Wedding Photography in Huntingdon: History, River & Cromwell's Town

Huntingdon is Cambridgeshire's county town and Oliver Cromwell's birthplace — a market town with genuine medieval character, an immediate riverfront on the Great Ouse, and access to some of the most beautiful wedding portrait locations in the county. This is a complete photographer's guide to getting married in and around Huntingdon.

Licensed wedding venues

Huntingdon has several licensed wedding venues, including Hinchingbrooke House — a Tudor mansion in seven acres of grounds on the western edge of town. The town also has function rooms at historic inns and smaller venues suitable for intimate ceremonies. Civil ceremonies are conducted at Huntingdon Register Office, with couples often arranging outdoor portrait sessions along the river or at a nearby estate separately.

The Great Ouse riverbank

Huntingdon's greatest photographic asset is its immediate access to the Great Ouse. The riverside meadows west of the town bridge, the path toward Houghton Mill, and the banks adjacent to the town centre are all easily accessible on foot from ceremony venues. Summer portrait sessions here — in the meadows or along the towpath — produce images with a pastoral, relaxed quality.

Godmanchester and Hemingford Grey

Huntingdon's greatest advantage is its proximity to exceptional nearby portrait territory. Godmanchester — the Chinese Bridge and Island Hall — is across the river. Hemingford Grey — the Norman Manor House and river gardens — is three miles east. Grafham Water — open reservoir and woodland — is five miles west. A Huntingdon wedding day can easily incorporate two or three completely different portrait locations.

The town itself

Huntingdon's High Street has a genuine market town character — Georgian and earlier buildings, the Cromwell Museum in what was once the grammar school Cromwell attended, and the covered market area. Street portraits through the town, particularly in the area near All Saints Church, have an authentic historical quality.