Tori & Simon's Big Day at The Hare & Hounds, Tetbury
These two are the most adorable couple and I was so excited to photograph their amazing wedding at the Hare and Hounds, Tetbury.
This wasn’t my first time photographing this gorgeous family, back when Tori was pregnant her lovely bridesmaids clubbed together to gift her a maternity shoot with me. Little Bertie had other ideas and came into the world a few weeks early, but that was ok, we switched the maternity shoot to a newborn session and I got some snuggles with him. Always a bonus!
We also did a pre-wedding shoot ahead of the big day. This is the best way to calm those nerves, for the three of us to get to know each other and for couples to get some beautiful photographs of the two of them. Simon had been very vocal about hating having his photo taken but the pre-shoot broke the ice and they were both superstars in front of my camera. We had such a laugh!
The Hare and Hounds at Tetbury is a magnificent country house hotel, right in the heart of The Cotswolds. Surrounded by wild gardens, landscaped lawns and woodland it’s the perfect spot for a relaxing weekend break and - of course - a wedding!
Now, as we all know, you can never guarantee the weather. Especially when getting married in February. I don’t think any of us expected to experience all four seasons in one day though! My fab second shooter, Kylie, joined Simon, Bertie and Simon’s eldest son (and Best Man) Alfie in the main hotel while I headed to the Gamekeepers Cottage to hang out with Tori and her bridesmaids. As soon as I got inside the heavens opened, it poured down. Then much to our surprise the rain turned to snow! Crazy! Luckily, as tends to happen, the weather gods were shining down on us and whenever we needed things to play ball the sun came out and we were able to get outside for some portraits and family group photos.
Tori and Simon are so comfortable together, they’re super fun and definitely a little bit quirky! Simon is in the military and has travelled all over the world since they’ve been together. They both told me this has brought them closer together as they’ve had so much time to talk and get to know each other through emails, letters and over the phone.
I adore shooting moments. Capturing the little glances between couples, the touches and in jokes. Simon and Tori are so tactile and constantly looking over at the other and checking in to see how they’re doing. I also made a point of capturing Tori and Bertie together whenever I could. So often mums don’t spend a lot of time with their little ones on their wedding day. There is so much going on and the baby is with grandparents or other family members having the time of their life! Whenever I saw Tori and Bertie together I got lots of pictures of them as I know she’ll want to look back on this time and, of course, little Bertie is the most important person in Simon and Tori’s life!
The wedding was so full of fun and super lively. Tori is an extrovert, as everyone mentioned in their speeches, and Simon is much more introverted. Until he has four pints and then he will talk to anyone and try to persuade them to join the army! With that in mind I shot their couple’s portraits later in the day, once Simon had had those four pints and was more relaxed! He didn’t manage to convince me to enlist though, I love my wedding photographer job far too much for that!
Speaking of speeches, I need to give a shout out to Alfie. He gave a brilliant Best Man’s speech, helped out by Tori. He is so cheeky though, the room burst into laughter when this 12 year old mentioned he would be partaking in the age old Best Man tradition and copping off with a bridesmaid!
You can see more pictures of this beautiful wedding in the slideshow below.
I have to finish this blog by sharing Simon’s comments once they received their wedding gallery. He told me they absolutely loved the photographs and he was so grateful and glad that they’d decided to book a wedding photographer. “There were so many moments captured that I wasn’t even aware were happening. It felt like I was reliving the whole day again and seeing bits I hadn’t experienced.”
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