Combermere Abbey Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A medieval estate on the county border

Combermere Abbey is a medieval estate on the border of Cheshire and Shropshire (SY13 4AJ). The venue's own address says Nantwich, Cheshire, and its directions say Whitchurch, Shropshire, which tells you something about where it sits. It began as a Cistercian monastery in 1133, was remodelled in the Gothic style in the early 1800s, and is now an exclusive-use wedding venue with parkland, a mere and restored walled gardens.

We photographed and filmed Nikita and Nathan's wedding here on 27 October 2025. This page follows their day in photographs. Our Cheshire guide and Shropshire guide show Combermere beside other venues in the area, and here we stay with the venue itself. What we say about the estate comes from the venue's own website, and what we say about the photographs comes from looking at them.

For current venue details, explore Combermere Abbey. Our wedding here was in late October, so ask the venue how the gardens and parkland look in other seasons.

01 / The spaces / From the venue's own description

A glasshouse, a fruit tree maze and a walled garden pavilion

The venue says ceremonies take place in the Edwardian Glasshouse or in the centre of its fruit tree maze, and that it can host 150 guests for indoor and outdoor ceremonies alike. The Glasshouse is fan-shaped and sits at the top of the Walled Gardens, which the venue describes as almost six acres across three distinct gardens.

The reception is in the Pavilion, in the middle walled garden, with a bar and lounge area, a large dancefloor and a terrace. The venue says it seats 150 guests for the wedding breakfast and has room for 190 in the evening. It also says the Pavilion is to be rebuilt in the same place, with building work from 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027 and the new Pavilion due in spring 2027, and that weddings outside those dates carry on as planned.

Beyond the walls there is a Pleasure Garden, a Garden Wood with paths to the lake's edge, and a Geometric Garden that the venue says offers plenty of photo opportunities. The venue is exclusive use, the bar and music wind down at 11.30pm, and the venue closes at midnight.

02 / October 2025 / Nikita and Nathan

Nikita and Nathan: a veil on the wind, abbey steps and autumn leaves

Nikita and Nathan married at Combermere Abbey on 27 October 2025. The photograph at the top of this page is from their portraits: Nathan in a tweed suit and Nikita in a tulle gown, kissing on the grass beside open water while her long veil, scattered with fabric flowers, lifts in the wind beside a weeping willow, with autumn trees across the water.

At the front of the abbey they stand on a wide flight of stone steps between two clipped yew hedges, Nathan in a brown tweed suit kissing Nikita's cheek while she holds an orange and pink bouquet, the pale Gothic walls with their pointed windows and battlements rising behind them. In a second kiss, in black and white, the low sun comes from behind them and lights the edge of her gown, with the corner of the abbey on one side and a tall yew on the other.

Away from the building, Nikita stands with a bridesmaid in a dusty-pink satin dress on a gravel path under yellowing leaves, both of them holding bouquets of orange and pink flowers, with a brick archway and a white gate behind them.

03 / Staying at Combermere / From the venue's own description

Courtyard cottages, Stone Lodge and the North Wing

The venue has nine self-catering Courtyard Cottages in converted stables, which it says sleep up to 49 guests, and a honeymoon suite in the North Wing of the abbey itself, with views over the mere. Stone Lodge, which sleeps four, can be booked for the night before. Check-in is from 4pm and check-out is by 10am, and the venue says late check-out is not available.

For photographs, the venue says Keeper's Cottage, with hair and makeup stations, is available from 9am on the wedding morning, and a second preparation space called The Bothy opens two hours before the ceremony. Ask which of you will use which space, so we can plan the morning around where each of you is.

Planning your photographs at Combermere Abbey

A few things worth asking the venue, and how we would plan around the answers:

1. Timing: The venue says the bar closes 30 minutes before the ceremony starts, and that the bar and music finish at 11.30pm with the venue closing at midnight. Tell us your timings once you have agreed them with the venue and we will plan the portrait walk around the light.
2. Autumn light: Our wedding here was in late October, and the photographs in this guide came from the water's edge, the abbey steps and a garden path under turning leaves. We check sunset and light times for your date in advance and agree the plan with you before the day.
3. Rain: The venue offers indoor and outdoor ceremonies, so agree an indoor or sheltered option with the venue when you confirm the order of the day. On the day we settle it together with you and the venue.
4. Group photographs: We do as many as you like and typically recommend around 15, which usually take about 20 minutes. Ask a groomsman or bridesmaid who knows everyone to round people up.
5. Getting ready: If you and your partner are in different places, we move between you together, splitting our time as a team. Groom preparation typically takes about 15 minutes. With two preparation spaces on the estate, tell us where each of you will be.
6. The new Pavilion: The venue says its Pavilion is being rebuilt between November 2026 and March 2027. If your date is in 2027 or later, ask the venue when you can see the finished space, so we can plan the evening photographs around the real room.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a Gothic abbey, walled gardens and open parkland is familiar territory. You get one conversation about the timetable, one set of questions for the venue and one plan for the portrait walk.

The photo and video team package carries a £120 deposit and a £400 saving over booking photography and videography separately. We are based near Cardiff, and travel across England and Wales is included in standard full-day packages. When the drive is over two hours we always stay in a hotel the night before and cover it.

Questions about a Combermere Abbey wedding