Hilltop Country House Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A 17th-century house in 15 acres

Hilltop Country House is on Flash Lane at Prestbury, near Macclesfield in Cheshire (SK10 4ED). The venue describes a magical 17th-century country house in 15 acres of formal gardens, fields and woodland, exclusively yours to celebrate, eat, drink and dance, with a wedding planner, chef and bar manager all in house.

We have worked on two weddings here, both in August 2022: Anfal and Elfateh on 25 August and Leanne and Terry on 12 August. This page follows both, opened by Anfal and Elfateh forehead to forehead in front of the garden hedge. Our Cheshire guide shows Hilltop beside other Cheshire venues; here we stay with the house itself. What we say about the buildings and the grounds comes from the venue's own website, and what we say about the photographs comes from looking at them.

For current venue details, explore Hilltop Country House.

01 / The spaces / From the venue's own description

Four ceremony areas and fifteen acres

The venue says there are four civil ceremony areas to choose from, two indoor and two outdoor, and that the house is exclusively yours on the day. It has its own DJ, who covers the music throughout the day and evening, and in-house catering. Its main pages do not list capacities, so ask for the current figures in writing when you enquire.

In Anfal and Elfateh's photographs the grounds give clipped hedges, a flight of stone steps in front of a house covered in ivy with white-framed french doors, a bright open sky for silhouettes, and a rope swing under the trees for the last light of the evening.

02 / August 2022 / Anfal and Elfateh

Anfal and Elfateh: ivy, silhouettes and a rope swing at dusk

Anfal and Elfateh married at Hilltop on 25 August 2022. The photograph at the top of this page is from their portraits: Anfal in a lace-sleeved gown and veil, Elfateh in a grey three-piece suit and red tie, their foreheads together in front of a tall clipped hedge, a bouquet of red and cream flowers between them.

On stone steps in front of the ivy-covered house they hold hands, Anfal with her bouquet and Elfateh smiling, white-framed french doors behind them.

Against a bright white sky beneath a tree the two of them become silhouettes, facing each other, and as the light drops Anfal sits on a rope swing in her veil with a bouquet in her lap while Elfateh, in glasses, stands with a hand on her shoulder in dark orange light.

03 / August 2022 / Leanne and Terry

Leanne and Terry: the top of the garden steps

Leanne and Terry married at Hilltop on 12 August 2022. Looking up from below through ferns, shrubs and tall trees, the two of them stand at a white balustrade at the top of a garden staircase, Terry in a blue suit and Leanne in a white gown, small and happy in a big green frame.

04 / Staying at Hilltop / From the venue's own description

Four en-suite rooms

The venue says it has four en-suite rooms. It does not give a total sleeping capacity on its main page, so ask which rooms come with your booking and who can stay.

For photographs, a room on site means hair, make-up and flowers are close to the ceremony. Tell us your rooms and timings and we will plan the morning around them.

Planning your photographs at Hilltop Country House

A few things worth asking the venue, and how we would plan around the answers:

1. Ceremony area: Two indoor and two outdoor options. Tell us your choice so we can plan the morning around it.
2. Evening light: Both weddings here were in August, and the swing, the silhouettes and the garden steps all came from the low light. We check sunset and light times for your date in advance and agree the plan with you before the day.
3. Rain: Agree an indoor or sheltered option with the venue when you confirm the order of the day, and we settle it together on the day.
4. Group photographs: We do as many as you like and typically recommend around 15, which usually take about 20 minutes. Choose somewhere with room and a sheltered backup, and ask a groomsman or bridesmaid who knows everyone to round people up.
5. Portraits: We usually take a portrait walk of about 15 minutes, with photo and video together. The clipped hedges, the ivy-covered steps and the swing give you very different backdrops.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a 17th-century house with clipped hedges, a rope swing and open grounds is familiar territory. You get one conversation about the timetable, one set of questions for the venue and one plan for the portrait walk.

The photo and video team package carries a £120 deposit and a £400 saving over booking photography and videography separately. We are based near Cardiff, and travel across England and Wales is included in standard full-day packages. When the drive is over two hours we always stay in a hotel the night before and cover it.

Questions about a Hilltop Country House wedding