Once a small holding built in 1693, the Gardner family adopted Hilltop as their family home in 1985. It wasn’t until all the children had spread their wings into their own homes when Clare and Martin Gardner decided that Hilltop’s beauty must be shared. They wanted everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of Hilltop. All members of the Gardner family came together and turned their hand to a wedding job role, whether that is cooking in the kitchen, on the bar or even photography. The downstairs of the house became a reception area, the ceremony room had been a billiard room with huge snooker table, the accommodation transformed from the children’s bedrooms and the marquee built where was once stables, a courtyard and four garages.
It was then Hilltop became Hilltop Country House wedding venue, the most perfect setting for a couple’s special day.
Many of you will know and love one of our wedding planners, Clare Gardner who still sells weddings to this day. She started showing couples the venue in 2009 and after a successful selling period, our first wedding took place on Halloween… 31st October 2009. And simply, Hilltop Country House hasn’t stopped growing ever since.
Fast forward to October 31st, 2024, and we are super excited to be celebrating 15 years of weddings!
We’ve been lucky enough to be part of so many couple’s wedding days, created special relationships with our couples, their family and friends with memories shared that we will treasure forever.
So, what’s been significant for Hilltop over the years?
At the forefront of what we do at Hilltop Country House, sharing a couple’s wedding planning process and day is the single most significant part of Hilltop’s journey.
But, if we were to look at how Hilltop has changed, renovated and adapted over the years…
We continue to always seek to maintain and renovate in line with the fast-moving wedding trends. Simply, to ensure that our Cheshire wedding venue is the perfect location to celebrate your special day. More recent renovations include modernising the accommodation bedrooms, building an outdoor bar with BBQ and pizza oven and improving the experience for guests dancing in the Hilltop boogie room. The marquee has seen an added flower wall, wooden feature wall, and even bi-fold doors!
It’s been a privilege to host many charity balls for organisations such as East Cheshire Hospice and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, as well as events with local school Kings School and make-up brand Charlotte Tilbury.
Our spectacular gardens just get bigger and better every year, and like the Hilltop gardens, the Hilltop family is ever-growing. We have carried on the family feel with our working environment and relationships. We have welcomed many more members to our full-time wedding team, but some have been here right from the very beginning, this time 15 years ago. Every member of team has a background of years in the industry, we even appointed a two-time winner of a Michelin star as our executive chef!
Above all this, the one thing that will always remain is Hilltop’s impeccable service and dedicated and caring experience. No matter how busy we may be, we will give every person who may come up that Hilltop drive the time and attention they deserve and require.
We have had great fun and will continue to do so for many years to come. A huge happy 15th birthday to us. We can’t wait to see what the next 15 years of wedding celebrations look like.
Thank you.
The Hilltop Team x