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30th September 2024
18th May 2024
Gareth and Rachael hoped to find their perfect Church Wedding Venue in the beautiful Northumberland countryside.
Whilst the couple now live in Tynemouth, they previously lived in Northumberland when they were planning their summer wedding celebration. It was important they chose the right venue to fulfil their dreams because of the logistical considerations they had to make for their wider family.
Gareth says, “I’m from the Wirral and Rachael is from Lincolnshire so we needed somewhere with plenty of onsite accommodation as our families were travelling from all over the country.”
Throw in the fact that Rachael had also dreamed of a church wedding, and they both felt there was only one venue that could offer everything they dreamed of
Rachael: We both wanted a traditional wedding, so we decided to book a Church for our wedding ceremony. Ellingham Hall is perfectly situated next to St Maurice Church, and they could also accommodate our families for our two-night wedding celebration.
Gareth: By opting for a church wedding, we had the perfect excuse to hire a vintage car, even though we didn’t have far to travel. We chose a traditional wedding car and wanted to have some photos captured of Rachael’s arrival at the Church and also some portraits taken with the car when we arrived back at the venue for the rest of the wedding celebrations.
Rachael: I really loved the fact that the church was separate from the Hall as it gave us two different places to enjoy on the day. It was also handy for guests as they only had to walk a few minutes through the secret door in Ellingham’s grounds and down a country lane to St Maurice Church. There was a lovely little gate where the confetti was thrown and I thought the setting was gorgeous.
Gareth: We hired a string quartet to play during the ceremony which provided a lovely ambience. Once the ceremony in the church finished, the quartet then headed to Ellingham and played outdoors while we enjoyed cocktails and canapés on the lawn before the wedding breakfast. It was a lovely sunny day, and we made the right choice to have the live music in both the church and at the Hall.
Gareth: We didn’t know Two Night Weddings were a thing before visiting Ellingham Hall. They chatted to us about their two-night wedding experience, and we knew it would be perfect. We viewed four or five venues including Ellingham Hall’s sister venue Lemmington Hall. It too was beautiful, but we needed more accommodation as we had so many family members wanting to stay over for the wedding. Ellingham Hall was the perfect choice, as if we’d chosen one of the other venues, a lot of our guests would have had to stay offsite, which wouldn’t have been ideal.
Rachael: I don’t think many of our guests knew what to expect. I think they thought it would be the same as staying in a hotel. However, on arrival, when they found out that we had Exclusive Use of the Hall and grounds, they absolutely loved it. Having the whole place to yourselves is great because you can relax as if it’s your own home.
Gareth: Everyone was so relaxed for the whole weekend. It was lovely to chill on the wedding morning with my best man and groomsmen and enjoy a beer out on the private roof terrace before heading down to the church for our wedding ceremony
Rachael: Yes, our dog Finley was at the wedding. He’s a golden retriever and he wore a little bow tie, though it was hidden under his fur most of the time! We hired a dog chaperone to bring him to the venue, as he was only about nine months old at the time, so very excitable. It was a good thing that he was able to come along and interact with our guests and we could get photos with him.
Rachael: We go on lots of holidays and our tables were named after places we’d visited with the guests who were sitting on those tables. One table was named Bali, a place where we’d met some of our friends. Our top table was named Rome as that was the city where Gareth proposed to me. All the table names meant something personal to us both.
Rachael: Do all the planning beforehand, but on the day don’t worry about anything because it’s all in the hands of your weddings team. Just relax and enjoy your special day.
Gareth: I’d say to write everything down about what you want and add little bits as you go. We put our own personal touches on things, for example we arranged a game of rounders because Ellingham Hall has great grounds for outdoor activities. We played the game between the wedding breakfast and evening party. We made sure we had written down that we needed a rounders kit. Most importantly, enjoy the whole experience!
If you are looking for an weekend wedding venue in Northumberland or a dog friendly wedding venue, contact our team today to arrange a viewing appointment.
Photo – Phil Smith Photography
Video – Hello There Film
Church – St Maurice Church
Dress – The Ivory Room – design by Justin Alexander
Suits – Moss Bros
Bridesmaids Dresses – Azazie
Hair – Kara Scott Hair
Make Up – Anna McClen & Leanne Allen
Florist – Lavenders Blue
Band – Chameleon
Wedding Cake – The Little Cakery
Wedding Car – A B Wedding Cars
Stationary – Walter & Winnie Paper Studio
String Quartet – Simple Strings
Dog Chaperone – Wishbone Weddings
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“We can’t thank the team at Ellingham Hall enough for going above and beyond on our special day, our day was magical and nothing was impossible. Debbie and Wendy made us feel heard and valued and the staff were fantastic and made sure it all went smoothly. We want to do it all again and we couldn’t have done it without the fantastic team at Ellingham Hall.”
Lyndsay & Ryan Ford, 11th July 2024
“We just wanted to say thank you so much for making our day so amazing the other week, you are all so lovely and it was exactly what we dreamed of! So many guests were in awe of the amazing venue and things like the rooftop cocktail hour made it extra special, we really appreciate it all!”
Elena & Dan O’Hagan, 29th August 2024
Megan and Sam Burgess, 23rd September 2023
“The venue exceeded our expectations. Not only did it offer uniqueness, but exclusivity was a key factor in booking. The main Hall offered lots of space for us to work and we found the delegate rates very competitive. The venue comes highly recommended. “
Lisa Davidson, HR Director – Connect Health
“The hall catered for everything we needed, from the luxury entrance rooms, to the grounds outside, which we used to talk with clients in more detail afterwards. It was exactly what we wanted to allow us to host a presentation of this size. Guests were welcomed with a selection of drinks and canapés in the entrance hall and then again on departure. The seminar itself took place in the Chapel, while the dining room and drawing room provided the perfect spaces clients to relax.
Michael Sage, Director, Sage Wealth Management
“Can’t believe it’s been 2 months since our big day! We’re finally off on our honeymoon, so wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for all your help in creating our special day. The venue was perfect, service excellent, food yummy, den amazing, rooms beautiful – everyone had the best time.”
Rebecca & Daniel Askew, 28th May 2024
