Hilltop Country House Wedding Photography – Helena and Ben
Helena and Ben
We met at University, having studied the same course and with a number of friends in common we eventually became a couple in our final year – Ben gatecrashing catch ups with my friends!! I guess it came as no surprise to everyone else but we went back to Bath for the weekend and after walking up to a view point over the city (and moving away from the driving range) Ben got down on be knee and proposed. After much laughter, a few tears and some family face times we walked back into the city and went to the Rec to watch the rugby – a sign for what’s ahead in our married life!
Our advice for future couples wedding planning is, everyone will say it but make time on the day to be just the two of you and don’t sweat the little things – there will be something that goes wrong or isn’t finished in time but it will not change your day at all.
The Church was the easiest decision (outside of saying yes!) and I was fortunate Ben supported the tradition of brides family church even if it was in Manchester, which is where my parents got married, my sister and I were christened and many other memories. It was then a search for all reception venues within a 30min drive. This led to creating a great rating table of our favourites and choosing Hilltop Country House – hard not to fall in love with, even when we first saw it without the marquee up! The gardens and view are just brilliant and Martin and Clare really guide you through all the preparation and the day itself – all seamlessly.
If you ask me, I’d say the wedding planning was all pretty chilled and not very stressful, Ben might have a different view…not sure he ever really knew what flowers we’d gone for or was as enthusiastic on homemade invites as I was but it was very much joint wedding planning and there was a good mix of home crafting and Etsy purchases, all with great support from our A-Team wedding squad, especially our parents who we can’t thank enough.
The most memorable part of the day was having all our family and friends celebrating with us was the most amazing part of the day and we feel very fortunate to have all their support. There were so many brilliant memories, truly made for a lifetime.
The Dress was very much a case of going in with one idea in mind and ending up with something totally different, which I loved – trying on everything, even if it isn’t your favourite on the hanger is a must! Ben was set on the idea of a navy suit but when he tried it on felt like his standard wedding outfit so ended up going for navy tails – which they all looked very dapper in!
Laura from Green Earth Flowers was incredible, she took our vague descriptions and a few pintrests and created the most beautiful flowers. Rachel, Event Dressing Cheshire, getting up at the crack of dawn to put up our paper lanterns and add some more colour to the marquee. One of my oldest friends Kat, Kat’s Mobile Hairdressing, did a brilliant job on all 5 bridesmaids, mum and my hair – whilst having enough time to get ready and be at the Church before us. Suzi worked her magic on making us look beautiful, with make up that lasted all day and that I felt very comfortable wearing. The Beats kept us dancing all evening and took mic stealing very well! Dapper dressed the guys hassle free and The Dress Teddington managed from finding to fitting to finishing all the final elements of my dress, perfectly. And finally Lucy, who fitted in during the morning like an old friend – never imposing but silently guiding us through the morning and the rest of the day – couldn’t have asked for anything more. Lucy and Toni were just amazing and we love the pictures and memories we have from you both.