Room in the Rodings, Essex - Photo Issue

I don't really have an indoor space for photos at my venue... I am taking brollies!!!

Haha! Now theres an idea!

Are you talking about the Room in the Rodings or the Reid Rooms? They are owned by the same place and are close together but are actually different venues. I am getting married at the Reid Rooms in July and I love it there. I know at least 3 other people that have got married there and the pics are all fab. I think the evening entertainment room (which is where they tend to have reception drinks if the weather is naff) is a little dark but I'm hoping that isn't going to be an issue for my wedding and that we will get all our pics outside ?

In these circumstances the photography concentrates more on the people rather than the people in the setting. Great results can be achieved this way.

Peter

Just noticed this thread after posting one about the same venue. I'm wondering the same thing about photos. It looks from the website pictures, like they've just planted the gardens i.e. they're quite sparse.

So I have the same worry but I do know a few pro-photographers and if the photographer is good enough they will be able to make something of it. I've seen a stunning and award winning wedding photo of a bride taken against a burnt wall in a room in a hotel that was gutted by fire and was supposed to be closed off! And also some hip ones of a bride and groom in front of a bottle bank for eg - just using the textures of the paint and rust to make a backdrop! You may just have to allow the photographer to get creative and produce some slightly less obvious poses and arrangements. This is when a Pro photographer's training and experience should come into it's own.

May2be - as the post says I'm referring to Room in the Rodings. Ive seen Reid Rooms, and it wasn't for us. The bar was far to seperated from the main room, and I have too many older guests who prefer to watch the dancing seated rather than participate.

Thanks Peter for responding. I am a little concerned with the lack of inside picture oppotunities. Outisde has some great spots though, especially come Summer when the gardens are in full bloom

Loonymoon - yes I saw your thread. I'm guessing you must be a local gal as well. Have you been there yet? I went on Saturday and the place does look a little tierd at mo, but it is the winter. I've emailed the wedding lady to ask if the area will be re-painted, and new flowers and plants will be potted. I also asked about removing the plates and pictures from wall LOL.

Are you planning to just hire the venue, and choose a caterer from the list? We're having Hog Roast for 70 and buffet for 150 in evening. Its a lot cheaper than anywhere else we've seen. The catering company's food looks fab as well!

Bumping up, in the hope someone can reassure me!

There's your answer.

Yes I live in east Herts so we're looking at venues around there/ west Essex.

No I haven't been there yet, We have been to the Reid Rooms though as my other half is a DJ and has DJ'ed there at a wedding. We think the Reid Rooms will be too big for us though and as we don't have a huge budget we thought the Room in the Rodings looked a better prospect.

We will be having a November wedding though so unfortunately we will miss the blooming garden. I have just left a message with the wedding planner for the venues asking about it and hope to go and see it soon. I agree about the plates/pictures on the walls though and the red curtains will kind of make it difficult to have any other colour theme than red or pink. (I was hoping for blue as being a redhead with pink skin I can't wear red or pink very well and wouldn't want it as a wedding colour really!!).

I suppose I'm not sure how this works... do you mean close ups of peoples faces etc (Sorry I have no idea with photography)

She emailed me back, and said she would more than happy remove the pictures and plates. Which is great.

I wouldn't worry about your colour theme matching the decor. I'm having pale Turquoise as OH wouldn't be seen dead in pink, and my sister had Red not so long ago!

Knowing my sister, she would go to the venue and remove the curtains for the day LOL

Ohhh your OH is a DJ...you may have to lend me his details if he's good!!

Definatly go there for a chat, and think about using a catering company rather than their in house option. I'm looking at Magpie Catering as they can do a HOg Roast. Can't wait!!!

Mary Briscoe from the venue just called me and she sounds lovely so we're having a look around next weekend.

Which caterer did you look at? We've only just started all this and have no clue so it'd be nice to have some experiences!!

Looking again at the photos of the venue on the site I see that on the 360 degree tour the dining room carpet is red but on the other photos the carpet is green so I'm not sure which is more recent, but on the tour it looks like theres some sort of verandah area which you can access through a sliding door.

I'm sure photographs will be closeups of the couple. It did look like there's some open space so shots with fields behind may be possible - are you using the pavillion for your wedding ceremony?

Oh and the wedding photographers I know sometimes take lots of white umbrellas with them for inclement weather. I'm sure unless it was downpour all day you'd be able to get some shots outside. Even if it's fun ones of people playing with umbrellas!

She is lovely! We're working with Magpie Catering. On Room in the Rodings website, there are a list of caterers on the "Links" section. I just emailed a select few, for prices. We get a free tasting session as well!

The carpet is the pale green/blue colour now. and yes there is access to the decking from either end of the dining room. The bar is attached the dance floor, just tucked round a corner, and its a good size!

Hope you have fun looking round!

Cool thanks, I think I prefer it the blue/green colour - less overpowering! Can't wait to have a look! The dance floor area does look good from the pics and that is quite important to me...LOL!

OOps missed this reply. That's cool that they're removing plates/pictures that would help!

My OH is a supplier on here (Dance Sounds Disco) so have a look. Hope that's OK to post in this thread but as he's a Hitched Supplier anyway then should be OK.

Heads up... I'm "loonys" OH ?

Removal of the plates will really help for me. It otherwise starts to look like a tea-room (IMO!).
From my end, I've got my Best Man sorted, we know the DJ we'll use (I trust him, so will be able to relax!). My work is done! lol

On a serious note, I do like that they don't charge corkage and we can supply our own wine. I'm reasonably fussy, so would want that kind of control - but we are on a budget. I also think we'll look at outside catering, if anything for the choice.

Jason

It can be achieved in more than one way. Selective layered lighting where achievable is one option. The images in these circumstances need to be a little more dynamic.

The image below is a guest and daughter at a wedding where the aim was to get in close to avoid too many distractions in the room setting.

There are times when wedding photography works best with reportage style coverages and there are times IMHO within that coverage where the photographer needs a relationship with the subjects in order to create images like the one above.

That said, the image below was a naturally occurring shot. This was central London with a busy street outside. Allowing the exposure outside to be brighter than the balance inside, meant that there were few distractions going on behind the couple, although the window is still in some way a feature..

IF the venue lacks any inside locations, then the tog should be able to still shoot decent images of you and your guests.

Peter

Thank you Peter, this is great!

Just as long as I have plenty on pictures of me in my very big dress, I'll be happy :-)

I'm not after many "traditonal" shots, just got to keep parents happy!

Just updating this. We decided not to go to the Room on the Rodings after all as most of our guests will be travelling quite some distance. So we looked at the Bobsleigh Inn in Bovingdon at the weekend and were very impressed with their Acacia room, and the staff seemed very switched on and friendly, plus as a hotel there's plenty of accommodation including some disabled rooms which is good as I'm hoping my gran will come and she's 93. They are also running a good deal for winter weddings too so we've booked a provisional date with them for 5th November...remember remember!

FWIW My own experiences with this venue have always been positive.

hth

Peter

Thanks Peter, that's reassuring! There were a few housekeeping issues we spotted, but these were reported on a follow-up email.

Getting excited now!! ?

Yes thanks Peter, reassuring...

I've just noticed that Jas and my sliders say a different amount of time until our wedding...LOL!