £1,725 and £2,935; Saturday £2,230 and £3,555.
- Oak Room (ceremony and reception, 25 to 45 guests): £465 and £865 to March 2027, £515 and £950 to March 2028.
The venue's own example quote, a Saturday between April and September 2027 for 80 adults, totals £20,439: £2,230 ceremony room, £3,555 Great Hall, £10,400 in packages, £2,690 for the contracted bedrooms and £1,564 of evening catering. Friday and Saturday weddings must contract 12 Courtyard bedrooms plus the Holly and Rose Signature rooms because of noise. The booking deposit is £2,000 and non-refundable.
The seasonal offers PDF lists all-in options for 60 adults from April 2026 to March 2027: Summer and Sunday Loving £9,725, Winter Romance £10,185 (October to March) and an evening-only Twilight package at £5,750. The Exclusive Use PDF prices the whole estate with 77 bedrooms at £28,500 Sunday to Thursday (60 adults), £33,500 on Fridays and £36,500 on Saturdays (80 adults) from April 2027 to March 2028, with extra guests at £152; the deposit is £5,000. It shows no figures for April 2026 to March 2027, so ask for that year.
Ceremonies at Fanhams Hall, and the rule on fire
The wedding spaces page lists ceremonies in the Long Gallery (up to 130), Sakura (up to 130, with water views; the packages PDF says it is available on selected dates), the Great Hall (also licensed for ceremonies), the Oak and White Hall (25 to 45), the Japanese Teahouse (up to 130) and the Gazebo Lawn (up to 130, for couples holding their reception in the Great Hall). The packages PDF caps the Great Hall at 120 seated, so confirm which figure applies to your layout. Twilight weddings can add a 4.30pm ceremony.
Civil ceremonies are booked with the Hertford register office at County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford SG13 8DE (0300 1234045), after a provisional booking with the venue (packages PDF). The venue also lists six churches nearby, including St Mary the Virgin and Christ Church in Ware.
One rule is published plainly. Because the hotel is a Grade II listed building, ceremonies that require a fire to be lit cannot be held indoors, and the venue asks couples to hire a tent or tipi for such a ceremony in the gardens (Exclusive Use PDF). Couples planning a Hindu or Sikh ceremony with a havan should plan the marquee in from the start. The venue does not publish anything on a baraat, a mandap, or external Asian caterers outside dry hire; its marquees and dry hire page says couples on dry hire may bring their own caterers, designers and stylists.
Photography rules at Fanhams Hall: what is and is not published
Fanhams Hall publishes little on photography. Its packages include a "private bar area, terrace and gardens for photographs" (packages PDF), which tells you where the venue expects pictures to happen. Everything else below should be confirmed with the weddings team.
| Photography during the ceremony | Not published; ask the Hertford registrars |
|---|---|
| Own photographer | Not restricted in anything published; dry hire couples may bring their own suppliers |
| Flash | Not published |
| Drones | Not published |
| Confetti | Not published |
| Fire | Ceremonies that need a fire cannot be held indoors; a tent or tipi in the gardens is required |
| Finish time | Not published for standard packages (speak to the team); Exclusive Use runs from 12pm to 1am per the PDF, and New Year's Eve music runs to 1am |
| Photograph locations included | Private bar area, terrace and gardens |
Where a rule is shown as not published, ask the venue in writing before the day.
Getting ready at Fanhams Hall: Signature rooms and the courtyard
Every Fall in Love and seasonal package includes a complimentary Signature bedroom for the wedding night (packages PDF), and the Holly and Rose Signature rooms are among those contracted on Fridays and Saturdays, which makes them the natural rooms for preparation. A named bridal preparation room is not published. Hotel check-in is from 2pm, so ask whether a room can be released in the morning or book it from the night before (FAQs). Exclusive Use includes characterful suites for guests arriving the night before (Exclusive Use page).
A planning outline for a Fanhams Hall wedding day
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Morning | Getting ready in a Signature room booked from the night before. |
| Early afternoon | Ceremony in the Long Gallery, Sakura or the Great Hall, or outdoors at the Japanese Teahouse or on the Gazebo Lawn (times are set by the Hertford registrars). |
| After the ceremony | Drinks reception in the Library, which the room hire includes, with group photographs on the terrace and in the gardens. |
| Late afternoon | Wedding breakfast and speeches in the Great Hall. |
| Evening | Evening reception for up to 200 standing, with the Conservatory Bar included in room hire. |
| Close | Confirm the finish with the venue; Exclusive Use runs to 1am. |
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 Fanhams Hall, Ware
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour from | Clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 08:01 | 16:19 | 15:21 | GMT |
| February | 07:15 | 17:14 | 16:25 | GMT |
| March | 06:15 | 18:04 | 17:19 | GMT |
| April | 06:04 | 19:57 | 19:11 | BST |
| May | 05:07 | 20:46 | 19:56 | BST |
| June | 04:41 | 21:21 | 20:26 | BST |
| July | 04:59 | 21:13 | 20:20 | BST |
| August | 05:44 | 20:24 | 19:37 | BST |
| September | 06:34 | 19:15 | 18:31 | BST |
| October | 07:24 | 18:07 | 17:21 | BST |
| November | 07:19 | 16:10 | 15:16 | GMT |
| December | 08:01 | 15:49 | 14:47 | 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.
Planning photographs in the Japanese garden, the Great Hall and the Long Gallery
- The Great Hall has a high-beamed ceiling, lattice windows, a stone fireplace and a minstrels' gallery, and looks out over the formal gardens (wedding spaces). The gallery gives a raised view of the room for speeches.
- The Long Gallery has hand-carved oak panelling, an ornate ceiling and original chandeliers. Dark panelling absorbs light, so allow for it in the ceremony.
- Sakura is described as "full of natural light" with views across the water and the grounds, the brightest of the published ceremony rooms.
- The Oak and White Hall is "drenched in light" from large dual-aspect windows, for smaller weddings.
- The Japanese Teahouse and the Japanese Garden bridges, which suppliers can dress on Exclusive Use, are the distinctive portrait settings on the estate.
- The Gazebo Lawn has the original mansion as its backdrop, which suits a full-length group picture.
- The black and white tiled conservatory comes with the Great Hall and is a dry-weather option.
The medieval hall, the Jacobean mansion and the Japanese garden
The venue's about page describes a house "steeped in history, from the medieval hall to the Jacobean mansion and Japanese teahouse", with the Long Gallery and mother-of-pearl detail in the Drawing Room. The packages and Exclusive Use PDFs describe it as a Grade II listed building. Its listed gardens include an ornamental lake, a "little Fujiyama" and the Teahouse, known as "The House of the Pure Heart". Builders, dates and families are not given on the venue's own pages.
Ware station, the A10 and Liverpool Street
Ware is the nearest station, 2.5 miles away, with a taxi costing around £7 (FAQs). Trains run direct from London Liverpool Street in about 45 minutes. By road the venue gives 6 minutes to the A10, 20 to the M25, 30 to the M11 and 45 to the M1; Stansted is 30 minutes and Luton 45 (find us). Helicopter landings can be arranged on request. We travel to Ware from our Northwood studio; travel is set out in the written quote.
Parking at Fanhams Hall: 200 spaces
Fanhams Hall has 200 car parking spaces with EV charge points (find us). Land hire for a Croquet Lawn marquee includes guest parking (wedding spaces). Parking charges and overnight rules are not published, so ask if guests will leave cars until the morning.
Fanhams Hall wedding photography, frequently asked questions
How much does a wedding at Fanhams Hall cost?
How many guests can Fanhams Hall hold?
Can you have a fire ceremony at Fanhams Hall?
Can we bring our own caterer to Fanhams Hall?
Can you get married outside at Fanhams Hall?
How many bedrooms does Fanhams Hall have?
Where is Fanhams Hall and how do guests get there?
Do you photograph weddings at Fanhams Hall?
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The photographer is Kaushik Bathia, a fellow of the BIPP and the MPA with five European Kodak Gold Awards and over a thousand weddings photographed since 2001.
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Planning a wedding at Fanhams Hall?
Tell us the date and the venue and we will come back with availability and a price. Coverage starts from £750.