Crondon Park has seen hundreds of weddings over the years, each as special and romantic as the last! We believe everyone’s love story is unique and we wanted to showcase some of the beautiful weddings we’ve been honoured to host here.
Nikki and Claire Stanley both work in the medical field and met whilst on shift at their local hospital one December evening. From there, the rest is history! Read more about how they met, how they found the process of organising their wedding at Crondon Park and their tips for LBGTQA+ couples.
Names
Nikki Stanley and Claire Hancock (now also Stanley)
Date of wedding
06/10/2023
Where/how did you meet
We met at work! I (Nikki) am a doctor and was doing an on-call night shift in December 2020. Claire, who was studying to be a nurse at the time, was also on shift that night. I saw her and instantly knew I had to ask her out! I waited till the end of the shift and gave her my number and things went quickly from there.
Where/how did the proposal happen
I proposed in May 2022. Claire loves watching planes and I told her I was taking her somewhere as a surprise day out. Near Heathrow, there is a little estate near the runway where you can watch the planes take off overhead. Little did she know, I had been to buy a ring with my mum and nan a few weeks earlier. In the afternoon, I told her I wanted to get a photo of her looking away whilst a plane flew overhead. When she turned round to see the photo I was down on one knee with a ring (in a Pokeball because we both like to play Pokemon Go- this confused her at first because she wasn’t sure the ring was real but when I showed her it was she said yes!). I also revealed we were staying overnight so we could watch the planes again the next day!
What drew you to Crondon Park
We saw Crondon Park online and thought it looked really nice. We booked a visit and instantly realised it was the perfect place for us to get married. It was the only place we looked at because we thought why look anywhere else when we have found the one?
Did you have any worries or extra questions to ask when choosing a venue as a same-sex couple?
What was really nice is that Crondon instantly treated us like any normal couple and didn’t make a big fuss about us being the same sex which is what we want really. We are no different to a heterosexual couple- just two people who love each other and want to get married. Having two brides did not phase them at all and they seemed very well geared up for this.
Can you outline how the day went – any highlights?
The day went perfectly and we’d do it all over again in a heartbeat if we could. The weather was amazing, all our families got on really well, the speeches were fantastic, our photographer did an excellent job and we had such a good time!
Did anyone go the extra mile for you?
Several people did!
Our front of house, Kara, was so attentive in the run up to the wedding and on the day. Her attention to detail was second to none, she ran the day so smoothly and ensured we had everything we needed.
Ellie was also great! Answering our questions whenever we had a mini panic.
Would you recommend Crondon for other LBGTQA+ couples?
Absolutely. They are friendly, accepting, professional and all-round lovely and supportive people. We cannot recommend them enough.
Do you have any tips for LBGTQA+ couples?
Love who you love and don’t let anyone stop you! Life is too short to listen to the negative opinions of a few to the detriment of your happiness.
