Best Spots for Wedding Photography

Our twenty-two acres of gardens and grounds provide a stunning location for photographs during your wedding weekend at Hastings House. Our wedding coordinator can meet with your photographer upon arrival to point out ideal spots for intimate first-look photos, family or group shots, and cake-cutting photographs. Here are our top five locations on property for capturing the memories of your special day.

The Covered Well

In the centre of the Hastings House garden, just steps from the Post Cottage, stands a vine-covered wishing well. In spring, the large green leaves create a sense of beauty and privacy for your first look photographs.

In Fall, the brilliant red leaves peak in early October offering a stunning seasonal backdrop. First look photo sessions have become an established component of wedding photography. The rationale is that rather than seeing each other for the first time at the wedding arbour in front of all of your guests, you have a private moment together just prior to the ceremony.

For many couples, this is a cherished experience. For some, it is essential! First look photo sessions allow your photographer to capture spontaneous emotions and loving expressions that flow naturally in this intimate setting.

The Wedding Arbour

Our arched wooden wedding arbour on the Farmhouse lawn right at our waterfront provides an attractive spot to exchange your vows. Our wedding coordinator can arrange for additional flowers from a local flower farm to decorate the arbour. These arrangements add a visually stupendous accent.

Many couples plan a recessional walk, and have photos taken of them walking back down the aisle hand in hand with the arbour and the sparkling Salish Sea behind them.

The Waterfront

After the ceremony, the rough-hewn fence at the waterfront adds a lovely frame for larger group photos of family and friends. The texture of the wood is a perfect compliment to the West Coast foliage and wildflowers that decorate Hastings House’s seaside.

If the tide is right and your footwear allows, another private spot for photos of the two of you is our stone beach. With yachts moored in the distance, surrounded by sea and sky, these waterfront photos can’t be beat.

Charming Footbridges

The lyrical feeling of the Hastings House gardens is enhanced by our charming footbridges. No wedding photo shoot is complete without a picture embracing in the middle of the wooden bridge leading to the Forest lawn or across the stream by our pond.

The Sussex-style Manor House

Imagine walking down the aisle past a timbred Sussex-style Manor House. Your photographer will capture your approach up a long winding aisle through the Farmhouse lawn with the elegant Manor House and its leaded windows in the background. The heritage lounge inside the Manor House also offers a wonderful spot for intimate cake-cutting photographs that exude old-world charm.

These photographs will hold fond memories of your destination wedding on Salt Spring Island. If you need a recommendation of a local wedding photographer island, we would be happy to provide reference for photographers who have experience capturing the magic of a wedding at Hastings House.

Photography by Billie Woods