A Milton Hill House wedding album | Oxfordshire wedding photographer
I first worked as a Milton Hill House wedding photographer on a rainy day back in 2017. Since that memorable day, I’ve been really keen to get back there and recently, I got the chance for Katherine and Paul’s intimate family wedding.
Apart from being a beautiful Georgian style property, Milton Hill House has a wonderful sense of peace and tranquility, which I found ideal for getting the creative wedding photography juices going.
Bridal preparations | Milton Hill House wedding photographer
Close to Abingdon in Oxfordshire, Milton Hill House is a popular choice for couples getting married. In fact, on the day of Katherine and Paul’s wedding, there were two other brides getting ready at the hotel, although neither were hosting their weddings at the venue.
I always try to meet my couples but I guess not all photographers do because when I arrived in the bridal suite for Katherine, I was quite surprised to learn that another Milton Hill House wedding photographer had just left and had to be told he’d got the wrong bride.
If you’ve ever been a member of a bridal party, you’ll know there’s a certain amount of chaos that goes with bridal preparations – mostly because you’ve got seven or eight people (and all their gear) in a room designed for two people. Subsequently, it’s not unusual to double as a cleaner when you’re photographing the bridal prep.
For example, for this simple portrait of Katherine on the edge of the bed (below), I seem to remember clearing several sandwich boxes and crisp packets from the mantle piece, along with carrier bags from in front of the fireplace.
I wasn’t able to clear all the clutter for the reveal to Katherine’s father, but it’s all about the moment, isn’t it!
Talking of reveals. How about this stunning wedding dress from Catherine Deane!
My friend, and fellow Milton Hill House wedding photographer, Jonathan took a few pics of the groom Paul with his father and best man before the main event. When you’ve got a couple getting ready at the same location, it is possible for one photographer to cover both the bride and groom during the preparation.
Katherine and Paul were getting married at St Mary’s church in nearby East Hendred (Oxfordshire) but Milton Hill House has several options for hosting a civil wedding ceremony at the hotel, including the Library and the Oak Room for smaller wedding parties, or the Wisteria Suite for larger groups of up to 140 guests.
Here we are arriving at the church in beautiful sunshine. East Hendred has two churches in very close proximity so I did wonder about parking but there were no problems on the day and the parking cone that Katherine’s father is holding probably wasn’t needed at all.
Even on a dark day, St Mary’s church at East Hendred is filled with natural light so it was easy to capture the moments of the ceremony in an unobtrusive way. Most churches don’t allow flash during the ceremony and St Mary’s is no exception so natural light was definitely a bonus.
After the ceremony, we did a confetti shot and a few family photos the couple wanted outside the church before jumping in the car and returning to Milton Hill House for the rest of the celebrations.
Back at Milton Hill House, the wedding breakfast suite was set up in readiness for an intimate family gathering. Like many couples in 2021, Katherine and Paul decided to split their wedding across two years in case their plans were affected by a further lock-down. For this reason, they opted for a small celebration at Milton Hill House in 2021 and a marriage blessing at Sheepdrove Organic Farm in 2022 with all of their family and friends.
Before the wedding breakfast, we had a few portraits to take around the grounds. Katherine and Paul were hosting a drinks reception in the Italian Garden so that seemed like the perfect starting point for the photography.
Whilst Katherine and Paul were keen to spend as much time as possible with their wedding guests, they were also happy to explore portrait ideas with me as their Milton Hill House wedding photographer.
In addition to being photographed themselves, Katherine and Paul also wanted portraits of their guests. Not everyone was quite as keen but most were happy to participate.
The Italian Garden offers several picturesque backdrops making it easy to add variety without having to move to a completely different area. This was also good because it meant guests didn’t have to leave their drinks in order to be photographed – in fact, I think most guests are actually holding a drink in their photos.
Katherine and Paul both love the ancient trees in the grounds of the hotel and wanted to feature them in their wedding photography. I was only too happy to oblige.
The hotel is surrounded by beautiful mature gardens and trees with many opportunities for a Milton Hill House wedding photographer.
Here are some final portraits from this short but memorable wedding day at Milton Hill House.
Hair and makeup by Rosie Blush
Flowers by Headley Flower Garden
Dress by Catherine Dean
My standard wedding package gives you eight hours coverage with me as your Milton Hill House wedding photographer.
If you’re getting married in mid-summer and you’d like to include night portraits as well, you’ll probably need to add a couple more hours.
Milton Hill House is a fabulous wedding venue. You can find more information about Milton Hill House weddings
Мilton Hill House
Steventon
Milton Hill
Abingdon OX13 6AF
Phone: 01235 831474
If you’re looking for a Milton Hill House wedding photographer and you’d like to know more about my wedding packages visit my pricing page.
You can see more examples of my work on my Oxford wedding photographer page.