I’ve been hired by Andy and Gina to capture their wedding photography at Hilltop Country House in Prestbury, Cheshire in July 2010 so I recently went along to have a look around and get a feel for this wedding venue.  What a place – I visited on a dull November day and fell in love with it straight away so I can only imagine what it’s like in the full bloom of summer.

Hilltop Country House is a relatively new addition to Cheshire’s prestigious list of wedding venues and it won’t be long before it’s a favourite I’m sure. It’s a privately owned family home and it really has a welcoming homely feel to it. And the owners Clare and Martin are as friendly as they come.

The wedding ceremony will be held in an inside room (the bay on the left above) and the wedding reception in a marquee which will be set up in the grounds (around to the left of the house in the picture above).

One of the main things I’m thinking about when viewing a wedding venue for the first time is where can I take the couple for their private shots during the reception, somewhere away from the guests where we can get some really nice photos. Well at Hilltop we’re absolutely spoilt for choice.

There are lots of different individual areas at Hilltop where the wedding party will spread out to – several lawns, indoor rooms, the marquee and patio areas.

Hilltop only host one wedding per day so the place is yours and yours alone for your wedding, and it has a really private feel to it.

I’ll be revisiting Hilltop at some point probably in the spring to get a feel for it in the evening when the grounds will be lit and it’ll show a whole other side to its enchanting personality.

Just in case you’re wondering why some of these photographs say ‘Photomatix’ on them – I’m trialling some new software!