“The fun didn’t stop with glitterballs and an ABBA hour, however. A drag show the night before the big day, table captains during the wedding breakfast, late night burgers and the ultimate neon wedding after party, meant their two night wedding experience was non-stop fun!”

NOTES FROM THE BRIDE

Tell us about your Non-Traditional Wedding?

We really wanted our wedding to be just one big party from start to finish. We wanted to look around at any given moment and see everyone we love having fun together. We didn’t set out to have a 70s disco wedding, but as we started planning it just came naturally! At one point my mum, who did all of our decor, came home from a wholesaler with 55 disco balls and it just went from there! We chose most of our suppliers because they really suited our style, so we took inspiration from their Instagram pages and the theme just evolved.

Apart from a Disco, what other Entertainment did you Choose?

The night before our wedding we had a Drag Queen, the gorgeous Whitney Bae, performing in the Entrance Hall by the grand piano after our evening food. We both thought it would be a lot of fun and would get the party vibes going early on!

Not many traditional wedding venues would be happy with you doing things differently, however when we asked Wendy our wedding planner if it would be ok for us to have a drag performance the night before she told us to “go for it!” The team at Ellingham Hall were amazing and so accommodating with our requirements, which made the wedding planning experience so enjoyable.

How did you keep the Party going throughout the Day?

We had an ABBA hour rather than tea and coffee after our wedding breakfast! Normally everyone sits with a hot drink after the meal and starts to feel tired, but we wanted to keep the party going, so our DJ Chris put together an amazing ABBA set for us. Both of our families love ABBA, and they always feature at family parties, so this was one of the highlights of our day.

Also, at each table we had ‘Table Captains’ during the wedding breakfast. We assigned these roles to our most outgoing guests. We gave them each a gift bag which explained that their job was to make sure everyone on their table had a good time. The captains gave out shots for the best dressed, competed to get the best group photo and were tasked to get everyone up dancing after the meal finished. They were also given a Captains hat which went down well – many of them were still wearing them when they came down for breakfast the next day!

Did your Guests enjoy your 70s Themed Wedding?

Our guests loved our wedding and still talk about how fun it was now. We’ve had people tell us that it was the best wedding they’ve ever been to, and we got lots of comments that the meal at Ellingham was the best wedding food they’ve ever experienced.

Lots of our guests were travelling to be with us – some from as far as Norway – so we put together welcome bags for their arrival. In the welcome bags we included advice on what was worth seeing in the local area before driving home. It was lovely that guests were able to make the most of being in the stunning Northumberland countryside.

What was it like having a Winter Wedding?

We met in February, so we wanted to have a winter wedding. While searching for our dream wedding venue we wanted to find a place that was suited to the winter season. There is no doubt that Ellingham Hall would be beautiful in the summer with its picturesque grounds – but it also has such a homely, cosy feel with the roaring log fires and ambient lighting. It was the perfect venue for our winter wedding.

What attracted you to Ellingham Hall?

The homely feel was one of the things we loved about the venue along with the interior decor. The boldness in the reception rooms worked perfectly with our wedding theme too. However, the main thing that attracted us to Ellingham Hall was their award-winning two-night wedding experience. When we were looking around, there were not many wedding venues offering that option. It was a wonderful opportunity to have everybody there the night before, and to extend the celebrations before the wedding day. As soon as we read into their two-day weddings, we knew we had found the right venue.

If you are looking for winter wedding venues in Northumberland or an exclusive two night wedding, contact our team today to arrange a viewing appointment.

Credits

Photographer – From the Smiths Photography

Videographer – Paul Flannigan

Registrar – Northumberland Registrars

Groom Suit – Suit Culture

Bridal Gown – YAP Bridal

Make Up – By Rebecca

Hair – Kara Scott

Cake – Homemade

Event Styling – Flora & Sage Home

Stationary – Fancy Little Favours

DJ – Chris Smith