Tag Archive: two night wedding venue

Front of House Manager goes the extra ‘smile’ to make your Northumberland wedding special!

As well as being an exclusive wedding venue in the heart of Northumberland, Ellingham Hall boasts a great award-winning team whose mission is to ensure that each wedding is one to remember, for both the couple and their guests.

Fronting that team is our Front of House Manager, Charlotte Langston, who was appointed back in February this year. She brings a depth of experience in hospitality and events and has quickly become a well-respected and extremely valued member of the Ellingham Hall family.

Charlotte, originally from Yorkshire has formed a great bond with her team since moving to Northumberland with her husband, who has been posted to RAF Boulmer

She says, “I studied event management at university and became a Building and Conference Manager in Doncaster until we relocated up to Northumberland. When I saw a position at Ellingham Hall for a wedding coordinator, I had to apply. My family have always said they could see me planning weddings!”

During her interview, our General Manager David, was greatly impressed by her friendly personality and customer service skills. Recognising these valuable strengths, David felt Charlotte would be perfect for a front facing, Event Manager position, to which we are delighted she accepted the role.

Being part of the Ellingham Hall family has been a bonus for Charlotte since she started. She says, “If I’m honest, working here has been a huge help, as I’ve got no family or ties in the area. Finding another family through my work, which I love, has made all the difference.”

But David and the team are not the only ones who are appreciating Charlotte’s lovely character, dedication and strong customer service skills, she’s been wowing our couples and their guests too.

Alexia and Chris, who tied the knot back in May say “we want to thank Charlotte for her amazing organization and commitment the night before and on the wedding day. She did an amazing job, just knew what needed doing, suggested better ways of doing things and just put me at ease.’,

Another of our of lovely couples, Lucy & Ben Grieves who married in August commented ‘We also want to say a huge thank you to Charlotte, she made us feel so comfortable and at ease, it really was like having another friend at our wedding. Charlotte really made our day even more special and was outstanding throughout. Thank you all again, we will never forget our wedding day at Ellingham Hall and have the most beautiful memories which we will cherish forever.’

For more details about how our Front of House team can help your wedding be one to remember, contact us today or book a viewing!

A Wedding Suite steeped in History and Romance

Lady B’s Wedding Suite

When choosing to marry at Ellingham Hall, you’re experiencing more than just a luxury wedding venue in the heart of Northumberland you’re immersed in history.

And for couples who tie the knot here, they’re walking in the footsteps of a member of high society when enjoying the Wedding Suite, Lady B’s Suite.

Belinda Ann de Marie Haggerston the eldest daughter and heiress of Sir Carnaby Haggerston was the last of the landed family to live at Ellingham Hall before it became an education establishment.

Such was Belinda Ann’s standing in society, the announcement of her engagement in 1955 to the distinguished Peter Gadsden was the cover story of Country Life magazine.

After her marriage, she became Belinda Ann de Marie Haggerston Gadsden, keeping her connection to the heritage of the famous Northumberland family. The couple went on to have four daughters and Peter became known as a globe trotting trader, who was also the Lord Mayor of London between 1979 and 1980. Indeed, Peter eventually added the name Haggerston to his name such is the importance of the family.

Room with a view and more

While we were unable to host weddings during the pandemic, we decided it was the right time to carry out some renovation work at Ellingham Hall. One of the rooms to be given a refresh was Lady B’s Wedding Suite.

Reflecting the genteel nature of a time gone by, the suite has been sympathetically decorated in the sumptuous styling that would have been enjoyed at Ellingham Hall in it s early years. It also boasts everything you would expect of a modern, luxury wedding venue.

As well as offering a place to rest, brides also get the chance to relax and experience the stunning grounds from the oriel, south facing window, where the sophisticated lady of the house is likely to have once reclined. It’s certainly a wonderful way to start your wedding day!

Brides also have a treat in store: a discreet lavish dressing room where they can prepare for the ceremony in style. And it’s big enough for up to 8 bridesmaids to join them.

History meets modern day

Owner Helen Ruff says, “We wanted to build a bridge by recognising a significant former resident and period in time, but also ensuring modern tastes and requirements were met. So, the room has classic French style furniture and lavish fabric curtains, cushions and drapes that suit s the room perfectly and is very romantic.

“One of the joys of Lady B’s Suite is the dressing room. When couples view the suite and see it leads into the dressing room it’s always a lovely surprise.”

If you would like to experience Lady B’s Suite and walk in the footsteps of history for yourself, contact our team today to arrange a visit to Ellingham Hall.

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.

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!

Winter Wedding Colour Trends & Venues

Winter Wedding Colour Trends

When thinking of winter wedding colour trends and winter wedding venues, many automatically think of the festive season with full-bodied colours including deep reds, bold burgundy’s, flashes of gold and of course, towering Christmas trees, but what about the remaining Winter months?

At Ellingham, many of our couples choose to marry in the first few months of the year and we offer free of reduced priced venue hire. So look no further than style inspiration for the winter season showcased through some of our favourite weddings over those colder and frosty months.

Frosted Pastels

Once upon a time, pastel tones were the ‘go-to’ for all summer weddings, but recently frosted takes on the palette have led to the most magical of winter trends for couples.

Images by Katy Melling Photography

When it comes to flowers, opt for white anemone, blue thistles and the unmistakable brunia berries to create the dreamiest of bouquets. When Jenn and Ed married back in February, their chosen frosted pastel tones perfectly complimented the snow dusted grounds on the morning of their wedding. With florals by The Blossom Bee florist, the styling couldn’t have been any more perfect for the Winter.

Images by Helen Russell Photography

Crisp, classic styling

Looking for romantic and timeless styles, combining soft whites with natural organic hints of green gives the perfect fairy-tale seasonal wedding. These elegant and contemporary tones give a polished finish to all elements of a wedding day. Combining this colour palette with lots of textures and layers gives an overall luxurious feel to weddings in this season.

Ellingham Hall’s beautiful sage and stone colourings in the Chapel couldn’t be more perfect to complement this type of styling. Combine these colours with magic worked by The Whole Sch-Bang and you have your very own Mediterranean Winter right here in Northumberland.

Images Carn Patrick Photography

Pops of Colour

From pops of pink to vibrant purples, who says a winter wedding means your colours needs to be predominately white! From bouquets to bridesmaid dresses, we’ve seen some amazing pops of colours during these months. When it came to Olivia and Matthew’s wedding their bright colours injected bursts of beauty into the Hall and everywhere you looked, you saw a colourful array of arrangements to their mid-week winter wedding experience.

Images Rosie Davidson Photography

Textures and Layers

Adding layers is a simple, yet effective way to add elegance and style to the winter months. But where do you start? Would it be winter without a shawl? Although shawls and snugs are never a necessity during the season, they always add a touch of glamour on the day.

With a whole range to choose from including vintage capes which gives hint of romance, to the stylish and modern wraps which are perfect for the modern bride wanting to add that touch of warmth to day. Check out Accent Original in Newcastle’s Mosley Street, or Epernay Bridal in Melton Park Gosforth for style inspiration!

Wanting to add a luxurious finishing touches? Try finishing off your bouquets with hand tied delicate silk ribbons or even to complete your wedding cake – perfectly tying together elements of your wedding day into your scheme.

Magical lighting and Feel for Fire

As the nights draw in over the winter months, we guarantee you’ll want to get creative with lighting. Why not use fairy lights and copper LED’s to add glowing touches to centrepieces, glow up your favourite spirits or even dramatically light areas of the venue you love – who says fairy lights are just for Christmas time?

Due to the popularity of our weddings over the winter season, we’re pleased to offer atmospheric festoon lighting draped across our beautiful Chapel along with our fabulous firepit perfect for toasting marshmallows and for those show-stopping magical sparkler shots as optional extras. You can also enjoy festoon lighting in the Chapel terrace for an dramatic ambience along with the roaring fires in our homely Reception Rooms.

Feeling inspired? Take a look at our Winter Real Weddings gallery HERE for more inspiration in the winter months, or speak to our team on securing your dream winter wedding date on sales@ellingham-hall.co.uk.