Wow factor Wedding Photography at Stanbrook Abbey in Worcestershire

Although I have been to Stanbrook Abbey (near Worcester) many times, this was my first time photographing a wedding there. As a wedding venue, Stanbrook Abbey stands head and shoulders above the usual venue. Everything has been designed with quality in mind and it shows!
I absolutely loved working at at Stanbrook Abbey. Although vast, the wedding day was split into different sections and in separate areas of the venue. This meant the main group was kept together and maintained a lively, chatty atmosphere. Which is just what I like!

Lisa & John organised a beautiful wedding and I feel ever so grateful to have been invited. I hope for many more opportunities to create beautiful wedding photography at Stanbrook Abbey in Worcestershire. The place is amazing!

Their Love Story

1) Please tell me how you first met?
John – Lisa and I met in April 1994 at a Spring Harvest event held at Butlins in Skegness.
Lisa – John and I met in 1994 when we were just kids and have been the best of friends ever since.
2) When was it you knew they were the one? Was is something in particular they did?
John – Lisa tells me it was Love at first sight! I remember Lisa waving a silver banner so always joke that it was her flag waving abilities that first attracted me to her! We have actually been friends for over 20 years now and know each other inside and out; I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
Lisa – I knew the first time i saw John… absolutely love at first sight, even at the young age of 14!! it wasn’t for John
but i’m ok with that haha.  3) Could you give us the story of the proposal?
John – John organised a surprise trip to Boston to see some friends. (These friends did a similar trip back in 2012 which ended in an engagement) John had secretly asked permission to borrow his Grandmothers ring to propose to Lisa and had organised a couple of days skiing. After a long hard day skiing we took the last cable car to the top of the mountain (Lisa was not best pleased). At the top of the mountain John dropped to one knee and made his proposal …… Lisa was in a state of shock but eventually said YES! (This might have been encouraged by John promising to let her take the cable car down the mountain – Unfortunately she took so long to respond that the cable car had stopped and we had to ski down the mountain!)
Lisa – OH!!! I had no idea, it was such a surprise, to be honest I had written the idea off completely. We have been the best of friends for over 20 years, together for 10 and I didn’t think it would happen….. so when we were at the top of a mountain in Vermont it was the last thing i had expected!…..I actually thought John was fastening my ski boot not on one knee with a ring! but it was beautiful, perfect and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.     4) If you don’t mind sharing, can you tell me something quirky, funny or silly about your partner?
John – Lisa has a habit of posing for silly photos – These usually end up on some form of birthday or anniversary cards!
Lisa – John constantly sings the wrong words to songs…. and is adamant that they are the right ones!! it’s really funny.  5) What is your perfect day together?
John – We love spending time together taking romantic walks in the local forest – These walks usually end up in the local pub for a few well-earned drinks with friends.
Lisa – Spending time in each others company. Relaxing with some good food and a couple of drinks.

6) Apart from the obvious, what are you most looking forward to on your wedding day?
John – Spending time with friends and family.
Lisa – Getting to see all our friends, family and seeing everything come together finally…. it’s been a long time planning we want people to enjoy the day as much as we do.
  7) What was it that inspired you to go for the theme or the decor you chose for your wedding?
Stanbrook Abbey was the first wedding venue that we visited and had a fantastic blend of old and new and a real contemporary feel; the lavender garden and a colour scheme also perfectly matched our vision – Must have been Fate!!
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?
John – We’ve tried to be as laid back about the process as possible! We booked the venue just over a year in advance and fell into trap of thinking that was most things sorted. Being organised and setting out timelines really helped us to keep things on track. (Wedmin time became a well coined phrase in our household)
Lisa – To take time to enjoy the process of planning and come the actual day take a bit of time to sit back and just take it all in, it goes by so fast that you miss it if you aren’t careful.
9) When searching, what were you were looking for in a wedding venue?
John – We wanted to find a venue that made the day as stress free as possible so somewhere that had everything on one site.
Lisa – It had everything we were looking for all in one place, we didn’t have to move around anywhere. it was perfect. 10) Could you tell me the process you went through when you were looking for a wedding photographer?
John – To find a wedding photographer we started with the venues recommended list and then completed some of our own internet research. We spent time together looking at online galleries of photographers work trying to find a style that we felt matched our vision. Duncan Cox Photography had a good website and the quality of the photos along with his style caught our eye. Our first meeting with Duncan sealed the deal, particularly because he was more than happy to meet us at the venue. It was important to both Lisa and I that we felt relax around our photographer and that he shared our vision. Duncan made us feel really comfortable and we were very confident that he understood what we were looking for in terms of the style of our wedding day.
Lisa – I’m very fussy about having my picture taken..(I don’t like it) and we really wanted a certain type of Photography to capture the day, we looked at many different photographers, websites and then some that the venue recommended. Duncan Cox Photography had exactly what we wanted. The style was perfect. When we met Duncan, I instantly felt at ease and settled. Which is what I think makes it so easy to have Duncan around on the day. We were able to see a vast selection of his work which we were blown away by. There really was no doubt that we had made the right choice.

Vendor List

Photography |  Duncan Cox Photography
Ceremony Location | ‘Callow Great Hall’ – Stanbrook Abbey, Worcesteshire
Reception Location | ‘Thompson Dinning Hall’ – Stanbrook Abbey, Worcesteshire
Florist | Passion Flowers

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