Wonderful winter sunshine for these Kilworth House Hotel Wedding Photos
Kilworth House Hotel Wedding
What a day to visit Kilworth House Hotel! Wedding photography, plus winter sun, plus frost, equals awesome!! In truth, I feared for Peter & Geeta’s wedding day, going by the miserable weather that preceded, it did not look good. They came a LONG way (New York!) to have their English country wedding, so I am thinking they were either very lucky, or they paid someone a lot of money to get the January wedding they got. You only have to look at the photos below to see how gorgeous it was! There is nothing like a sunny day in January…nothing! 🙂
This is my third or fourth time visiting Kilworth House Hotel and it was spectacular as per usual. There is something magical about how Kilworth is laid out which really lends itself to my style of Reportage Wedding Photography. People seem to congregate in nice positions, compositionally speaking and wherever I point my camera, every backdrop is beautiful. I love it there! With a special mention to their Restaurant Manager, Mehmet. This chap is a superhero! In the face of great challenges, he still managed to steer the ship flawlessly, on schedule and with a lovely smile on his face! He was a delight to work with and I cannot recommend him highly enough.
Peter & Geeta’s wedding was a massively positive experience. They were super fun and a pleasure to be around. I want to congratulate them both and wish them a lifetime of happiness!!
About Peter & Geeta
1) Please tell me how you first met?
Geeta: We first met on the website Bumble. I had never really done online dating and after hearing horror stories, I decided to go with Bumble since I could initiate the conversation first. Since I was so new, I only had a few pictures of myself and didn’t have anything written in my profile since I kept putting it off since I was still not 100% onboard with online dating. I saw a picture of Peter with a man who looked like Bernie Sanders and decided to ask. We started chatting and then decided to meet for a drink at Lillie’s Bar after exchanging numbers. I was running a little late and was texting him, however, I got the number wrong so I was messaging someone else. When I realized my mistake, finally told him I was on my way. About a block away from the bar, I decided to text him that I looked nothing like my pictures thinking it would be really funny, since I look exactly like my pictures, however by the time I met him, he had not checked the message and the joke fell flat. We talked about so many things, and I recall we talked about online dating and I told him that this was my first online date to which he replied, “this may be your last”. At the time I thought that was cheeky, but it turned out he was right!
Peter: We started talking on the website Bumble. I liked Geeta’s photos, somewhere quite quirky, showing her beat-up boots from a trip to Ireland. All the photo’s where down to earth. I’m not a big texter, so I quickly asked her out for a drink at Lillie’s Bar in the Union Square area in New York City about 2 weeks later. It was a Wednesday night and the bar was packed and quite loud. Geeta was running a little late and I met her outside. Throughout the evening I think Geeta could hardly hear anything I was saying, but she did laugh at my jokes.
2) When was it you knew they were the one?
Geeta: During our second date, we were talking about life, work, family etc and it struck me that Peter is the one. In an instant, It seemed like I could see our whole lives together and I was so excited but trying to hide it. He asked to kiss me and I said yes. We kissed and the next thing I knew was I was on the floor. I had fainted or as my friend said, I actually swooned. While I was on the floor, a stranger asked if I was okay and then asked if we were on a date. She then told me that Peter never left my side and was very concerned and that he was a keeper. I was extremely embarrassed and even more so when the ambulance came to check me out. Peter was so kind and caring throughout the whole thing. He would ask me on another date and made me laugh when he said that we would make sure the seating is low to the ground and have some cushions available just in case. I never told him why I fainted until much later.
Peter: After a month of dating and we spent the weekend in Brooklyn walking around talking and joking around and it really dawned on me that Geeta was a wonderful person and a perfect partner to share your life. I asked her to marry me and she said no. Not yet. She said she wanted to wait four seasons
3) Could you give us the story of the proposal?
Geeta: Peter asked me to marry him within 1 month of dating while we were lounging around one day. My heart said yes, but ever the practical one, I said no as we had not met each other’s families, only met a few friends and it wasn’t enough time of knowing each other. He asked again a month later and again I said no. I told him that we should know each other for at least 4 seasons before making this type of commitment citing that this was an ancient proverb (really from a very wise nail technician, lol). We eventually negotiated down to 3 seasons. 3 seasons passed and we moved in together. 4 seasons passed, 5 seasons passed and Peter was not asking anymore, so I started to wonder-maybe that nail technician was wrong. Occasionally he would joke about asking me to marry him in a way that was trending, ie putting the ring in an avocado, etc etc. He did send me a calendar invite called, “Day I might propose” which recurred for a few months. On a brisk sunny day in April, we decided to take a walk down the West Side highway by the water down to the tip of Manhattan. It was beautiful. We stopped to get lunch at the Jane hotel which was the location of one of our early dates and then decided to keep walking. We walked into North Cove harbour and were watching the ferries and sailboats as the sun was starting to set. Peter was very particular to get to a spot which was a walkway on the water overlooking the Hudson River. I thought it was a little strange since I knew we could see the water and boats from where we were but went with it. Peter asked, Where I thought one of the ferry-boats was heading, and I looked out really trying to figure out which way the boat was heading and Peter said my name and I turned around. He was on one knee and asked me to marry him. I said yes. It was perfect.
Peter: We had looked at engagement rings together, so she knew a proposal would happen at some point. It was a gorgeous sunny day in April and we decided to walk downtown, along the west side highway. After lunch, we walked further downtown into New York city’s bay area. I was trying to find a romantic place to propose, then I suggested that we walk out to watch the boats, leave the bay. The sun was setting and there was a warm glow on the skyline and reflections on the water. I pointed out a boat to Geeta and then stepped back to pull the ring out of my pocket, to get on one knee. Geeta turned around and saw me on one knee. I think she really then figured out that I was going to propose. She of course then said yes.
4) If you don’t mind sharing, can you tell me something quirky, funny or silly about your partner?
Geeta: When we are out eating at Subway, he will fill his drink cup 25% of the way and then will frequently go up for refills…..even when there are no free refills. Peter also loves sending calendar invites for everything. He is so funny and will always make me laugh.
Peter: Sometimes when I come home, Geeta is watching reality television on the Bravo network-ie Vanderpump Rules. I will say this show has grown on me in recent years.
5) What is your perfect day together?
Geeta: Strolling and discovering new places or seeing things differently with Peter.
Peter: Going for a walk together to a new place, or somewhere just talking, holding hands and catching up on with each other, grabbing a coffee somewhere. This might seem quite ordinary, but it’s so extraordinary.
6) Apart from the obvious, what are you most looking forward to on your wedding day?
Geeta: I am most excited to share this day with our family and friends all in one place, filled with love and happiness! The wedding day is Day 1 of an exciting new life together and I can’t wait to officially be husband and wife.
Peter: Declaring our life together with our friends and family. Even though we are living and sharing our lives together, a wedding day is very symbolic and a celebration of the relationship and memories to come
7) What was it that inspired you to go for the theme or the decor you chose for your wedding?
Geeta: Kilworth House Orangery is so beautiful, it did not need a lot of décor. We wanted a feeling of warmth and cosiness so we went with a lot of light-fairy lights, candles, lanterns. We also liked the idea of wildness, so there was a lot of branches/greenery.
Peter: Kilworth House Hotel is a wonderful Victorian building in the rural Leicestershire countryside. It really captures a traditional English wedding. The wedding was in January, so given that it was going to be dark early in the day, we wanted a theme with warmth, with candles and lights.
8) Please tell me one thing you wish you had known at the beginning of your wedding planning process, that you could pass on to future brides reading this blog?
Geeta: I did not think there would be any family drama since I am easygoing, low key and organized, but there will always be some sort of drama/request and it will annoy you in some way. Peter was a great support! Definitely lean on your partner when things get stressful.
Peter: Everything takes longer than you think and can get overwhelming, so set a full afternoon to go through tasks, and make it fun with light music in the background. The key thing is to make it fun.
9) When searching, what were you were looking for in a wedding venue?
Geeta: We decided to get married in Peter’s hometown of Foxton. We wanted a location that had accommodation since a lot of our guests would be coming from the United States and was not far from St. Andrew’s Church. Because we live overseas in NYC, it was extremely important to find a location that had done numerous weddings and was excellent with communication. We came over in a weekend and saw a few places, however when we walked into Kilworth House Orangery, we knew that this was going to be tough to beat. The way the light shone through the glass was beautiful. After meeting with Denise there, we knew that we would be in good hands.
Peter: The church was built in the 11th century and is in Foxton village where my parents still live. For the reception, we have a lot of guests coming from overseas, so it was important that accommodation was at the venue.
10) Could you tell me the process you went through when you were looking for a wedding photographer?
Geeta: Since we are not from the area, we initially started looking online based on location near our venue. We were looking for a photographer who captured the feelings and moments of the day mostly through candid shots and since we were getting married in the winter, we also wanted a photographer who could work with low light. We looked through portfolios of many photographers and Duncan Cox Photography captured what we were looking for perfectly. His photos were so beautiful and captured these beautiful moments. We set up a skype call and after that, we knew that Duncan was the photographer for us! He was so gracious and wonderful with communication. We felt instantly comfortable with him. Duncan and Jo from Polkadot Productions (videography) were so great on the day and you can tell they love what they do!
Peter: Using Google of course 😊. We identified photographers in the East Midlands area, then jointly we whittled it down to 2 that we liked. We spoke to both photographers and really liked Duncan’s easy going and down to earth attitude. Also in the first initial call, he asked all the right questions that gave s a good comfort that he was the right person.
Vendor List
Photography | Duncan Cox Photography
Ceremony Location | St. Andrews Church
Reception Location | Kilworth House Hotel
Video | Polka Dot Productions
Florist | Jessica Mary Flowers
Wedding DJ | Benny Smyth
Dress Designer | Martina Liana
Wedding Dress Retailer | Wedding Atelier, NYC
Cake | Melody Cakes
Décor | The English Wedding Company
