Hestercombe Gardens Wedding

Lizzie and Sam

I met Lizzie and Sam last year at the wedding of architects Michelle and John. They loved Michelle and John’s images so booked me to photograph their beautiful wedding at the fabulous Hestercombe Gardens in Somerset.

Both Lizzie and Sam’s families are from Somerset; they grew up there and hope to move back some day. They chose Hestercombe Gardens because they loved the romance of the place especially the informal gardens with the follies where there’s a small temple and waterfall. I totally get it. My first visit to Hestercombe was the night before Lizzie and Sam’s wedding when I’d travelled down from Nottingham. I wandered round with my tummy doing cartwheels as I discovered one awesome location after another, texting Lizzie with OMG we must get a shot here pictures. It’s unbelievably beautiful. Even the steps, of which there are many scattered round the grounds, have the prettiest of daisies filling every gap.

Being architects themselves, Lizzie and Sam, loved the beautiful iconic orangery designed by one of their favourite architects Sir Edwin Lutyens so it was the perfect place to hold their wedding ceremony. The stunning Gertrude Jekyll gardens are also poignant for Lizzie as they overlook, on one side, the Quantocks where her dad grew up and where the family went on walks when she was little. I just love too that a big draw for them is that Hestercombe is open to the public so they can go back for anniversaries, and the money they spent on their wedding day will go towards Hestercombe’s restoration rather than lining someone’s pockets.

Lizzie studied architecture in Edinburgh for six years and loved Scotland but as she’s not managed to convince Sam to move there, determined to bring a little bit of the place to their wedding, they hired a ceilidh band; Lizzie said it would also mean she and Sam would get to run around like they were still a kids. And do you know this really sums them up. I love Lizzie and Sam. They are two of the most grounded, natural and sweetest people on the planet who radiate lovely fun and warm vibes and never stop smiling. It’s true what they say that like attracts like as their guests were just the same. It was a truly fabulous day. Here are their wedding highlights.