Gorgeous Oldberrow House Wedding Photography Warwickshire

Wedding photography at Oldberrow House was always going to be something I was going to relish. Olberrow is a gorgeous privately owned country house in the middle of the Warwickshire countryside, near to Henley-in-Arden. With ample, beautifully tended gardens and plenty of wide-open fields adjacent to the main house, there is plenty of scope for doing something a little different. It’s simply beautiful….and I loved it!
Megan & James’ wedding day was really a mixed bag in terms of weather. We had angry clouds, heavy rain and a lot of gorgeous sunshine to go with it. It was because of the changeable weather we had some amazing, dramatic skies and even a rainbow towards the end! The rain did not spoil anything, it just added to what was an epic story.
I had the pleasure to work with a few crackin’ suppliers which I think deserve a bit of mention. Grace from Makeup Made up was there in the morning and was not only great at her job, but she also had a calming presence and a big smile on her face. What more could you ask?!
The second supplier worthy of note was Drew from Vintage Inspired Wedding Hire and his VW Campervan. I saw a funky, cool VW turn from wedding transport into a photobooth for the guests to have fun in for the evening. This is something completely unique in the wedding industry and is such a good idea. Plus Drew is a great guy! Win win!
Lastly, but by no means least, Dan Greenaway was there providing his vocal talents to create a great atmosphere…as per usual! I have worked with Dan a few times and again, what he offers is something I have not seen in the wedding industry. He wanders through the guests and strikes up a conversation with anyone he finds. He then gives them songs to choose from and sings to them in a personal, one to one show. I have often seen people just joining in with him, which all adds to the experience and creates a buzz that people remember. I would happily recommend any of these people to anyone getting married soon. Great people and great service!

Their Love Story

1) Please tell me how you first met?
Meg: We met online in June 2010; I saw that James was about to compete in his first triathlon and it was just a day or so after I’d completed my first event. It seemed a coincidence so I thought I’d drop him a friendly message. We were soon on our first date on a really sunny evening in a beer garden in Leamington.
James: Meg was the one and the only date I went on from match.com. I think Meg, however, has some amusing stories about dates which went wrong before she met me! The first thing I noticed was Meg’s huge sunglasses and her air of confidence as she walked into the room. I instantly decided we’d be having a second date, so long as she agreed.2) When was it you knew they were the one? Was is something in particular they did?
Meg: Shortly after we met, I went away on a tour of Europe. At the end of the tour, I was exhausted and coming down with a cold. I landed in Stansted late at night and arrived back in Leamington at 3 in the morning. However, the next day was the all-important first triathlon, and I just knew I had to be there. Despite feeling under the weather, I got up early and travelled down to London to support James’ parents. I knew I wanted to pick things up from where we left them before my trip and felt really proud when James achieved his goal in an impressive time.
James: I knew Meg was the one when I agreed to go camping with her and her friends, having never enjoyed it before. We went to Kynance Cove in Cornwall and had a fantastic time together. I remember sitting outside one morning, just the two of us, enjoying breakfast. We were so relaxed and comfortable together and that small moment is one that both of us remember clearly from our early days.3) Could you give us the story of the proposal?
James: I really wanted to go all out to propose to Meg and I chose Cornwall because we love being by the coast and we have great memories of our first trip there. It was about 6 months in the planning because I wanted to get it absolutely right. It was important to me that I made it a special moment that we’d both treasure forever. I kept Meg in the dark, right until the last minute. I told her that we were going to spend a few days with my brother, but I’d really booked a chalet on a private beach where I had arranged for a wedding planner to set up a beautiful scene in which to pop the question. Everything went to plan and it was one of the most incredible moments of my life.
Meg: I really didn’t know what to believe about our trip, as a proposal was a little overdue, so I was up and down all day – little things kept throwing me off the scent and by the time we left our chalet for dinner that night I had completely convinced myself it was just a normal weekend after all. I was probably quite a pain up to that point! Then I saw a candlelit walkway on the beach, a bell tent and all these personal touches. It was absolutely stunning and magical and I remember thinking that, although I was never the kind of little girl that dreamed of marriage and proposals, my younger self would never ever have believed that this would be the way I would get engaged! I felt so lucky.4) If you don’t mind sharing, can you tell me something quirky, funny or silly about your partner?
Meg: James comes across as a serious and professional guy in so many circumstances, but behind closed doors, he can be so giddy! He has this hilarious laugh where he can’t breathe and he just can’t control it. He makes this wheezing noise and it kills me!
James: Meg loves to crack a silly one-liner joke – she’s got a repertoire of about 5 that she commonly tells. She can also do brilliant facial expressions although she can only wink with her left eye and not the right which I find hilarious. Also, Meg is incapable of sitting still; if you look closely she’ll always be tapping her finger or toe which I actually find kind endearing.5) What is your perfect day together?
Our perfect day would combine all our loves – on holiday by the seaside or somewhere picturesque, going for a long walk, a nice cup of tea and some cake, followed by dinner and some fizz in the evening to cap things off.6) Apart from the obvious, what are you most looking forward to on your wedding day?
We’re both really looking forward to seeing all our guests together, with friends and family from all sorts of different places meeting for the first time. We can’t wait to see everyone getting onto the dance floor and letting their hair down, whether young or old!7) What was it that inspired you to go for the theme or the decor you chose for your wedding?
We wanted to incorporate some of the colours that remind us of the beautiful scene when we got engaged, with the blue of the sea and the corals of the sunset. We knew that sport had to play a part in the wedding, but neither of us was keen on a specific sporting theme. So we’ve worked quite hard to find small ways in which to reference this shared passion of ours.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?
We can’t believe how time has flown – we suddenly went from counting down in months to just days. It is all-consuming at times… but we know all the hard work will be worth it.9) When searching, what were you were looking for in a wedding venue?
We really wanted to find a location which allowed us to enjoy the outdoors, without it being too wild. We were looking for a twist on the traditional. Oldberrow House was the perfect choice, with its gorgeous surroundings but equally beautiful house. Joanne and Anthony at Oldberrow House have been so friendly and supportive along the way, and flexible with helping us to achieve the look and feel we were after, and this made a huge difference too.10) Could you tell me the process you went through when you were looking for a wedding photographer?
We knew we wanted a natural style to our photographs; we didn’t want too many staged shots nor to anticipate hours away from our guests being photographed. We ended up extending our search area quite significantly to find Duncan Cox Photography, and when we met Duncan and saw his work we were both sold! One of the things that impressed us the most was the range in his portfolio – whether we were looking at photographs of a country house wedding or a city centre do, Duncan made it look as if this was his specialism. We felt totally confident in his ability to photograph our day.