Hilltop House
Wedding Photographer

Are you looking for Wedding Photographer at Hilltop House?

I’m Andy Wade, an award winning photographer, and Hilltop House is a real one-off: a 17th-century family home in the Dales village of Starbotton that you take over entirely for your wedding. I’ve photographed a wedding here, and having the whole house to yourselves makes for the most relaxed, candid photographs imaginable.

My approach is all about storytelling in a relaxed documentary style, focusing on the real emotions, and creative yet natural portraits. The weddings you see across Andy Wade Photography are all real days I’ve documented, so what you see here is exactly how I’d photograph yours.

Your own Dales house for the day, in one of Yorkshire’s prettiest villages. Let’s create something beautiful together at Hilltop House.

Wedding Photography at Hilltop House

Wedding Stories from Yorkshire

A gorgeous place in the world

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Hilltop House Weddings

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Hilltop House Wedding Venue

Inside Hilltop House

Hilltop House is a real one-off: a 17th-century family home in the Yorkshire Dales village of Starbotton, near Kettlewell, that you take over entirely for your wedding. I've photographed a wedding here and it's perfect if you want something intimate, relaxed and completely your own.

The house sleeps your wedding party in six bedrooms full of period character, and because it's exclusive hire of a family home, there are no venue rules to work around, just a beautiful house and grounds that are entirely yours.

No venue rules, just your weekend

The house sits in 15 acres of gardens and open fields with the Dales rising all around, so the setting is spectacular without any effort at all. Inside, the mullion windows and period rooms make it feel like a proper country house party, which is exactly the point.

The day flows however you want it to: ceremony in the house or gardens, drinks on the lawns with Wharfedale all around, portraits in the fields as the evening light pours down the valley. It's the Dales wedding distilled to its essence.

Outdoor wedding ceremony in lush garden setting
  • Bride and groom kissing at garden wedding ceremony.
  • Couple walking through a sunlit forest path.
Bride walking down outdoor wedding aisle with father.
Evoto
  • Formal gathering in lush garden outside vine-covered house.
  • Bride and groom walking in garden, holding hands.

The History of Hilltop House

Four hundred years in Starbotton

Hilltop House dates back to 1610 and is Grade II listed, a stone-built house with mullioned windows that has watched over the village of Starbotton in Upper Wharfedale for over 400 years. It was built when Wharfedale was a landscape of farms and packhorse routes, and it has outlasted nearly everything around it.

The house sits in its own grounds on the edge of the village, one of the real gems of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and it remains a family residence that opens its doors for exclusive-use stays and small weddings rather than operating as a hotel.

Watching over Starbotton since 1610

That arrangement gives weddings here a genuinely rare quality: a 400-year-old house, 15 acres of Dales countryside, and nobody's wedding but yours. For couples who value intimacy and character over scale, it's perfect.

How To Get To Hilltop House

Hilltop House is in Starbotton, near Kettlewell in the Yorkshire Dales, postcode BD23 5HY. The easiest route is via Skipton: take the A65 and then the B6160 up Wharfedale through Grassington. Once in Kettlewell, turn left over the bridge onto the B6160 and continue for about a mile and a half to Starbotton. Pass through the village, turn up the narrow lane past the Fox and Hounds pub and turn left at the top.

Skipton station is about 40 minutes away by car.

My Style of Photography

I’m known for my documentary approach in wedding photography, capturing authentic, natural, and heartfelt moments. I aim to narrate each couple’s unique story through genuine, candid captures that resonate with real emotion. Having received numerous awards both in the UK and globally, my commitment and expertise in my field are well recognised. Offering my services throughout the UK and overseas, I cater to couples looking for a photographer who can document their day as it unfolds, ensuring a true representation of their special moments.

Why book Andy Wade Photography?

You’ve found your venue, and now you want the day photographed as it actually happens, not staged around the camera. My style is natural and documentary: genuine moments, real emotion, and the laughter, tears and everything in between, documented quietly while you get on with enjoying it.

As your Hilltop House wedding photographer, I’m committed to creating a collection that reflects the true emotion of your day, ensuring you have memories to cherish forever. Let’s tell your unique story together.

I couldn’t be more excited to join you on your wedding day at Hilltop House, document your day, and capture all the little moments that make it truly yours.

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Smiling man holding a camera in monochrome photo.

What my couples say

LOVELY WORDS FROM LOVELY PEOPLE

I am super grateful for the amazing reviews my previous Cheshire couples have left on my Google and Facebook profiles.

My Features & Awards

I’m an internationally recognised photographer, and I measure and challenge myself against the best in the world.

  • A badge with a black background shaped like a stylized "R." It reads "TOP 10 Photographers UK 2022" in white and silver text. Perfect for a wedding photographer, the bottom of the badge features the "This is Reportage" logo in white. Image by Andy Wade Photography.
  • A black and white badge with the text "2022 TOP 30 PHOTOGRAPHERS IN THE WORLD" in bold white letters. Shaped like a stylized 'R,' the badge features "This is Reportage" at the bottom in smaller letters, celebrating excellence in Documentary Wedding Photography. Image by Andy Wade Photography.
  • Text in the image reads "Top 2 Wedding Photographer UK & IE 2023 - MASTERS of Wedding Photography" in black and gold text on a white background. Image by Andy Wade Photography.
  • Green text inside a rectangular frame reads "Fearless Award" with the words divided across three lines. A small, stylized ampersand connects the second and third lines. The frame and text are drawn in a simple, clean style. Image by Andy Wade Photography.
  • A circular logo with a red center featuring a stylized white "M" and the text "MASTERS OF WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY" encircling the red center against a white background, followed by the words "AWARD WINNER" at the bottom. Image by Andy Wade Photography.
  • WPS Inspirational Wedding Photographers logo. The text features 'WPS' in bold black letters, with the 'S' in red, followed by 'INSPIRATIONAL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS' in black. Below, it reads 'ABOUT ME: WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY SELECT' in smaller black font. Image by Andy Wade Photography.
  • A logo featuring the text "ISPWP - International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers" on the left, and a mosaic pattern with the word "MEMBER" on the right, perfect for your About Me page. Image by Andy Wade Photography.
  • A circular badge with a dotted border reads "Fearless Photographers." Inside, the text says "2023 World Top 50" with "Andy Wade" and "UK" beneath. Learn more about me and my journey in capturing moments that matter. Image by Andy Wade Photography.
  • Regional Wedding Industry Awards logos
  • Top 10 Keeping It Real 2025 Awards badge
  • 2026 Wedding Industry Awards Regional Winner Logo
MY AWARDS

From the blog

My Cheshire Wedding posts

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Questions? I’ve got you

ABOUT ANDY WADE PHOTOGRAPHY

No. 90% of any day I shoot is completely candid. I can photograph all day without a single ‘posed’ photo. The portraits of you both, if you’d like some, are kept simple and as natural as possible; nothing cheesy and nothing awkward. Usually the portraits of you are created during a relaxing wander together for 20 minutes or so with me capturing shots as we go along – so not really posing. We may stop in a certain spot but most of that time you’ll forget I’m there and the portraits will feel and look perfectly natural. Just think of this as a bit of ‘you time’! There is the option to create a specific photo with flashes which I set up – but only if you want that. Even if I do it will be set up before we do it so that you can spend the maximum time with your guests. Otherwise I’ll just photograph the day as it happens.

Firstly I have to be available on your day but after that just say “Let’s do It!”. Just fill out the email form on my contact page or just send me a text, a message on Instagram or just give me a call. A small deposit then secures the day. That deposit is refundable up to one month after the agreement to go ahead. In the meantime, I will send you some paperwork and that will include a contract which has the terms and conditions, which we both sign when you’re 100% happy. You’ll also receive a summary of what is in your package.

Your photos will be delivered in a beautiful gallery that will work on any device. You can control the sharing of your photos from your gallery for family and friends or to social media. You can download your photos in full, high resolution or in a smaller version should you wish to share them. There are no watermarks on your photos and are free for your personal use. There is also the option to buy prints and wall art and you can create and order albums from the ‘Shop’ area of your gallery. If you have a slideshow made then it can be viewed from your gallery as well.

For a 9 hour wedding you get an edit of about 500+ photos. If it is a 12 hour day then around 700+. I work on your photos intensely after the wedding, lovingly crafting them so that they are perfectly colour balanced with a bright, fresh look. There’s probably a ratio of a third black and white and two thirds colour.

Because you take over the whole 17th-century house for the weekend, there are no venue rules to work around and no other wedding happening alongside yours. That freedom makes for the most relaxed, candid photographs I get anywhere.

Yes. I think it’s good to meet as you can ask all the questions you need to. I’ll be around you for almost all of your wedding day so meeting up before the day is a great way of getting to know each other. I’m a nice chap and very comfortable with people I’ve just met, so it’s not a problem if we don’t. A video call is a really good way of talking things through if we can’t arrange a meeting.

Yes. Most people like a few photos of mum, dad and their close family as well as the bridesmaids and groomsmen. I get that it is important and can be good fun, too. It takes about 10 minutes to organise a photo of everyone, for example, and then about 2-3 minutes for each one after that providing everyone is available. You decide what those photos are if you want them – I don’t have a ‘list’ of my own. If there is 1.5 – 2 hours between your ceremony and wedding breakfast then I’d suggest to have something like 20 mins with you portraits and then 20 mins of group photos dotted about, so between 6-10 group shots max. This way you spend more time just being with your guests, which I will capture naturally. I hear many stories of people who have been to weddings and were really bored and made to stand around for hours while the photographer goes through a repertoire of their own group photos. That’s not me!

Yes. There is an amazing choice of albums and wall art that will be available from your gallery and that I can send you information on. There is so much choice that I do not put albums in my packages unless on specific request. I do have three album packages that broadly cover the options so if you would like to include one I would be happy to chat and look at putting an album in your package.

Yes, but you can have another photographer if you wish – called a ‘2nd shooter’. If, for instance, you’d like the groomsmen preparation photos covered fully as well and they are over 15 mins away, I can employ a second photographer to cover that for £350/day and they will stay until the speeches – so about 6 hours. A second photographer is great to cover a specific span of time but does not necessarily mean a ‘better’ set of photos. I can be in and amongst a whole wedding party quite easily and capture the essence of the day without a 2nd shooter but it does enable us to do more portraits together – if that is what you’d like – and we can have more angles covered in the ceremony. If you would like a 2nd shooter then we’d book them about 3 months before the day. They are always 1st class, professional photographers like me and shoot in my style.

The house sits in 15 acres of gardens and open fields with the Dales rising all around, so the setting does most of the work. I love catching the evening light pouring down the valley from the fields behind the house.

Very much so, it’s an exclusive-hire family home in Starbotton with six bedrooms, so it’s perfect if you want something personal and completely your own. The scale of the house means every corner feels intimate in photographs.

SEE MY FULL FAQS

Looking for other venues in the Cheshire?

FIND YOUR PERFECT VENUE

I’ve shot all over the Cheshire in Alderley Edge, Knutsford, Chester and the Cheshire Countryside. There are so many gorgeous venues alongside Hilltop House! Check out my full list of stunning locations in the Cheshire;

Abbeywood Estate, Alderley Edge Hotel, Arley Hall & Gardens, Carden Park Hotel, Colshaw Hall, Cottons Hotel & Spa, Crabwall Manor Hotel, De Vere Cranage Estate, Delamere Manor, Dorfold Hall, DoubleTree by Hilton Chester, Grange Barn, Grosvenor Pulford Hotel & Spa, Heaton House Farm, Mere Court Hotel, Merrydale Manor, Mollington Banastre Hotel, Mottram Hall, Nunsmere Hall, Oddfellows Chester, Owen House Wedding Barn, Peckforton Castle, Rookery Hall, Rowton Hall Hotel & Spa, Sandhole Oak Barn, Stock Farm Wedding Barn, Styal Lodge, Tabley House, Tatton Park, The Ashes Barn, The Chester Grosvenor, The Mere Golf Resort & Spa, The Oak Tree of Peover, The Plough Inn, The Stanneylands, The Tytherington Club, Wrenbury Hall
  • Bride and groom embrace on scenic hilltop.
  • Guests celebrating at a joyful indoor event
  • Bride and groom kissing at wedding reception.
  • Couple exchanging vows by the lake under arch.
  • Bride kissing older man at wedding ceremony.

Drop me a line

I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU

If you’re looking for a Hilltop House Wedding Photographer, it would be great to talk!

Whatever stage you’re at in your wedding planning, I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a message to see if we’re a good fit or to check my calendar and we can go from there. I’d love to hear from you!

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