Rebecca and Mark

Cotswold wedding photography at Birtsmorton Court, Malvern. Worcestershire.

I have photographed well over 200 weddings now and so surprised I had never been to this venue before, so when Rebecca and Mark asked me to photograph their wedding there, I couldn’t contain my excitement, you may ask why, well when you see the photos of the beautiful gardens, the Grade I listed medieval moated manor house and the lakes you’ll see why!

Rebecca and Mark are both cool as a cucumber and when I turned up I could tell it was going to be a stylish wedding, on arrival I am greeted by a beautiful split screen VW campervan so I knew we were in for a few photographic treats! Believe it or not, it’s not actually that often you get wedding cars at weddings nowadays. With a lot of venues the bride and groom are able to get ready there, so they aren’t necessary. So I was very happy to see this old favourite sitting in wait for Rebecca and Mark later.

Dress rehearsals done

The weather isn’t being so kind first off, but who cares, as I enter the marquee section of the building I could see all of the fab bunting up adding loads of colour. The well designed centre pieces and table plan looked great, a film theme. Movies that are right up my street too, ones most of us have grown up loving, so in movie style… Hair and Makeup please!

The girls were getting ready in one of the cottages whilst the Bridal suite in the old building was set up for Rebecca to head over to… WOW! What an beautiful room, amazing four poster bed and views to die for! Best I leave the photos to show you that, as they say, ‘a picture tells a thousand words’.  With the preparations nearing completion it’s time for dad to see the star of the show and whisk her off to the church. I love this part of the day, when dad gets to see his little girl looking so beautiful. A proud, emotional and special moment to capture.

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Lights , Cameras and Action

The leading male stands waiting for his bride, and dad proudly leads Rebecca to the end of the aisle where we were given a lovely ceremony. It’s not often the minister hands a couple of bags of Haribos to the best men to give to the guests whilst the serious paperwork was filled in. Before you ask, it was a real ring used to seal the deal, not a jelly sweet!

When on location such as Birtsmorton Court it’s hard to not get excited about taking photos, and with a lovely couple, a classic Vw Camper too it wasn’t going to be too difficult to get some crackers. In true typical British summer style the weather tried to dampen the day, sorry no such luck. Umbrellas at the ready we head out on to the fab lane that leads up to the moated manor house. With a little rain dodging we get the all important couple photos, well, the first few. Shortly after we headed back inside to dry off, and let Rebecca and Mark mingle with their guests before heading back out in to the stunning gardens for the formal photos.

The good news is that someone upstairs switched off the waterworks and opted for the sunshine button, this couldn’t be more perfect, blue skies and fluffy white clouds. The gardens are just beautiful and you feel like you are on a set of Alice and Wonderland. There is so much colour here and it was an absolute joy to photograph the happy couple in. As the guests enjoy a few drinks over at the main building waiting for the return of the happy couple, we ventured around the grounds to make the most of the many picturesque spots.

The lake is a stunning back drop and I could of spent hours taking photographs here, but like all weddings time is very precious and something we were running out of, so with a kind nudge from the wedding coordinator we headed in for the wedding breakfast, speeches, giggles and toasts.

Going off script

You can’t beat a good old speech to get the wedding guests going, oh and that they did. The father of the bride stormed it, the Groom did well too, but the best men… Oscars! Admittedly it wasn’t a PG speech and a few apologies were thrown in during the onslaught, but it did leave the room in stitches, if not with a few groomly insults! This is another time I love to photograph, everyone is so animated and shares so much emotion or hysterics in this case! You’ll see that in the images below, and it’s probably best that images are silent!

From silent to slightly louder, the band are all sound checked and ready to go. Mark and Rebecca graced the cool and sparkly dance floor area whilst everyone watches adoringly. There is something about the first dance that reminds me of moths to a flame, in a nice way of course! Naturally everybody couldn’t wait to join in with the new Mr and Mrs Watkins and bust some moves as soon as they were given the nod.

Take two

The day was drawing closer to the ‘happily ever after’ stage but before we could call it a wrap the sun was setting in a gorgeous style. With yet another beautiful backdrop we headed out to the fields over looking the Malvern Hills for even more incredible views, this place just keeps giving and signalled the last few photographs!  There is something extremely romantic about a sunset, and combined with a fab couple, a lot of love you end up with a perfect Blockbuster!

A huge congratulations to Rebecca and Mark on a fantastic day and I wish them all the best for their future together.

Birstmorton Court wedding photography – If you are getting married at Birtsmorton Court and would like me to capture your big day here or in the Cotswolds, drop me a message with a few details via my contact page. We can then discuss availability and further information about your photography requirements. I look forward to hearing from you and finding out more about your wedding plans!