The Manor House Hotel – Moreton in Marsh Wedding – Zoe & Jon

Zoe & Jon held their gorgeous summer wedding at The Manor House Hotel in the charming Cotswolds town of Moreton in Marsh. This was my first time visiting this fabulous hotel, and amazingly the weather was perfect throughout the day!

My wedding bookings often come from the most bizarre sources. In this instance Zoe’s father has been my trusted plumber for many years. So naturally I was very flattered to be asked to photograph his daughter’s marriage to Jon.

Fabulous Interiors & Exteriors

Now as you’ll know, I love going to venues that are new to me, and The Manor House Hotel did not disappoint! This quintessential historic house hotel was just stunning on every level, both the interiors and exteriors were gorgeous!

The Manor House Hotel is a typical characterful 16th-century Cotswold stone building. It’s a charming and delightful example of traditional Cotswold architecture and layout. It sits on the crossroads of the great Fosse Way – the famously straight Roman road that still underlies the present surface to this day.

Moreton-in-Marsh boasts almost 2,000 years of history. Its hostelries were primarily used as places for travellers to rest and coachmen to change their horses during long journeys north or south.

Zoe and Jon were the friendliest and most warm hearted couple you could wish to meet, and they made my job so much fun! And thankfully they were as keen as me to ensure we captured as many backdrops as possible of this super venue.

My day started with pictures in the bar area of the hotel of Jon, his family and friends. This charming bar area provided fabulous photo opportunities. Jon was in really high spirits as he greeted his family and friends before the day’s proceedings.

The civil ceremony took place inside the Sezincote Suite.  Sunlight illuminated this gorgeous interior, streaming through the stone mullioned windows.

I love to capture a confetti aisle straight after the ceremony. It provides a great informal way for all the guests to congratulate the newlyweds. Once Zoe and Jon had dashed through their colourful aisle, they celebrated with big hugs for all of their family and friends.

Drinks Reception In The Walled Garden

The hotel’s stunning walled garden provided the setting for the drinks reception. The combination of Cotswolds stone walls and a gorgeous mature garden gave us the most idyllic backdrop for photo opportunities. Whilst the lively banter amongst their friends and family made for some great candid photographs.

The few group shot requests followed soon after the drinks reception. At all times I varied the backdrops as much as possible. When the location is this stunning, I always try to showcase as many vistas as possible. I achieved my favourite backdrops by contrasting the lush green foliage against the honey coloured Cotswolds stone walls.

After the group poses, I wandered around the hotel exteriors with Zoe and Jon to capture a few timeless and romantic shots. I shot a mixture of very natural reportage style images, plus a few more formal captures. And there was no way I was going to miss the front of this quintessential historic hotel.

Another opportunity I didn’t want to miss was to be found back in the bar area. There I found the most gorgeous leaded arched windows. Zoe and Jon were happy to sit in one of these feature windows for a few dramatic silhouette poses. The atmospheric combination of the interior lights and the striking windows resulted in one of my favourite photographs of the day!

Striking Hotel Interiors

The wedding breakfast took place in the gorgeous Moreton in Marsh Manor House Hotel Hidcote Suite.  You can see the striking interior with its contemporary design here in this photograph. I just loved the deep coloured walls, the opulent feature wallpaper, and the views over the gardens were to die for!

These stunning design touches were evident throughout the hotel, their designer was certainly not shy when it came to bold colours!

There’s Nothing Like A Pop Of Colour For A Portrait

When the venue provides backdrops as good as this, it would be rude not to use it! Add to the mix some red backlighting, and now this shot has the absolute wow factor.

This shot was used in double page montage for Zoe and Jon’s album with the contrasting floodlit garden shot below.

The Manor House Hotel Gardens At Dusk

Soon after the meal it was time to capture some of my signature floodlit night shots. My favourite capture has to be this image taken in the hotel’s Secret Garden. The lush green topiary foliage and the piercing dusky blue skies combined perfectly for this magical pose. In fact, Zoe & Jon used this very photo as a double page spread and final image in their wedding album.

It was now time for the evening’s dancing. And over the next two hours I probably captured some of the most relaxed images of the whole day. It’s the one time that the guests become oblivious to my camera. I’m sure the fact that the formalities were now over, and that the drinks were more free flowing definitely helped!

A Few Extras

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