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Tag Archive: top wedding team

Events team shortlisted for top award

This year we’ve been thrilled to receive several awards at the venue for outstanding beauty and for the opportunities the venue provides, not just to couples looking to book their dream wedding, but to corporate clients looking at venue facilities with a difference. Now, it’s our wonderful team who host all of our fantastic events who have hit the headlines.

Shortlisted as Regional Finalists at The Wedding Industry Awards 2020, our team has successfully made it through to the regional finals for Events Team of the Year.

Whether it’s starting from the very early planning stages of a wedding, to forming skeleton ideas for corporate away days, it’s our passionate team who turns these outline plans into reality, sharing experience, creative flare and always ensuring the highest levels of customer service.

Incredibly proud of every member of our Ellingham Hall family, we will find out on 11th November if our team lifts the regional title at a glittering awards ceremony in Newcastle’s Vermont Hotel and whether the Team will go on to the very grand National final.

The Team would like to extend a big thank you to every couple who took the time to nominate them during the voting stages and we’ll be sure to keep you updated on the results.

Anthony shortlisted for North East Employee Award

North East Employee Award

Our General Manager, Anthony Hunter, isn’t one to boast! So, we’ll do that for him – because he has been shortlisted for a very special award.

Anthony has been named as one of only five to make the finals for Outstanding Service in the North East Employee of the Year Awards.

The annual awards aim to recognise and value the contribution employees make to businesses in the region by celebrating their achievements.

Among the categories is the award for Outstanding Service. The award will be presented to the employee who has consistently demonstrated excellent service, to fellow employees and clients alike, but who has also gone that extra mile.

The judges will be looking for:

  • Evidence of excellent customer service and going above and beyond.
  • Examples of how value has been added.
  • Feedback from customers regarding service given.
  • The impact the candidate has had on customer service in the business.

Anthony has been an integral part of Ellingham Hall for 10 years now, and we know he is always giving outstanding service – whether that’s towards the rest of his team or to our clients.

We will find out if Anthony is successful at a glittering ceremony on Friday 29th November at Newcastle’s Crowne Plaza Hotel.

We wish him the best of luck, but we know that whatever the outcome, Anthony is a star in all our eyes.

Ben appointed as Head of Maintenance

Head of Maintenance

We are delighted to announce that we’ve appointed Ben Larson as Head of Maintenance! Ben has been with us for four years and helps look after the grounds and Hall.

Ben was given the promotion from his job as Maintenance Engineer after our previous Head of Maintenance moved to new pastures. We were very pleased when Ben said he would take the step up.

Ben, a local resident his whole life, has had a varied career including working as a ground worker, delivery driver and farmhand before coming to work at Ellingham Hall. Not only does he look after the Hall and grounds but also looks after its sister venue Lemmington Hall too.

We caught up with Ben to find out how he is finding his new role. He said: “I really enjoy working at Ellingham Hall. I love the fact every day is different. At the moment I’m fitting new door locks, but last week I was decorating three bedrooms and fitting new windows.
“It’s a lovely place to work, in fact it’s the best place I’ve worked. I fix most things along with the maintenance team, including plumbing. As well as the fabric of the building, we’re responsible for the security and safety of guests and staff here.”

As an essential part of the team that works behind the scenes, we were delighted when Ben agreed to be promoted. Like the rest of our family, he’s a hard worker and we are thrilled that he enjoys his work.

Two Heads are Better than One!

It’s only the second month of the year, but we’re starting 2019 on a high!

We’re delighted to officially welcome two new members to our growing team – and we’ve also recently scooped another award.

Firstly, we are delighted that Lynn Sanderson and Rachel Barlow have joined our team in two posts that we have created to help boost our future growth.

Lynn has joined our team as Corporate Sales and Marketing Manager and is looking forward to arranging events for businesses and private parties.

Whether it is for a product launch, conference, team-building or special meetings and events, Lynn will be going out across the region to explain just why Ellingham Hall is the perfect venue.
She says, “Unlike a hotel, if you arrange business events at Ellingham Hall you won’t have to share the venue with other delegates. The exclusivity and flexibility are what differentiate Ellingham from other venues.

“I’m looking forward to meeting businesses across the region and I’m sure they will be excited by what we have to offer.”

Lynn has worked in the events industry for seven years and has been involved in sales and marketing roles in various sectors for 18.

As well as the corporate market, Lynn will be arranging a calendar of events at the Hall to provide opportunities for people to come and enjoy the Hall and its wonderful surroundings, as well as the amazing food from our Head Chef.

In the past, the only way to enjoy the Hall was to be invited as part of a wedding party, but with events including Sunday Lunch for Mother’s Day, an Easter family fun day and a Father’s Day laser clay experience, we’re looking forward to welcoming even more guests throughout the year.

In January Rachel was appointed as Wedding Marketing and Communications Manager to raise further awareness for Ellingham’s first-class wedding service, in the North East and beyond.

Rachel has been working in the marketing and events sector for almost 10 years now and over the last two years has worked exclusively in the wedding industry.

She says, “It’s so great to be starting at a venue which boasts so many gorgeous spaces and with a multi-award winning and experienced team alongside me.

“Ellingham Hall is such a beautiful venue both inside and out. From rooftop terraces and cascading waterfalls, to our spacious reception rooms and historic Chapel, it’s a joy to be part of something really special.”

It’s going to be an exciting year, and we can’t wait to welcome you.

On a final note, we were officially named Northumberland’s Most Outstanding Luxury Wedding Venue in the Global Luxury Hotel & Spa Awards 2019, which is organised by exclusive magazine Lux Life.

Our General Manager Anthony celebrates 10th year in the post!

Our General Manager Anthony has celebrated his 10th year in the post. So, we thought we’d catch up with him and find out more about his past decade.

What have been the highlights of 2018 for Ellingham Hall?

There are three things that stand out: we’ve had our busiest ever summer with weddings! Our Head of Weddings, Wendy, was named Wedding Co-ordinator of the Year in the North of England Wedding Awards. And we officially launched the venue for corporate events. It has been very eventful, but I’ve enjoyed it.

What has been your biggest challenge this year?

As this has been the busiest summer, the biggest challenge has been on logistics. It was essential to ensure our guests’ expectations were met or exceeded, but it was equally important to look after and support our team.

What has been your proudest moment?

It was when Wendy, our Head of Weddings won her award! As well as being proud of her, I was also proud of the fact the whole team had been recognised for the service we deliver. We pride ourselves on our service, and this award highlighted that effort.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on an exciting new venture! We will be launching our sister venue Lemmington Hall, as an exclusive-use event space next year, so I’ll be very busy with that. We are also arranging a calendar of events to enable the public to experience Ellingham Hall. As an exclusive-use venue, there isn’t the same chance to visit like you can with a hotel. If you’ve been a guest or a client in the past, we want to welcome you back. It will give you the chance to relive some great memories! We’re also working on building on the success of the corporate launch.

Tell us about your team?

I’m fortunate to have in place strong Heads of Departments, all of whom have been with me for between four and nine years. I appreciate it’s quite unusual in this industry to work with people for so long, and I hope that length of service shows how well we get on, and that we are a genuine team. I also think the key is mutual respect and listening to them. Their opinions and work are valued, and that’s what has helped make Ellingham Hall what it is today.

As we plan for further growth in 2019 and 2020, I recognised that we needed additional experience in marketing and sales and have made two new appointments in Lynn Sanderson and Rachel Barlow. I’m looking forward to working with them for many years to come!

How do you keep ahead of the competition in such a competitive sector?

We were one of the first exclusive-use wedding venues in Northumberland, and in that time, we’ve focused on customer experience, retained our exclusivity, and our attention to detail hasn’t wavered. It’s important to move with demand and offer a high-quality service at a good price. We listen to our customer feedback to help us improve where we can.

What services do you offer?

Exclusive weddings, corporate and special events; private parties; private dining and holiday cottage breaks.

Where do you see the business in 12 months’ time?

We should have experienced the planned growth and launched our second venue, Lemmington Hall, ready for trading in 2020.