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On Hitched.co.uk since 2022
Last update: April 2026
Welcome to Notley Abbey -
The honey-hued hideaway near Oxford where every stone tells a story.
Notley Abbey is an exclusive-use historic wedding venue on the Buckinghamshire-Oxfordshire Border. Drive up the tree-lined driveway and the Buckinghamshire countryside unfolds around you until Notley Abbey appears - a 13th-century abbey with secluded riverside grounds and centuries of history in its walls. Once the romantic home of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, where everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Noël Coward came to celebrate, it's a place where grandeur meets intimacy, and glamour feels effortless.
Whether you're planning an intimate gathering or a celebration for 250, Notley is the perfect stage for your extraordinary celebration.
The Setting
At Notley Abbey, the entire house and grounds are exclusively yours for the day and night of your wedding.
Nestled within secluded riverside grounds adorned with lavender, the Abbey captures your heart from the moment you arrive. With licensed ceremony spaces both inside and out, you choose the setting that feels right for you.
The Ceremony
The Abbott's Hall is steeped in history — once Sir Laurence Olivier's drawing room, it features a hidden staircase leading to a 15th-century turret. Intimate and romantic, it's perfect for ceremonies of up to 110.
For larger celebrations, the Monks' Refectory accommodates up to 164 for your ceremony or wedding breakfast, and up to 250 for your evening reception. With its barn-like architecture, floor-to-ceiling glass flooding the space with natural light, and glittering chandeliers adding a touch of glamour, it blends centuries of history with modern elegance.
If you've always imagined saying your vows outdoors, the Walled Garden offers a picture-perfect English setting – historic stone walls, lush greenery, and romance at every turn.
Capacity & Accommodation
Notley Abbey welcomes up to 164 guests for your ceremony and wedding breakfast, and up to 250 for your evening celebration.
After the last dance, retire to the Notley Suite – complete with a romantic four-poster bed just steps from the festivities – while your nearest and dearest retreat to one of nine beautifully appointed bedrooms, each named after the famous faces who've partied here over the years (Marilyn Monroe included). The following morning, gather for a relaxed breakfast together – the perfect chance to relive the highlights before everyone heads home.
Harper Kitchens
Exceptional food is at the heart of celebrations at Notley Abbey. Harper Kitchens is led by Executive Chef Lionel Jouanet, who previously worked at The Dorchester, creating menus with a focus on flavour and seasonality. We work with trusted suppliers who share our focus on quality and provenance – local family butchers, artisan smokehouses, seasonal produce – to create generous, flavourful dishes that people remember long after the day.
Your wedding includes the Harper Tasting Experience: a chef's selection of starters, mains and desserts, alongside a range of drinks, so you can make the perfect choices for your day.
Your Day, Your Way
We believe your wedding should feel wonderfully personal – so we give you the tools and support to make it truly yours.
You'll have your own online wedding planner, where you can manage details, track decisions, and keep everything in one place. You'll also have dedicated support from our in-house planning team, with meetings included throughout your journey from booking to the big day.
And when it comes to the finishing touches, our carefully curated collection of Harper Partners – photographers, florists, entertainment and more – know Notley Abbey inside out and can help bring your Pinterest board to life.
The Harper Weddings Collection
Notley Abbey is part of Harper Weddings, a family-owned company that also runs Botleys Mansion in Surrey and Cain Manor on the Surrey-Hampshire border. After more than 25 years of hosting weddings, we know how to create celebrations that reflect who you are as a couple - and that's what we'd love to help you create.
Visit Notley Abbey
Download our brochure and pricing from our website, or — better still — come and see Notley Abbey for yourself. Book a visit on our website or get in touch.
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Sonning Flowers -
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Charlotte Roscow
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Reviews for Notley Abbey
The most magical day
Pure Magic
From the very first time we contacted Notley Abbey the staff were so lovely and attentive. Even when we had to navigate postponing our whole wedding they were wonderful to deal with. Especially Maisie who assisted with the finer details and worked with us closely to plan the day.
I was treated like royalty on the wedding day, Rachel and Ellie were so brilliant and I couldn’t thank them, and all of the staff enough for their hard work, it really allowed me to enjoy the day without a second to worry or plan.
The venue speaks for itself, it’s so beautiful (in all seasons) and I would choose it every time. All of the guests commented how fabulous the venue was and how delicious the food was.
I hope to return every chance we get, it was pure magic!
Lauren and Will
A fairy tale wedding in a beautiful and historic venue
From the beginning, the wedding planning system was easy to use, and if I ever had any questions, Maisie and the team were always so quick to respond and ever so helpful throughout the entire process. In the lead-up to the wedding, every meeting felt highly productive, and I consistently felt confident that everything was being carefully managed and taken care of. It was easy to keep a track of our budgets, as it's all laid out clearly via the planner and adding extras was very straight forward. The list of preferred supplies was also extremely helpful, and whilst we chose to utilize many of these options, there was never any pressure to do so.
The food was absolutely delicious and after enjoying the Tasting Experience immensely, we went into the wedding confident knowing that the breakfast would be enjoyed by everyone (and it was!). Everyone's food arrived promptly and the tables were laid out beautifully including the gifts, wedding favours, decorations, and table names / guest names. Allergies and specific guest needs were also catered to very thoughtfully.
We've had so many compliments on the venue, Notley Abbey is a beautiful location which speaks for itself the moment you set your eyes on it. What really stood out to us though was the attentive staff, who really made us and our guests feel cared for on the day. From the moment we arrived on our wedding day, everything was perfectly taken care of. We were greeted by staff who helped us to our rooms, all of our items were taken care of, and we were able to enjoy our time prior to the ceremony. Communication throughout the day was perfect, and we knew exactly where we needed to be and when at all times. Following the ceremony, and whilst photos were being taken, we were so grateful that the staff ensured we still had the chance to enjoy the food available - and even left some to the side for us to enjoy! Additionally, a few of our younger guests felt overwhelmed in the busier areas throughout the day, and the staff kindly took them to quieter spaces and made sure they were happy and settled throughout the day. I was so pleased to learn that every one of our guests were being taken care of so kindly and thoughtfully. We are so grateful to the team for helping to make our dream wedding day a reality.
I would absolutely recommend Notley Abbey, our wedding day felt like a fairytale which was brought to reality by their incredible team. Thank you so much for everything.
The Wedding of our Dreams
Perfect Day
Through planning I knew I could call at any time and ask questions and they helped make my anxiety less for the big day!
Massive thank you to Maisie! She was amazing! Nothing was to much.
From the moment we arrived we were looked after!
The day was seamless I have never felt such a relaxed atmosphere!
The team were attentive and made sure we didn’t need anything because it was already there!
If we did need anything it was never any trouble!
We were so grateful for the team no words can express.
The building and the garden was beautiful! Absolutely stunning!
A Dream Come True
The Most Perfect Venue with the Most Incredible Team
A special shoutout to Natalie and Ellie, who were absolutely wonderful—calm, kind, and so on top of every detail, as well as Maisie who helped us in the lead up to it. But it wasn’t just them; from the waiters to the managers, every single person we encountered went above and beyond. So many of our guests have since commented on how lovely and attentive the staff were, which speaks volumes.
The venue itself is simply stunning. We chose to have our ceremony outdoors, and it turned out to be the most beautiful, romantic setting imaginable—something that left everyone happily surprised at just how magical the space is in person.
And then, the food! The canapés, the drinks, the main meal, and the evening food were all absolutely delicious. We lost count of how many people complimented the dishes. One of the highlights for us was being able to create a menu that reflected both British and Venezuelan influences, and we were incredibly lucky that one of the chefs, Lee, is Venezuelan himself. He worked with us to curate a personalised menu that couldn’t have been more perfect—it was everything we had dreamed of.
Notley Abbey gave us not just a wedding venue, but the wedding we had imagined, brought to life in the most seamless and beautiful way. We will be forever grateful, and if you’re considering it for your special day, I can’t recommend it highly enough
The most perfect venue
A Dream Wedding at Notley Abbey
We had always envisioned an outdoor wedding, and the walled garden area brought this dream to life. The setting is magical, surrounded by vibrant flowers and lush greenery – it felt like something out of a fairytale. One of the other biggest advantages for us was having on-site accommodation with a bridal suite and rooms for immediate family. It meant we and the rest of our guests with small children could put our children to bed for the night and still enjoy the rest of the celebration without worrying. The exclusivity of having the entire venue to ourselves for 24 hours made the whole experience feel even more special and intimate.
Then onto the Planning, this was done via an online planner – a really helpful tool that streamlined the process. That said, you do need to stay on top of everything, as you’re in charge of inputting all the details from start to finish, but any questions you can contact the team very easily and they get back to you very quickly. The food tasting evening was also such a great idea a few months prior to your wedding day, we sampled so many tasty options of food and wine and were able to choose our menu instantly after the tasting.
One point to consider is that you are not able to access the venue until 11am on the wedding day, this meant we had to start the process of getting ready at home, we were completely aware of this and made prior arrangements to make it work, but it’s just something to think about with regards to timings to allow for the extra touch-ups after transitioning.
On the wedding day, the team at Notley Abbey made everything run like clockwork. Their attention to detail was second to none. On arrival the staff greet you warmly, help you unload and carry items from your cars, and set up all the extra personal touches.
The food was a standout – absolutely delicious! Our guests are still raving about the main course - the ‘coffee-rubbed beef’. The way that the waiting staff all placed the plates down at exactly the same time for each course was a perfect synchronisation.
The venue transitions were seamless – one moment everything was beautifully set up, and the next it was magically cleared and reset for the next part of the day. No flowers were wasted or ignored , they just kept reappearing into the next part of the day.
The rooms, particularly the bridal suite, are full of character and history – a truly romantic setting to get ready in and spend your first night as a married couple and the breakfast the next morning, both cooked and continental, was a lovely way to round off the experience.
Overall Notley Abbey was the perfect venue for a perfect Wedding day.
Best day of our lives!
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