The Swan Hotel, Bibury Wedding – Sara & Marcus

A ‘Quacking’ Good Day!!  Back to one of our favourite venues; The Swan Hotel Bibury and this time, both Sara and Marcus were getting ready at the hotel (separately obviously!) Their ceremony was held at St Mary’s Church in the village so only a short walk from the hotel for the guests. Sara was chaffeured in Matt’s Father’s car, an Austin 10 and trying to get the dress into the small car was quite a challenge.  After the ceremony, guests were each handed a red balloon so they could stroll back along the river to the hotel adding a splash of colour to Bibury.

We took the opportunity of whisking Sara & Marcus along Arlington Row, a beautiful Cotswold beauty spot of 17th Century weavers’ cottages and with only a few tourists milling around, we didn’t take long taking some beautiful couple photos. With the bride & groom travelling back in the Austin, Chris and I walked back next to the River Colne which was teeming not only with trout but also a very playful otter, happily entertaining his audience. We couldn’t believe our luck and after a few quick photos, we re-joined the party.

The excitement and anticipation was mounting for the impending Duck Race….. little did the couple know that a life-sized Donald Duck was going to make his appearance and Sara’s face was a picture when she spotted him. Sara & Marcus had sent little plastic ducks out with their invites and asked guests to decorate them however they wished and bring them with them to the wedding for the race: a brilliant idea. With judging over for the ‘best dressed duck’ we were now onto the serious business of duck racing. Bets placed, ducks lined up in a row along the starting line, chequered flag raised ……. READY, STEADY, GO!! It was great fun to photograph and after a slow start and with lots of shouting and screaming of encouragement from their ‘trainers’, the ducks found their form and paddled furiously towards the finish line. Some were hampered by their over imaginative decor and found the pace far too challenging, floundering at the back. As for the winner, well you can see the photo of the duck’s trainer, jumping up and down with excitement……. I think the words ‘FIX’ were shouted a few times since the owner of said winning duck was the bestman! During the speeches, guests were awarded prizes for the fastest duck, best dressed duck etc., I particularly liked those dressed as the bride & groom with veil and top hat, check out the photo. A great wedding and it was fun to capture the day as it unfolded.

If you are having a wedding in the Cotswolds, we’d love to hear from you. If you wish to view more of our work, please click here to visit our website.

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