A glorious winter wedding at Stanbrook Abbey in Worcestershire

A Stanbrook Abbey wedding is always a special place for stunning wedding photography. In Worcestershire, it is certainly one of the best wedding venues available. Hattie & Philip’s wedding was simply stunning! Full of style, grace and plenty of laughs, we had an amazing day at this wonderful winter wedding. Hattie & Philip, I wish you all the best in the future! Congratulations!! 

Their Love Story

1) Please tell me how you first met?
We met at work, Hattie started working at Sky News and we became shift partners. Being the only two people with the same shift times there was lots of time to talk and get to know each other. We both liked each other for a long time before we did anything about it – it would have been so awkward if it hadn’t worked out – but we just clicked. We chatted all day at work and then messaged after work too! After a few months, we couldn’t not pursue it – thankfully everyone at work already knew and thought it was about time!2) When was it you knew they were the one?
Hattie – We already had such an intense relationship from spending so much time together at work. After six months we moved into a little house together and got a kitten, Percy. We certainly knew by then! We already had our first dance song picked out by that point too. Being with Philip just always makes me so happy, from the moment we started going out, I’ve never pictured a future without him.
Philip – I think I knew Hattie was the one first. Even though we spent so much time together I always wanted to spend more time with her. From the very start of the relationship, there was never any doubt.

3) Could you give us the story of the proposal?
We’d been talking about getting married for a long time. As Philip said in his speech, we, or probably more accurately, I, had a shortlist of venues already and checked that our date was free (we wanted to get married on our anniversary – 3rd December)! But I didn’t know the details about how or when. We’d been in the process of buying our first house – not pleasant at all – and he proposed on the day we completed the sale and it became ours! It was a really lovely cementing of our future together. He chose the most beautiful ring, I couldn’t have chosen better myself! He knew that, being from Birmingham and having bought a lot of my jewellery from the Jewellery Quarter, that it meant a lot to me that it came from there. Unbeknownst to me, he’d been up to Birmingham several times in the months beforehand to ask my parents, pick out designs and diamonds and consult my sister! It was so touching that he’d put so much thought and effort into it. He was so nervous when he asked and couldn’t really get his words out, so I hugged him and just said yes! Then we went and bought paint from Homebase and then went out to dinner!

4) If you don’t mind sharing, can you tell me something quirky, funny or silly about your partner?
We always have a lot of fun together we love being silly, changing the words to songs to narrate what we are doing and making up little games! 

5) What is your perfect day together?
One of the best parts of our honeymoon was getting to swim with wild dolphins in New Zealand. It was such an amazing experience; a perfect day would have to include an opportunity to do something like that again and share more wonderful moments together.

6) Apart from the obvious, what are you most looking forward to on your wedding day? 
Hattie – I’m most looking forward to seeing Philip’s face for the first time when we see each other down the aisle. And then to enjoy having all of our family and friends in one place!
Philip – I’m looking forward to being able to see all of our planning and ideas come to life, it has taken so much work, I just want to enjoy it.

7) What was it that inspired you to go for the theme or the decor you chose for your wedding?
We wanted to get married on our anniversary, 3rd December, so wanted to incorporate a few festive touches! We wanted it to feel really warm and inviting so we had candles and fairy lights everywhere, with warm metallic gold and copper colours. The venue didn’t need much dressing at all, they already had beautifully decorated Christmas trees in all the rooms and candles in all the corridor alcoves.  Again to make things wintery but warm, we had simple centrepieces of tree branches wrapped in copper wire fairy lights and clear baubles with tealights inside.

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 bride’s reading this blog?   
Hattie – Planning a wedding is a lot of work and stress, but it’s also amazing to have the opportunity to tailor-make a day to reflect you both as a couple. Things won’t go perfectly to plan, but that’s ok, it’s the most wonderful day to share with the people you love, so take stock and enjoy every moment. On a more practical note, try not to get frustrated by the things you can’t control. Yes, some people won’t RSVP until the date you put on the invitation no matter how long you give them, so make sure the RSVP date gives you time to make arrangements when you know your final numbers and don’t be afraid to remind people! 

9) When searching, what were you were looking for in a wedding venue? 
Our search for a venue was pretty comprehensive! The search mainly focused around the midlands, as that’s where we’re both from, and it is a reasonable travel time for the majority of our guests, being only a couple of hours away from London and both of our families. I had a list of around 20 before we were engaged, and Stanbrook Abbey was right at the top! Philip knew how much I’d fallen for it when looking online, and so had planned a surprise visit of the venue the day after he proposed! When we got there it did not disappoint. Stanbrook is perfect for weddings – they have so many distinct but linked spaces, so you can have everything under one roof, all your needs catered for, but have different rooms for different parts of the day. The Brides Manor was a great selling point, me, my family and my bridesmaids stayed there for the whole weekend. There is also the ‘Groom’s Room’ for Philip and his friends to get ready. The real wow factor though had to be the Callow Great Hall. We’re not religious, so didn’t want to get married in a church, but still wanted something that felt grand and had a sense of occasion. We couldn’t have asked for more! As we wanted a winter wedding, we wanted a venue which was beautiful inside, and the corridors at Stanbrook are stunning, as well as the rooms where we had the drinks reception and wedding breakfast. Plus they had a courtyard ‘The Garth’ where we had a fire pit and sparklers in the evening, and enough rooms for all our guests to stay on site! We did look at other venues too, but it just confirmed how much we felt Stanbrook was the right place for us. We couldn’t have wanted anything more in a venue.

10) Could you tell me the process you went through when you were looking for a wedding photographer?
Choosing the right photographer was so important to us – it’s one of the few things from your wedding day that you get to keep forever! I’m very thorough with my research, so looked up all the photographers in the area, or who had photographed at Stanbrook Abbey before, and had a look through all their portfolios. We decided that we really liked the reportage style of photography, the natural pictures always appealed to us most as they had the warmth of showing real emotion, rather than being too staged or forced. Duncan’s photos really stood out, especially as there was the perfect balance of the documentary-style photos and also beautiful, magazine-worthy romantic couples shots. After reading through the testimonials, I was sold! So many people had sung his praises, they loved their photos but also spoke about how good he was on the day. We met with him at Stanbrook Abbey and booked shortly thereafter!

 

Also, please enjoy the wedding highlight trailer for Hattie & Philip’s wedding, courtesy of my wonderfully talented wife, at Polka Dot Productions.

 

Vendor List

Photography | Duncan Cox Photography
Second Photographer | Amy Taylor
Ceremony Location | Stanbrook Abbey
Reception Location | Stanbrook Abbey
Video | Jo Cox (Polka Dot Productions)
Florist | Wild About Flowers, Twickenham
Dress Designer | Pronovias
Wedding Dress Retailer | The Wedding Club, Birmingham
Hair and Makeup | Aleksandra Guz

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