Tell us a bit about yourselves – how did you meet and what is your proposal story?

Will and I met at work and were a couple for around 8 years before we got engaged in 2021. We had booked a night away at Foxhill Manor in the Cotswolds to celebrate my 30^th birthday in November 2020, however due to lockdown we had to reschedule 3 times. We eventually stayed at Foxhill Manor in October 2021 and whilst I was getting ready for dinner Will got down on one knee and proposed. Even though we had spoken about marriage before, the proposal was a complete surprise and even more special that we could celebrate in the Cotswolds.

 

What made you choose Hyde House as your wedding venue?

Will and I live in Manchester but we always say the Cotswolds is our happy place, so we knew straight away it was where we wanted to get married. I wanted quite a traditional English wedding, but with the option of personalising the venue with our design choices. As our guests were travelling from across the country, having accommodation on site and nearby was also important to us.

We visited Hyde House on an open day and fell in love immediately. The main house was stunning with two modern barns to decorate how we wish. Being a foodie, I wanted our wedding meal to be special, and the food I tasted at the open event did not disappoint. We loved the venue so much we rang back the next day to reserve our date.

 

What drew you towards having a winter wedding day?

When I was at university, I used to work for a wedding catering company in my spare time. I still remember the magical feeling the winter weddings gave me, from the cosy drinks receptions to the candlelight dinners after the sun had set. I knew from then I wanted a winter wedding to re-create that magical feeling and bring my winter wonderland vision to life. Plus there is always the added bonus of not worrying about the weather on your wedding day!

 

 

Your day was so beautiful with so many gorgeous and well thought out touches. Who were your talented suppliers and what made you choose them?

Every single one of our suppliers were just outstanding. I had found most of them through Instagram and the Hyde House supplier list, and knew their style was just what we wanted.

My glam squad consisted of Lauren Gosling for hair and Amy Rose MacDonald for makeup who made my whole bridal party look so beautiful on the day. Hannah Culley made our delicious wedding cake and Lou Paper designed all our stationery, both invitations and on the day.

 

 

Styletopia, along with Stow Flower Shop, brought our vision to life and decorated Hyde House beautifully with winter foliage, adding warmth with black tapered dinner candles and gold accents throughout the venue. Styletopia encouraged us to think about sustainability in our wedding, so instead of traditional favours, we opted for cocktail hour and instead of a guest book, all our guests signed a bauble to hang on our Christmas tree which we can use to decorate our home for years to come.

 

Our photographer Pat Partridge was one of our best decisions we made. His laidback style suited our vibe for the day, and his interaction with us and the guests meant he really captured the joy of the day.

We had Joe Pike play the piano from the ceremony through to the wedding breakfast. I walked down the aisle to Alicia Keys “If I ain’t got you” which Joe played so beautifully, it filled me emotion as soon as I heard the intro. For the party afterwards, we hired Velvet Soul, a disco, soul and funk bank, who were amazing – I didn’t stop dancing all night!

 

How did you find the planning process and did one of you take charge of was it a team effort?

It was definitely a team effort, Will is a much better planner than I am and he really helped organise us and the suppliers to bring my vision for the wedding to life.

 

What were each of your favourite moments from the day?

The ceremony was a surprise to us both at how meaningful and special it was, as we both had thought our favourite moment of the day would be dancing, having fun and celebrating with all our friends. From the music played by Joe Pike, to the readings from our close friends and family, the ceremony was a beautiful moment to celebrate our love. We did still have a blast dancing with everyone in the evening though!

 

 

Tell us something we wouldn’t know about your wedding day from the pictures?

They say a picture paints a thousand words but it can’t portray how delicious all the food was on the day. We opted for confit salmon to start, belly pork for main, apple crumble tart for dessert and, for a fun option, we went for fried chicken and chips for the evening food. Every single guest we spoke to said how amazing the food was – it really was outstanding.

After the wedding breakfast, Pat took Will and I outside, along with a few friends, for a champagne spray photo. The whole series of photos from that moment are epic, but what they don’t show is us all waiting for a second bottle of fizz to arrive, covered in champagne, wind was blowing a gale, but not caring and just having fun, dancing and singing to Cher – Believe.

 

 

What would be your words of wisdom for future Hyde House couples? 

Jenna: Leave as much time as you can to get ready in the morning so you arent rushing. You will go into the ceremony calmer, and it will help you be present throughout the day. I had a small bridal party of 3 bridesmaids, and we had such a chilled morning, it really helped me relax and enjoy every moment.

 

Will: Just enjoy everything about it! All our suppliers and everyone at Hyde House made everything so simple and ran smoothly from planning to the day itself.

 

 

1. What first made you fall in love with photography?

Although I wish I had one of those “My Gramp gave me his camera when I was five” stories (which are pretty cool!), I first fell in love with photography while living and traveling around Asia after graduating from university. What started as a hobby and a bit of fun to document life and travels soon became an obsession and something I would spend countless hours teaching myself and practicing. The feeling of excitement and the magic a photograph can bring through art and feeling has never left and still motivates me.

 

2. What made you decide to become a professional photographer within the Wedding industry?

After spending the best part of three years photographing my travels, sadly I felt my photography lacked any meaning or feeling, after all, landscapes can be photographed a million times in one day but people’s feelings and the magic of a wedding day will only happen once for a lot of people. Every photo at a wedding has meaning to it and the best ones make you feel the emotions of the day too! Photographing weddings in my opinion is one of the most meaningful forms of photography. Moments cherished for lifetimes.

 

3. How would you describe your style of photography?

I never like to keyhole my style of photography as I believe each wedding day is unique. Using different styles throughout the day according to the moment is what is needed. If I was to put my style into a sentence I would say: Emotive and fun storytelling.

 

4. What is your favourite part or parts of a Wedding Day?

It’s easy to say all of it but I would be lying. It’s the speeches for me. This is a part of the day where the rollercoaster of emotions is felt by the whole room, making it such an amazing thing to capture. That and it’s always good to hear the more embarrassing private stories about my couples.

 

5. Could you explain a little about what Couples can expect when they book you as their photographer?

I like to think that even before my couple’s book they feel like they are getting some value. Whether this is through my blogs, instagram or the first email. I like to make things simple too, as I know planning a wedding can be pretty stressful, but from the moment my couples book I make it clear that I am not only there for the day and that if they have any questions or even just advice I am always only a message away. I’m quite a laid back guy, so I try to make my clients feel as comfortable as possible so they can relax, be themselves.

 

6. What top tips and advice do you offer your Couples ahead of or on theirWedding Day?

Trust your suppliers, from the venue to the photographer, to the florist and everything in between. A lot of us have done a fair few weddings and the best suppliers should be helping you whenever and wherever they can (never be shy to ask them questions). I think if you have trust in your suppliers the overall stress of the day will be less and that energy can be used on enjoying one of the best days of your life. In terms of photographs I always tell my couples not to worry about anything photo related, that is my job. When there are pictures to be taken in great light I will let you know.

 

7. What do you love the most about shooting Wedding Days at Hyde House?

Weddings at Hyde House always feel more intimate and I’m always excited to see what couples do to add a little bit of their personality and vibe to the day. The staff and team there are also incredible. It is literally impossible to not have an amazing day while shooting at Hyde House.

 

8. Can you share some of your favourite images captured at Hyde House?

Click here to view Patrick’s website: https://www.patrickpartridge.com/

As you may have already seen from our Instagram and recent Journal post, we have a new Menu that launched earlier this month at Hyde House and we’re just a *tiny* bit excited about it! Some of our lovely Couples have already managed to see and taste our new offering at recent Tasting Evenings, but for those of you who haven’t just yet, we’ve shared imagery of our new Feasting Menu (click the link to see earlier post), next week we’re talking all things plated dishes, and today, it’s all about Canapés!

Canapés are such an important part of any Wedding Day Menu. They’re the very first Wedding food that your guests will see, smell and taste and as such, our Chef’s have put so much love and hard work in to making sure that our Canapés not only taste delicious but that they look really beautiful as well. There has also been a lot of care put in to creating an offering that has lots of variety so that every personal preference or specific dietary requirement can be catered for.

We hope you enjoy looking through our brand new Canapés below and we have also made a note of what each dish is under the image collages so you can start making a shortlist for your Big Day 😊.

 

Top to Bottom: Chicken Liver Parfait on toasted brioche, Salt Baked Celeriac, truffle and pickled celeriac (v), Tuna Taco with yoghurt, wasabi and ginger, Artichoke tempura with saffron aioli (v, df)

 

Lamb bon bon with pea and mint, Wild mushroom truffle arancini with parmesan (v), Ox Cheek Crumpet with chestnuts and cranberry

 

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon and toasted sesame (gf, df), Aubergine tartare on puffed pasta crisp (v), Beef Carpaccio with truffle emulsion and shaved pecorino

 

Crab Salad with pickled radish, apple and dill (df), Crispy ham hock with burnt miso caramel, coriander and spring onion, Bloody Mary Bocconcini (v)

 

Images by Laura Harvey Photography