The day before, in scoping the place, I made my way up the 109ft bell tower (eventually!) which gave great views of the Malvern hills. Only in scaling the tower was I able to take in the grandeur of the venue that Lucy & Ben had chosen.
Lucy and the girls stayed the previous night in the Bride's Manor, a Georgian manor house complete with a parlour and 5 dressing rooms. I was spoilt for choice for Lucy's dress and detail shots with every turn providing a new creative spark in setting the scene for the day ahead. It also helped that it was connected by a corridor to the old chapel, so there was no mad dash through the rain that had unfortunately, reared its ugly head. If you thought that any couple would be guaranteed sunshine in July, it would be Lucy & Ben. But then again, maybe it was the British weather cursing them for living in Dubai all year round!
Ben arrived in a white Ferrari organised by his family which, was some entrance, before we headed to the uniquely designed 'Groom's Room' where he and his boys, including his 3 brothers, began to get ready.
The guys were married in the 'Callow Great Hall' which, has been restored to its former glory, with the vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows making impressive surroundings for a very romantic ceremony. Lucy, her dad and bridesmaids walked down the aisle accompanied by the orchestral, church choir, all having a cheeky smile with Ben, before taking their position at the front.
With it still raining quite hard, we made the most of the private cloisters in the abbey which was blessed with subtle, romantic light coming in from the windows. We also headed towards the archway at the front of the building where of course, I sacrificed myself in the wet for their cause to get the images I planned to get.
As their wedding breakfast approached, miraculously the sun made a welcome appearance so I grabbed the couple for a last few couple shots in the nun's cemetery, (it's much prettier than the name suggests!) before the time came to take their seats for the meal and speeches ahead. It took place in the Garden Pavilion which is a permanent marquee set up in the grounds and bright pink accents were used to make the room pop. It has got to be said that they could possibly win the award for the tallest wedding cake with a 6 tier creation!
The final room they took advantage of was 'St Anne's Hall' for their first dance and cake cutting. The night finished with a casino, a photo booth and even more dancing as I made my farewells. A few days later they headed back to Dubai for a quick stop to pack, before continuing onto their honeymoon to begin their new life as the new Mr & Mrs Pritchard. A big congratulations to them both...
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