Tag Archives: cotswolds wedding

Slaughters Manor Wedding | James & Amanda

January 30, 2020 admin

We had a crisp cold and sunny day for James & Amanda’s winter wedding at The Slaughters Manor in Lower Slaughter. This was a welcome respite from previous endless rainy days, and the pretty stream that runs through Lower Slaughter was looking very full!

James & Amanda had exclusive use of the gorgeous manor house for their wedding day. It’s such a beautiful wedding venue here in the Cotswolds with friendly staff who make everyone feel very welcome.

Amanda was getting ready in one of the very spacious suites upstairs, and this is where I joined her to start photographing the day.

Amanda’s beautiful bouquet, and all the other flowers were done by The Broadway Florist.

Amanda’s makeup was done by Jodie Croft, who kept everyone entertained all morning while Christmas carols were playing on the radio. She was also very clever in helping me get some beautiful photos – a pleasure to work with!

And Amanda looked stunning, as did her lovely bridesmaids!

Amanda’s hair was done by Maria Christina.

Meanwhile. the boys had arrived downstairs, looking very dapper in their blue tweed suits and pink ties.

Ad the final touches were being done with the girls.

WHAT A DRESS! I MEAN WOW!

The ceremony was held downstairs in the elegant restaurant which looked very pretty with all the colourful flowers.

As this was just before Christmas it was going to get dark very quickly, so we got straight on with photos outside before the beautiful winter light faded.

The steps at the front of the manor were MADE for that dress!

The snooker room makes for a cool photo

And it was downstairs again for the wedding breakfast in the restaurant – the food here at Slaughters Manor is outstanding – they had an amazing five course meal.

The decided not to have formal speeches, so just enjoyed a lovely relaxed evening with stunning food in the company of their favourite people.

After all that food they still had room for a doughnut wall, and an AMAZINGLY scrumptious and Christmassy looking wedding cake created by Cakes by Mrs F.

There was a retro photobooth by The Flash Fox

And a brilliant band called 247 to get everyone on the dance floor.

I rounded off my photo day with a few sparkler pictures, and then left them to carry on enjoying their amazing day.

Ellenborough Park

Ellenborough Park Wedding | Lauren & Matt

December 10, 2019 admin

We haven’t had great weather this year, 2019, to be honest, so Lauren and Matt were so lucky to have beautiful autumn weather for their Ellenborough Park Wedding. The Ellenborough Park Hotel is one of my favourite wedding venues here in the Cotswolds – there are so many beautiful places for photos inside and out.

Lauren had her hair & makeup done at the hotel, and we had a very calm and relaxing morning while the girls were getting ready.

Makeup was by Natalie Ricciardi

The girls’ hair was done by Suzanne Hale

Lauren really did look stunning.

The boys were also at the hotel looking very smart in their blue suits.

And the last finishing touches were done before the ceremony which took place in the chapel. Lauren’s stunning dress was from Taffeta & Lace, and the flowers by Abbey Meadow Flowers.

The ceremony was then under way!

The Bristol String Quartet played beautifully before the ceremony and during the signing of the register.

Lauren & Matt smiled and laughed ALL day – they were so happy together!

They were so easy to photograph as they were smiling all the time!!

Their wedding breakfast was in the De La Bere Court, which looked amazing.

The beautiful stationary was from Retro Press.

There was time for a few more photos in the beautiful grounds of Ellenborough Park as the sun went down.

For their evening entertainment Lauren & Matt had the amazing Richard Parsons – Gloucestershire Magician.

The look of amazement on everyone’s faces was brilliant!

The evening went on with cake cutting and their first dance back over in the De La Bere Court – finishing with Pizza! The scrumptious looking cake was by Storyteller Cakes. Fabulous day with lovely smiley people!

The DJ was First Dance Discos.

Cotswold Weddings, Hyde House

Hyde House Wedding | Hannah & Matt

October 15, 2019 admin

Hannah & Matt were very lucky to have a pretty perfect summer’s day for their Hyde House Wedding in the Cotswolds.

I really do love photographing weddings at this Cotswolds venue, everything is all in one location, the day flows really well, and there are so many beautiful spots for photos at different times of the day, with stunning views over the Cotswold Hills.

The girls got ready upstairs in the wonderfully light getting ready room

Where there is plenty of room to hang the dresses up

The beautiful flowers were by Jackie from Bluebell Wood Florist

Hair was by Robert John Hair in Bristol

And makeup by the very talented Katy Pheiffer

The boys were getting ready over in the manor house – that’s what I love about this place, the boys are there too!

Hannah looked stunning, her dress was from Platinum Brides, designed by Nicola Anne Bridal.

After being very calm and collected all morning, Hannah did finally crack when her Dad saw her for the first time – this was one of the most emotional Father seeing the Bride moments I’ve ever seen, and I was sobbing too!

Then it was time for the short, but nervous, walk over to The Grange for the ceremony

The amazing Ardeton String Quartet played during during the ceremony, and afterwards at the reception. They even took requests during the wedding breakfast so guests could choose songs!

A very much less nervous walk back to the barn for the reception drinks, canapes and confetti!

The beautiful venue styling was by The Cotswold Wedding Company

And the lovely stationary was by Samantha & The Stationery.

Scratch cards are always entertaining…

…except when you don’t win!

But just winning a pound is very exciting!!

Speeches were then underway

Then time for some photos showing off the beautiful bride & groom in the stunning gardens at Hyde House.

The lovely cup cakes and larger cake to cut were by The Cotswold Cake Bee

Both the photo booth and DJ were provided by Oxygen Discos & Events

And a photo under the arbor after dark is a must at Hyde House. Fabulous day!

Cotswold Weddings, Manor House Hotel Moreton, Weddings

Manor House Hotel Wedding | Jennifer & Lee

August 8, 2019 admin

Jennifer & Lee’s wedding at The Manor House Hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh at the beginning of July sometimes felt like we were in a tropical country somewhere, not in England! The weather was so amazing, and the thatched roof Breeze House for outdoor ceremonies at the Manor House Hotel gives the hotel gardens a real tropical feel!

Jennifer and the girls were getting ready in Apple Cottage, part of the hotel, but away from the main building

Hair was done by Matthew Curtis and his team

Makeup was done by the lovely Natasha-Louise, who was almost due to have a baby (which has now safely arrived into this world!), so amazing she was still working on a very hot July day!

The groom, Lee, and the boys arrived at The Manor House Hotel looking very smart in their blue suits from Slaters. Flowers were by Lisa Drinkwater & Erica Chapman – one of their guests – love the sunflowers!

I had the pleasure of working alongside Zara from Zara’s Films who was doing the videography for the day.

After a bit more touching up, and an emotional first look from Dad, Jennifer was ready to go outside in to the sunshine to marry Lee!

The Bridesmaid dresses were from TFNC.

The Bellini String Trio played during the ceremony and reception

And the beautiful ceremony was under way

The Manor House Hotel has a lovely secret garden around the corner which is perfect for shots of the bride & groom

And so we could have a proper look at Jennifer’s stunning dress from The Cotswold Frock Shop

The sunflower theme was very effective in the wedding breakfast room. The chair sashes were from All About Fun UK.

Jennifer styled the room sourcing all the beautiful details herself, like the seeds from Wedding in a Teacup, and the stationary from Poppy Forest

There were some very emotional speeches

And then everyone could relax outside in the beautiful evening sunshine

We had a chance later on to do some more photos as the sun was going down in the secret garden. You’ve got to get a shot in the deckchairs at The Manor House Hotel!

It was then time for the cake cutting and first dance. The amazing cake with so many interesting flavours was from Cacao Bean in Moreton-in-Marsh.

There was also a sweet cart from Sweet Bella Boo

The dancing was kicked off by DJ Visually Sound with the first dance, which looked lovely with a backdrop of LOVE letters from Deckstar Deluxe

And everyone had a bit of fun with glow sticks after dark!

Beautiful wedding with beautiful people, and a pleasure to be part of it.

Hyde House, Hyde House Stow, Weddings

Hyde House Wedding | Nicola & Jared

August 6, 2019 admin

Nicola & Jared had an absolutely beautiful sunny day for their wedding at Hyde House here in the Cotswolds – about time too after a very rainy June so far! The sky was BLUE, amazing!

As usual with weddings at Hyde House – it’s so easy for me with the beautiful getting ready room upstairs in the barn.

Nicola’s mum Joanne did all of the beautiful flowers

Hair was by Amie from The Wedding Hair Specialist – I love seeing people happy in their work!

Makeup was by Makeup by Mandy-Lee

It really is a fabulous rooms for getting ready, and nice and light for photos!

Jared & the boys arrived in a snazzy car, already ready…apart from buttonholes to put on. The boys blue suits were from Moss Bros.

Back with the girls, who were ready to put their dresses on

Nicola did look stunning in her dress which was from Tilly Trotters Bridal in Leamington Spa.

Nicola’s Dad & Step-Dad were going to walk her down the aisle – so they both came up to the room for a first look

The Grange, where the ceremony was going to be held, looked so pretty in the blue skies

And the girls all walked over in the sunshine from the barn

where Jared was nervously waiting

They led their guests back over to Hyde Barn for confetti and the drinks reception

The brilliant musician Thom Conroy played the cello during the ceremony, and the saxophone during the reception

I took Nicola & Jared for a little walk round the grounds for photos before their wedding breakfast. I always like to get the group photos done before then as well, while everyone’s still looking smart!

The barn was styled beautifully by Styletopia

The tables & table settings were based around different herbs

Nicola’s brother was MC for the day, and he had a few surprise games for in between courses. Speeches were also staggered between courses.

Hay bales were perfect for a summers day, and they were from The Cotswold Hay Bale Company. There was time to blow bubbles before the cake cutting and first dance!

The cake was from Waitrose and beautifully decorated by Jared’s mum Christina.

They had a brilliant band Smith & Sons who got everyone jigging.

The LOVE letters by Letters 4 Hire

And Photo Booth by The Magic Mirror Company

The Grange, where the ceremony was held, is also a great spot for photos later on, and it’s lovely garden area where you can look over the Cotswolds landscape

Sparklers are always a lovely way to end the photos

Another fantastic day with lovely people and amazing weather!

This blog is in memory of one of Nicola’s bridesmaids, Gail, who has incredibly sadly passed away since the wedding. I met her for the first time at the wedding and she was a beautiful, happy human being, and will be sadly missed.

Cotswold Weddings, Middle Aston House, Weddings

Josie & Callum | Middle Aston House Wedding

July 15, 2019 admin

Josie and Callum’s Harry Potter themed wedding started with Josie & her bridesmaids getting ready at home, so I joined them there for some getting ready photos.

Make up was by Jennifer Grayburn, and hair by Emma from Kenny’s Hair Boutique.

The beautiful flowers were by Georgina at Nicholson Nurseries.

Josie really did look stunning

Josie’s dress & veil was from Banbury Bridal Boutique and Bridesmaid dresses from Marks & Spencer.

The ceremony was at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Bicester on a very hot day in early June (they were lucky – it rained for 2 weeks non-stop after this!!)

The men’s suits were from Victor Boss

Josie’s wedding ring was from Rosalyn’s Emporium, and Callum’s from Tiffany & Co.

Josie arrived in a lovely vintage Rolls Royce (called Brum) with her Dad – the car was from Allerston Taylor & Regency Carriages.

The Marilla String Quartet played before the ceremony and during the signing of the register.

Josie, her mum & cousin Melanie made the confetti themselves by getting friends & family to collect rose petals.

And the Rolls took them to Middle Aston House in the Oxfordshire countryside for their reception

A stunning location, with beautiful grounds and a lake for guests to enjoy

They really went to town with the Harry Potter theme – Josie & Callum did all the venue styling themselves, and it looked amazing with such attention to detail. The chair covers were from Dean’s Chair Covers & Events.

There was a slight incident with a football being kicked in to the lake – luckily there was a rowing boat on hand, and despite it’s slightly squiffy rowers, they managed to rescue the ball!

Josie & Callum’s wedding was on the same day as the Champion’s League final, so as Callum is a big Spurs fan – they had that on a big screen. Unfortunately it didn’t work out for Callum and his Spurs fans…

But he didn’t let that spoil the fun evening!

The cake was by The Barefoot Bakery

The DJ was Bluemark Entertainment

What a fabulous day!

Ellenborough Park, Weddings

Kelly & Tom | Ellenborough Park Hotel Wedding

May 31, 2019 admin

Kelly & Tom’s Easter wedding at the beautiful Ellenborough Park Hotel started off with Kelly & the girls getting ready in the hotel.

Ellenborough Park has it’s own chapel, perfect for ceremonies, and that’s where Tom & Kelly were married surrounded by all their friends & family.

It was extremely hot for Easter weekend, absolutely gorgeous weather for a wedding, and so everyone had drinks & canapes outside the chapel on the lawn. I love Ellenborough Park because there are so many beautiful spots for photos – the horse, the swing, the gazebo, and the hotel itself makes a stunning backdrop.

Their wedding breakfast was in the De La Bere Court was decorated beautifully with flowers and the ‘Mr & Mrs’ letters. This was where they danced the evening away as well.

There was a lovely sunset so we did some more photos later as well – a fantastic wedding with a lovely couple at one of my favourite wedding venues in the Cotswolds.

The Swan Hotel Bibury

Nathan & Emily | Swan Hotel Bibury Wedding

April 9, 2019 admin

My first wedding of 2019 was a very blustery day in Spring in one of the Cotswolds’ most beautiful villages, for Nathan & Emily’s Swan Hotel Bibury wedding. We were keeping our fingers crossed all morning that it didn’t rain as Emily had her heart set on photos in the pretty Arlington Row…it didn’t!

Emily’s face was such a picture when she came downstairs to her Dad and the page boy (ring bearer), and they had a lovely ceremony in the hotel.

This was followed by drinks, canapes and confetti in the yard outside. Emily then braved the wind for photos in the village. All credit to Emily, not many bride’s would have done that, it was pretty blustery! Because of the wind, we had some great veil action, but also nearly lost it in the river! The fairly short walk from the hotel up to Arlington row is actually quite long when you’re wearing high heels and a wedding dress, and being blown to bits! That’s British weather for you…but as I said…it didn’t rain!

It was a really lovely day and a pleasure to photograph for such lovely people.

Cotswold Weddings

Cotswold Wedding Photography: Roundup of 2018

January 7, 2019 admin

As we start 2019, I’ve done a roundup of my Cotswold Wedding Photography in 2018 and here is a very small selection of all the wonderful weddings I was privileged to photograph last year.

We had some quite extreme weather thrown at us, with The Beast from the East (which kept coming back) in the Spring, and the hottest summer on record turning green grass yellow.

I was back at lots of my favourite local venues and also at some fabulous new ones, and after photographing over 40 weddings I am now enjoying a quieter January & February before the fun starts again!

Some of my most local venues are Blackwell Grange in Shipston on Stour, and the amazing Hyde House in Stow-on-the-Wold. One of my favourite churches to photograph is St. James Church in Chipping Campden. I love The Manor House Hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh, Charingworth Manor, and was excited to photograph my first wedding at the fabulous new venue Lapstone Barn also in Chipping Campden.

Other amazing venues include Eastington Park, Stanton House Hotel, and Rousham House & Gardens.

Some lovely new barns for me: Jenners Barn, Stratton Court Barn & Winkworth Farm.

And I was back at the lovely Wool Barn in Frampton upon Severn.

My first time at the amazing Elmore Court with it’s wonderful Gillyflower reception area, and also my first time at The DeVere Cotswold Waterpark Hotel with it’s beautiful lake views.

I was back at the stately Eynsham Hall near Oxford.

A stunning marquee on a very hot day.

And back at some trusty favourites of mine Cripps Stone Barn and The Barn at Upcote near Cheltenham

A couple of Christmas weddings at The Greenway Hotel & Spa and Charingworth Manor rounded the year off nicely for me. Happy New Year!

Hyde House, Hyde House Stow

Howard & Cheryl | Hyde House Wedding

December 15, 2018 admin

Howard & Cheryl had their whole Cotswolds wedding at Hyde House – always a good idea as they have everything you could possibly need, and guests don’t need to go anywhere else! Especially now they have the new Grange barn for ceremonies…and photos later!

Cheryl and her Bridesmaids got ready upstairs in the barn, with hair done by Samantha Middleton from Redmill Hair, Banbury; and make up by Nicole Bessell from NB Makeup. While the boys were busy getting stuff ready downstairs, fixing balloons and sorting out tiny little jam jars…they did all the decorations themselves, and the end result looked amazing – especially the table centre pieces which each told a little story of the people on that table, very clever indeed.

This was my first ceremony in The Grange and I loved it, it’s so light and spacious in there, great for photos. It was decorated beautifully with flowers by Flower Thyme, and all the bouquets were stunning as well with very unusual colours. The weather wasn’t behaving, so we had to delay confetti until it had stopped raining later, but that did give us some dramatic skies for photos!

The speeches were hilarious, with Cheryl very bravely getting up to do the first speech and making everyone ‘Whoop’ every time she mentioned their name.

They even managed to get outside to eventually do their pinata in the dark, which had been hanging on the tree all day!

They danced the evening away with music from DJ Cotswold Discos Entertainment.

Fabulous day with fabulous people and thank you for asking me to photograph it!