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Tag Archive: country wedding venue

How Our Outdoor Wedding Ceremony Dream Came True!

Marie & Rob

5th May 2022

As Marie and Rob visited potential wedding venues in Northumberland, one vision became clear – they wanted an exclusive outdoor wedding ceremony and even though a devastating storm meant our team had a bit of unexpected work to do, the couple enjoyed the outdoor wedding of their dreams.

Notes from the couple

Marie explains, “We’re really good friends with our photographer and he gave us a list of potential venues. Ellingham Hall was on the list and the one we liked most because it gave us so many options. I really liked the idea of getting married outside.”

Rob says that we were first on the list, they visited 15 venues and knew Ellingham Hall was the right place. “There were a lot of reasons: how well we got on with our wedding planner, the homely, family feel of the place and the grounds available for an outdoor ceremony. None of the other venues had the outdoor wedding ceremony spaces and they couldn’t guarantee you wouldn’t have people from other weddings wandering around the venue and grounds.

“Ellingham Hall also offered the full package as it’s an exclusive use venue, which we wanted because of the number of guests who wanted to stay.”

 Marie adds that unlike other venues, the fact couples have access to the entire estate means you and your guests are always in one place, which makes it less stressful.

 “At another venue, the groom and his party had to leave and stay in accommodation down the road, while the bride was getting ready. But Ellingham Hall has two wedding suites and lots of space for everyone, so you can be away from each other but still within the house or grounds.”

And it was the grounds that really convinced Marie and Rob, who married in May 2022, that we were the perfect venue for their outdoor wedding. Even though Storm Arwen meant that a tree at the spot they wanted their ceremony was uprooted leaving residual damage, in true Ellingham style our team pulled out all the stops (and trunk!) to make their dreams come true.

Marie remembers, “We came about five weeks before the wedding and I spotted that there was a problem: a tree had fallen where we wanted our guests to be positioned and we were worried about it not being safe”.

“The team at Ellingham Hall showed us other areas where we could marry, but we had our heart set on that spot. So, the team said they would sort it out for us.”

Rob says that they had dreamt of their ceremony at that spot – and the Ellingham Hall team had made their dream come true.

 “Marie had a vision in her head and even though the storm had made things difficult, everything was done to make sure we could use that area,” he says. “It even rained on the day and at one point we weren’t sure if we could go outside.

 “David, the General Manager, said he’d wait until the very last minute to make the decision as he was worried about the seats being too wet to sit on and ground softness. In the end, the rain stopped, and the guests all commented on how special it felt being stood throughout the ceremony. It had a very informal feel and guests said they enjoyed being able to move around and mingle.”

 Marie agrees that the whole wedding has led to amazing comments from their guests: “The feedback from our guests has been fantastic and we want to thank you all for making our wedding dream come true.”

If you are searching for wedding venues in Northumberland for the perfect wedding celebration with family and friends, contact our wedding planning team today.

Credits

Photographer – Fyzal

Registrar – Northumberland Registrars

Dress – I Do

Hair – Lauren Hornsby 

MUA – Nikki Newman

Suits –Woven Durham 

Bridesmaids Dresses – Purbelle

Decor – The Whole Sch-Bang

Cake – Mrs Bou-cakes

Cheese Cake – Mouse Trap Cheese 

DJ / Lighting – Anthony ‘AJ’ Little 

Body & Fitness Transformation – Tactical Transformations

 

Venue Hunting: Getting to know your potential venue

Getting to know your potential venue

So you’ve just started your wedding venue search and have shortlisted a number of venues which seem perfect for you both, but what do you do next? The next step in any wedding planning journey is to take a tour of the venues you’re interested in, get a feel for how they flow, how they operate, and where possible, meet the team behind the scenes.

Depending on the venue, there may be a whole host of options available to you.

So you’ve just started your wedding venue search and have shortlisted a number of venues which seem perfect for you both, but what do you do next? The next step in any wedding planning journey is to take a tour of the venues you’re interested in, get a feel for how they flow, how they operate, and where possible, meet the team behind the scenes.
Depending on the venue, there may be a whole host of options available to you.

Types of tours:

  • Tours in person
  • Zoom/guided tours
  • 360 virtual tours

Like many venues, at Ellingham, we host a number of tours to help make the venue hunting experience as easy and enjoyable as possible, so whether you’re a 20-mile, or a 200-mile journey away, you get a real feel for the Hall.

Tours at the venue

Undoubtably, the most popular type of tour is a visit to the venue in person. As well as seeing the space first-hand, it gives you a great opportunity to visualise your day and importantly, you’ll also get the opportunity to meet the team. Industry heavyweight Bridebook says, aside from a venues aesthetics, the most important factor when booking a venue is the team.

Hamish Shepard, Owner of Bridebook, explained; “Couples want to know that you are genuinely nice people, that they can trust you and have confidence you are there to give them the greatest day of their lives.”

At Ellingham we aim to make sure, the team who take your round on your first look of the venue, also continue with you on wedding planning Journey.

“As soon as we walked through the door, we knew Ellingham was the right venue for us. It was really warm and cosy, with all the fires roaring and Anthony, the Managing Director who we met on our first visit, was just so lovely and down-to-earth! We were greeted with big mugs of hot tea and sat by the fire in the blue room for our initial conversation and didn’t want to leave. The service we received from our very first visit at Ellingham Hall wildly outdid any other venue we saw…and we saw a lot!” – Ami & Kam

Booking an appointment is often easy to do by requesting a viewing online and many may even have a designated page on their website to book and viewing slot.

Zoom tour appointments

Over the past year, we’ve seen a surge in virtual engagement in the wedding and hospitality sector. In a market which was once dominated by face-to-face interaction.

As wedding Industry Expert Kelly Mortimer explains, “Even post-Covid, we envisage couples viewing less venues in person and only going on site to see their top one or two!”

Although at Ellingham we’ve always offered the opportunity for a virtual tour appointment, with many of our couples being based out of region and abroad, this year we took the opportunity to invest in technology, to enhance the virtual venue experience for couples.

Wendy Sproul, our Head of Weddings explains, “I genuinely love welcoming people into our Hall whether that’s over Zoom or through our front doors. Anyone who knowns me, knows how much of a people person I am, and looking after our couples is what I do best.”

“Remember from the minute you walk through the door, be that in person or virtually, you need to feel welcomed and feel right at home.”

Virtual Appointments can be booked online, and our multi-award winning team would be happy to take you on a guided tour of our beautiful venue.

360 Degree Tours

Many venues are now able to offer 360-degree tour simulations of their venues, allowing you to wander through spaces by click and drag technologies – this allows for a fully immersive viewing experience. The best part about Our 360 virtual tour at Ellingham, is many of our couples use this tool to show to family members, or close friends as this can be accessed any time. The only downside to using this channel is many venues, like us at Ellingham, are continually investing in the in the venue, so you’ll find exciting changes season to season, year on year.

Ultimately, the ‘getting to know your venue’ element of your wedding journey is often down to what works best for you both as a couple; whether that is based on preference, location and of course, the time you have available to look into each venue. Never be afraid to approach a potential wedding venue, and if you can’t get in to view with them in person right away, try a virtual tour first and then you’ll know if they’ll be worth the wait!