Hilltop Country House Hotel – Harriet and Will
We always love returning to be Hilltop Country House wedding photographers, and we always love working with lovely couples like Harriet and Will. Their late spring wedding was a joy to capture from start to finish. And we were thrilled to provide both the wedding photography and the wedding film for Harriet and Will.
Situated in the pretty village of Prestbury in Cheshire, Award-winning Hilltop Country House is a stunning wedding venue situated in 15 acres of gardens, fields and woodland. The 17th century country house is brimming with historic character and their luxury bespoke marquee makes a fantastic venue for wedding celebrations.
We just love it there, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. We’ll get back why we love being Hilltop Country House wedding photographers later. Let’s start at the beginning of Harriet and Will’s day.
On the day we caught up with Harriet who was getting ready at her parent’s house in Romiley. In attendance were Harriet, her mum and dad, matron of honour Louise, maid of honour Emma and bridesmaids Andrea, Jess, Gemma and Anna. We’re not done yet, there’s more – make-up artists Louise Maddison and Talia Pringle, hairstylist Niamh and Niamh’s mum – we’re still no done yet – Harriet’s mum’s cousin Linda, brother-in-law Yazz, and Harriet’s two sweet nephews Ezra and Raphie were all there too! Oh, and us, the most unobtrusive wedding photographers and videographers in Greater Manchester. There to capture all the action!
They started getting ready nice and early so nothing felt rushed, and in case anyone got peckish, Harriet’s parents had laid out an array of tasty treats. We got some great images of the pyjama-d bridal party in the garden drinking a little fizz.
Experienced Hilltop Country House wedding photographers
Harriet looked absolutely stunning in her dress, it had a halter neck, and lovely crossover strap back and skimmed her body with beautiful lace detail. It also had a trumpet shape skirt that kicked out at the bottom giving Harriet the most amazing silhouette. At the back she wore a full-length veil. Harriet bought the dress at bridal bouquet Once Upon a Bride in Hyde. Her hair was elegantly styled in a bun with some loose tendrils framing her face and her make-up looked absolutely flawless. Her bouquet was a simple posy of white and burgundy red flowers with green foliage that was created by Jane Yarwood, who did all the beautiful flowers on the day.
Bridesmaids looked very elegant in burgundy dresses and held simple posies of white flowers with green foliage. Before leaving we captured a gorgeous reveal moment for Harriet’s dad Stuart and the bridesmaids.
As there’s two of us, we get to be in two places at once so we caught up with Will who was getting ready nearby. He was in the safe hands of his best man and one of his grooms’ men. Will looked very smart in a petrol blue suit with a grey waist coat and brown brogues. His grooms party wore petrol blue three-piece suits with blue waistcoats. All wore burgundy ties which worked perfectly with the colour scheme of the wedding.
They were meeting the rest of the groom’s party at the church. The grooms party consisted of Will, his dad Tony, Andy, Mike, Eddy, Sam and Tommy.
Storytelling wedding photography at Hilltop Country House Hotel
The wedding ceremony was held in St Mark’s Church in Bredbury. This handsome church was built in 1882 and remains an important part of the community to this day. The interiors are wonderfully ornate and light floods through the stained-glass windows throwing light around the space. The ornate interiors and the light both combining to create a wonderfully lit grand backdrop in our images of Harriet and Will’s wedding ceremony. Here, take a look!
After a lovely ceremony, Harriet and Will walked back down the aisle a married couple and there was a fun confetti moment outside. Everybody then headed to Hilltop Country House for the reception.
On arrival guests enjoyed a drinks reception, and as the weather was lovely, we were outside. There were lots of lawn games to entertain the youngest games, and some of the not so young guests as well! We took a chance to get some great images of the wedding party in the garden. Some formal group images and of course some silly ones too!
Which brings us to another reason why we love being Hilltop Country House wedding photographers, and that’s their gardens. Beautiful lawns, planted borders, woodlands and fields create an enchanting location and backdrop for fantastic wedding photos.
Harriet and Will had hired two of the sweetest Alpacas to be at the drinks reception. The two friendly alpacas hired from Cheshire Alpacas, are regulars at weddings, and stole the show by being a hit with everybody.
Creative and Natural Hilltop Country House Hotel wedding photography
The wedding breakfast was held in Hilltop Country House’s bespoke luxury marquee that looked amazing all dressed and ready for the meal. Guests were entertained by mariachi band Mariachi Amigo at the end of the reception drinks and after the wedding breakfast. (who doesn’t love a mariachi band)
Speeches were done before the meal which is always a good idea. Speech givers were Harriet’s dad Stuart, Will and best man Luke and were all enjoyed by the guests.
After the meal, with guest happily milling about and enjoying exclusive use of Hilltop Country House. We whisked Harriet and Will away for a few minutes for a mini photoshoot of them around the gardens of Hilltop. As it was late spring many plants were in bloom and we got some really romantic images, here take a look!
Evening celebrations started with the cutting of stunning white three-tiered wedding cake with a clever marble effect burgundy icing. It was made by Pippa of Cariad Cakes. This was followed by a romantic first dance to the beach boys song ‘Then I Kissed Her’.
After the first dance, guests transferred to Hilltops party room which is an area of the marquee with a dancefloor, and a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system. And boy were Harriet and Will’s guests up for a party. DJ Emil didn’t have to do much coaxing to get them onto the dancefloor. And we bravely got on with them to get some great images and film. And it was Harriet and Will’s guests partying that felt like the perfect image to close the story of their amazing wedding day.
A fantastically fun and joyous wedding at a simply stunning Cheshire wedding venue. Congratulations to Harriet and Will and thank you for having us there. We loved it!
