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9th June 2022
Here at Hotspur 1364, we are a multi national award winning menswear boutique based in Alnwick, in the heart of Northumberland. Established in 2014, we have dressed thousands of grooms and groomsmen over the years.
We deliver style advice to help chaps build a unique stand out image by sourcing tailored, personal and designer collections to compliment, enhance and profile their style.
Should the bridegroom and his groomsmen choose the style of the suits? NO, NO, NO!
It’s your choice who you take to choose your suits but our experience is that groomsmen, believe it or not, do have a tendency to behave a bit like divas.
They quite often cajole you into something you didn’t really want with their own opinions and choices heavily influencing your decisions. Also, it’s difficult to please all the people all of the time, so the debates can become quite intense, especially if you have a lot of groomsmen.
What we find works best is that you and your partner should go together wit h an open mind and simply try on lots of different suits and combinations. We encourage you to take pics and then make a final decision on your look for the big day.
THEN the fun stuff happens…
We book you in for your VIP fitting experience with all your groomsmen in our private showroom (there’s complimentary cold beers too!) and we encourage you to try and make a day or evening of it. A lot of our grooms book one of the many fabulous local bars for food afterwards and make sure you’re not the designated driver!
We pull a selection of sizes together and get the lads all sorted, tucked and pinned ready for our in house tailor to make you all 100% perfect. We make sure the experience is as painless and stress free as possible.
Is it better for to go with a classic look as it never dates? The choice is absolutely yours! We are happy to style you any which way you see fit, and our huge range ensures there is something for everyone, from tweed to tuxedo, mix and match, a three piece suit or simply a jacket and waistcoat. Whatever your vibe, we have a style to suit.
You maybe thinking that suits are just for weddings and other formal occasions, but, in fact, they can be worn whenever you want. Suits aren’t just for special occasions like your wedding day, or job interviews they’re also great for other everyday events, such as going to work or hanging out with friends. Suits are easy to wear and dress up or down accordingly.
A blazer, polo shirt and chino combination are now a staple wardrobe go to for the modern man about town these days, just as is a suit trouser with a smart sharp shirt. View your suit as an investment piece that can be utilised time and time again.
Personally, we believe there’s nothing better than a crisp white shirt with your suit.
Colours are great too, but nothing beats the ‘ factor than a white one for us.
Our other top tip for shirts is to buy new and all from the same brand or shop! We’re often bamboozled by the boys’ thought processes regarding shirts: they’re happy to spend a sizeable amount of money on a suit only to pull an old white shirt out of their wardrobe to wear with it!
Please, please, make and extra effort for a new shirt…it really does make all the difference.
Again, this is personal taste. We feel that the way suits have evolved over the years and have moved away from your simple two button black, navy or grey, the
groomsmen can stand alone and still have a dramatic effect. Sometimes a matching tie and pocket square in the chosen colour scheme is more than enough to bring the look together.
We are asked a lot if the groom should look slightly different, so he stands out from the rest of his groomsmen. This is easily achieved with perhaps a contrast waistcoat or a different colour tie. But we also feel everyone knows who the main man is, so there’s no need to make him different to stand out.
Pre pandemic, leaving the suit shopping until the last minute was not a problem, with stock supply in abundance and a supply chain that was slicker and quicker than Lewis Hamilton in last year’s F1. You could quite easily walk in the day before your wedding and get fixed up.
Unfortunately, times have changed, so if you have your heart set on a particular style and colour it would not be daft to start looking 12 months in advance
Supply chain is still difficult but also prices are increasing almost monthly. I know a lot of you chaps will be looking to lose weight or work out prior to the wedding, so you look your best on the big day, which is often the reason for putting back the suit purchasing until nearer the wedding.
Don’t worry we have an in house tailor who can easily tweak, take up, in, out and down to ensure you look perfect on your day.
We’ve only a couple of tips here. Firstly, have a decent breakfast to set you up for the day and try not to have too much alcohol at least until the important bit is over.
Make sure you have done up the INSIDE button on your waistcoat, so it stays in place for the day, and remove all mobile phones from trouser pockets for the photographs.
Finally, RELAX and ENJOY the day.
If you’ re looking to dress your groom, visit Hotspur 1364 in Alnwick or visit hotspur1364.co.uk For details about our wedding venue in Northumberland and to book a viewing, fill in our contact form.
“I booked a lunch party at Ellingham Hall for a very discerning group comprising of generous supporters of a local charity. We were 27 people and we enjoyed a Champagne reception before a delicious three course lunch. Wendy and her team could not do enough for us, our every request was granted. Dietary requirements were very efficiently and creatively dealt with and the result was a most enjoyable event at a price I was very satisfied with. I would definitely use Ellingham Hall again for a function like this.”
Jon Radgick
“To everyone at Ellingham hall. A massive thank you to you all for such an amazing day! From arriving on Wednesday Debbie and Charlotte looked after us right up to the moment we left. The day was absolutely perfect and was planned to perfection by the Ellingham team, our friends and family have commented on how lovely all of the staff were and could not of done more.
The food was amazing from the sharing boards the night before to the fish and chips we were eating cold at 1am! The venue has so much character and we fell in love with from the second we walked up the driveway on that very first visit.
Thank you all so much again for one of the best days of our lives, we want to relive it all over again!”
Amanda Murphy & Christopher Fairley 24th November 2022
“Wow we don’t even know where to start, as you can imagine we have been in such a bubble ever since our big day. Our wedding day was everything we wished for and more. You guys are just amazing and we can’t thank you all enough, from our first day coming to view to the planning process to our big day, everything just ran so smoothly, you guys have been an absolute credit. Yous have helped us in so many ways. Yous have listened to everything we asked. And our day was beautiful because of that. Not only did we have the most amazing day, our guests did too, we have had so many comments back saying “it’s the best wedding I’ve ever been to” “that is how you do a wedding” “the staff were all amazing” “this venue is stunning” it’s just incredible, very overwhelming but we’ll be forever grateful for that. Big big thank you to you and David for being with us on the morning of our wedding making sure everything is running smoothly. Big big thank you to Alicia for all her help and support. And to every other Ellingham staff member present on our big day, thank you because without all of you guys we wouldn’t have had any of that! I wish we could just do it all again, it was perfect! Forever grateful.”
Stephanie & David Armstrong, 2nd September 2023
“We like to do something different, and Ellingham Hall is certainly out of the ordinary. We had a fantastic time for our staff party and team building. The activities were fantastic and enabled us to get our teams mixed up and get everybody bonding and having a good time together in an amazing environment. We would recommend Ellingham Hall to anyone, the guys here are fantastic.”
Ben Quigley, Group Chief Executive – Everything Different Marketing
“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 venue was immaculately presented and very welcoming. Easy to find just off the A1, with plenty of parking next to the meeting rooms and closer space to unload equipment. The area provided for breakout/coffee/lunch had plenty of room and was a relaxed environment, which gave delegates the chance to meet each other before the conference. The food and drink was plentiful, and of a good standard. The meeting room itself was well equipped and a nice size for our group, not to feel crowded, but also not lost as can happen in large rooms. The staff were on hand all day and happy to help with any of our requests.”
Karro Food Group Rep
