Some wedding venues give you a beautiful backdrop. Hinwick House gives you an entire house, acres of grounds and the wonderful feeling that, for a few days, this remarkable historic estate is yours.
For Catherine and Billy, that was exactly the appeal.
They wanted their wedding to feel less like a formal event and more like a huge family celebration. Somewhere their favourite people could gather, stay together and make a proper weekend of it. Their description of Hinwick House as the perfect place for a “glorified house party for a few days” probably sums it up better than any traditional venue brochure ever could.
And what a house to have a party in.
A Love Story That Started in Lockdown
Catherine and Billy met in London in 2020, at a time when starting a new relationship required rather more determination than usual.
Living quite a distance apart and navigating the restrictions of lockdown meant seeing one another took genuine effort. But they quickly discovered just how much they had in common and, despite everything going on around them, their relationship went from strength to strength.
Their proposal was perhaps an early indication that theirs was never going to be a story defined by perfect plans.
Billy had intended to propose in Paris’s Luxembourg Gardens. That plan did not quite happen.
Instead, there was a night out, an enormous platter of meat, a club beside the Seine playing ABBA and rather a lot to drink. In the early hours of the morning, while walking back along the river, Billy proposed.
Chaotic, spontaneous and completely perfect for them.
A Colourful Hinwick House Wedding
That sense of personality carried straight through to their wedding.
Rather than choosing one traditional wedding colour, Catherine and Billy chose practically all of them. Pastel shades, multicoloured wildflowers and playful details brought colour into the historic surroundings of Hinwick House, creating a brilliant contrast between the grandeur of the building and the informal, family-party atmosphere they wanted.
The result was a wedding that felt unmistakably theirs.
It was colourful without becoming over-styled, beautiful without feeling overly formal and, most importantly, centred around having a fantastic time with the people they love.
That is also what made it such a joy to photograph. Catherine and Billy chose me because they wanted the candid moments captured, and a wedding like this provided plenty of them. The conversations, reactions, unexpected moments and everything happening between the traditional parts of the day are often where the real story of a wedding lives.
The History of Hinwick House
Hinwick House has been part of the Bedfordshire landscape for more than three centuries.
The Grade I listed country house was built for Richard Orlebar and his wife Diana Astry in the early 18th century, with construction taking place between 1708 and 1714. The estate’s history stretches back even further, with the surviving Turret House representing part of an earlier manor on the site.
The main house is a magnificent example of Queen Anne architecture, constructed from limestone with ashlar detailing. A Victorian wing was later added in the 19th century, while the surrounding historic landscape includes gardens, parkland, stables and other buildings that reveal different chapters in the estate’s long history.
Today, Hinwick House stands within 38 acres of grounds and has undergone an extensive programme of sympathetic restoration, helping preserve its architectural character and original features for future generations.
The Hinwick House Ethos
Perhaps one of the most interesting things about Hinwick House is that, despite its scale and grandeur, it remains a family home.
Its current custodians describe their responsibility as preserving an important piece of English heritage so that future generations can continue to enjoy it. That philosophy extends to the way weddings are hosted here.
Rather than becoming a wedding production line, the number of weddings held at the estate is deliberately limited. The intention is to protect the house and grounds while maintaining the feeling of a private country estate.
It gives weddings here a rather special character.
For Catherine and Billy, it meant being able to bring family and friends together somewhere spectacular while retaining the intimacy and freedom of celebrating in a home. Guests could stay, explore the house and grounds and become part of the weekend rather than simply arriving for a few hours and leaving again.
It suited their vision beautifully.
A Big Family Party
At the heart of Catherine and Billy’s plans were two things: wildflowers and family.
The multicoloured flowers brought their playful pastel palette to life, while Hinwick House gave them the space to create the big family gathering they had imagined.
And after a relationship that began with navigating lockdowns and a proposal involving Paris, ABBA and an unexpectedly eventful night beside the Seine, a conventional wedding was probably never going to be quite right.
Even their first dance had a personal connection. They chose Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel, a song they love for the simplicity of its lyrics and, importantly, its saxophone. Having seen Billy Joel perform together a few years earlier, it already held some very special memories for them.
Now it has another one.
Catherine and Billy’s Hinwick House wedding was full of colour, personality and the kind of unscripted moments I love photographing. A beautiful historic house provided the setting, but it was the people inside it who made the photographs.
Have a look through the gallery below to see the story of their day.