Chris and Sarah Quigley
Tuesday 7th Dec 2021
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Private Viewing
2nd February 2022
Tuesday 7th Dec 2021
A confectionery treat made the wedding of Chris and Sarah Quigley stand out when they joined us in December. Quality Street was the theme of their wedding cake, which was inspired by their personalised ‘Quigley Street’ tins.
They chose the theme of the cake, after Chris proposed to Sarah in Budapest in December 2018, when she sported nails in the colours of the chocolate’s wrappers. With the sweet treat’s association of Christmas and memories of her nails on the day of the proposal, the couple decided it was the perfect theme for the delicious centre piece that stood proudly in the blue room as guests admired it.
Chris and Sarah viewed Ellingham Hall in January 2019 and they booked their wedding for December 2020. But lockdown rules meant the wedding was postponed for a year.
Sarah says, “In that time the Hall got even better. I was impressed that you invested so much into improvements, especially when you were forced to turn away weddings.”
Sarah dazzled on the dancefloor when she donned a pair of fairy light angel wings. She says, “They were a present from my Mum on the morning of the wedding after seeing another bride-to-be wear them on my hen do!”
SARAH SAYS….
We viewed 5 or 6 venues in the Northumberland area and as soon as we walked into Ellingham Hall, we got the feeling it was the right place. It sounds clichéd but it’s true. We were planning a winter wedding and we wanted somewhere that felt warm, and we loved the cosy feeling when we viewed it with all the fires lit. The exclusive hire was one of the big attractions as there wasn’t going to be another wedding going on at the same time; it was totally private.
We used local suppliers and found them through word of mouth. Marrime Bridal in Jesmond provided my beautiful dress and veil, and our wintery themed flowers came from Sprig and Thistle who also brought our vision to life with a huge wreath above the fireplace behind the top table, beautiful chair drapes and centre pieces that matched our theme, as did our cake maker Chemily’s Cakes who incorporated our flowers and even some chocolates into the finished design.
We hired a saxophonist quite late on after seeing something on TikTok that we wanted to do, which was them playing me and Chris into the room before the wedding breakfast. They weaved in and out of the guests playing ‘Freed From Desire’! Everyone was on their feet clapping and that set the tone after the ceremony. We had a cardboard cutout of our lovely dog! He’s a bouncy Cocker Spaniel and he would have ruined everyone’s dresses if he’d been there. We made sure other dogs of our guests got a little dog goody bag of treats to takeaway.
It’s hard to choose one thing but I’d say the most memorable bit was the ceremony itself and saying the vows. Our registrar was so lovely and sincere. It felt like I was in a bubble! Chris would say that too, I think, though he might say the party was the best part!
Ellingham Hall were brilliant. We planned our wedding through lockdown, but everything was seamless and relaxed. I thought there’d be an endless list to tell a venue what we needed, but everything was organised in one meeting. We had the ‘night before’ meeting and it was so relaxed; nothing was too much trouble.
It was so magical because getting married in December meant the Hall was beautifully decorated and the trees were gorgeous. We were also the first couple to have the After Dark experience, it was cool and a really good touch. It was a like a mini-after party with our music because you can plug into your own Spotify list.
Our family and guests loved it, too. The night before our wedding it was great. No one had been to a wedding like it where you have the whole venue to yourself, and it spans across a few nights. It was a nice icebreaker for everyone, and they could make the most of the time off work. Everyone loved the food and we got so much feedback from that.
We enjoyed not having to share the venue with other guests like you would in a hotel, so even breakfast the day after felt personal and intimate.
We loved that because it’s not a hotel where you have to share breakfast with other guests the day after your wedding, and we didn’t have to hurry for a check-out time!
Everyone was really friendly, and your team would always be in touch, even through the difficulties of lockdown. It was like clockwork. You can tell the team arrange 3 weddings a week!
Have a spreadsheet so you can keep in line with your budget and plan your day how you want it. Don’t be led by others and keep it to your own vision. You can’t cater for everyone and it’s your day that you want to look back on and have no regrets!
Margarita Hope Photography – https://www.margaritaphotos.com
Dan Lewis from We Were Here – videographer – https://www.wewerehereuk.com
Marrime Bridal – https://marrimebridalwear.co.uk
Chemily Cakes – https://www.chemilyscakes.co.uk
Sprig and Thistle florist and event stylist – https://www.sprigandthistle.co.uk
Suit Culture – https://suitculture.co.uk
Sarah Stonehouse makeup – https://www.instagram.com/f.a.c.emakeupartistry/
Samantha Jane Bridal Hair – https://www.instagram.com/samanthajanebridalhair/
Freak Music Agency (The Emperors Band) – https://www.freakmusic.co.uk
”Thank you so much for your help in hosting and throwing an amazing wedding “weekend” We had an incredible time and all our guests are still raving about it all!. We really couldn’t have done it without your entire team, so thank you x 100000! Hope to see you for a reunion!.’
Fuyumi & Rob Tweddle, 16th May 2022
‘Team Ellingham, thank you so much for everything you did for us. You honestly made the whole weekend as stress free as possible, leaving us to enjoy ourselves and be in the moment. It was the perfect weekend and we are so pleased we picked Ellingham Hall. The most amazing venue and wonderful team.’
Suzanne & Stephen Harris, 23rd April 2022
‘Ben and I just wanted to say the biggest thank you to you all for making our wedding day so special. We genuinely had the best most magical day of our whole lives in the most beautiful setting. So many guests commented on the staff and how lovely you all were, but that at the same time it was like we had Ellingham to ourselves. Debbie you were amazing and the day ran so smoothly down to your fantastic planning. I especially appreciate you keeping me calm before walking down the aisle, I was so nervous but I actually think it was the highlight of the day. Thank you so much Debbie, you are amazing at your job! We also want to say a huge thank you to Charlotte. She made us feel so comfortable and at ease, it really was like having another friend at our wedding. Charlotte really made our day even more special and was outstanding throughout. Thank you all again, we will never forget our wedding day at Ellingham Hall and have the most beautiful memories which we will cherish forever.’
Lucy & Ben Harrison, 2nd August 2022
‘We don’t know where to start in thanking you for making our wedding the most special day. Every detail was perfect, and we could not have asked for anything more. Debbie, we know you have back-to-back weddings, but you made ours feel like the only one which meant so much to us. Our entire wedding party had the most amazing weekend celebrating and we will be forever grateful to you all.’
Sophie & Alex Turvill, 16th November 2021
‘Thank you so much to you all for the purely amazing experience you created for us on our wedding day. From the initial meeting to the departure, everyone we encountered was friendly, knowledgeable, and so welcoming. The planning was made to feel easy as you all had such a relaxing ‘it’s all under control’ manner, that put us at ease and took the stress out of the process. When we arrived the venue was spotless, the rooms excellent and the food fantastic. We would like to pay compliments to Ruth and Alex who were both excellent, they were so friendly, and Alex in particular, really engaged with us and our guests. The wedding day was seamless, far better than we expected it could be, Thank you so much for the last minute confetti solution too, please let us know if we need to pay you for this! We had a wonderful experience and would recommend the venue to anyone, it was amazing. Thank you for such a great wedding.’
Catherine & Mike Smith, 12th April 2022
‘The staff at Ellingham Hall were so supportive throughout the entire nightmare of the pandemic. We had three dates in total and maintained total enthusiasm and support throughout. On the day itself, everything ran so smoothly, the staff were always one step ahead with everything and made our wedding absolutely perfect! The venue, the décor, the food, the service from staff… we couldn’t fault a single thing.’
Ian Ward & James Steward, 18th November 2021
