The couple had originally planned to marry in Easter 2020 and Leanne had ordered personalized egg cups to use as favours, however a further two date changes due to the pandemic meant that the wedding took place in August 2022 instead.

Putting their personal stamp on the wedding ran throughout the day – right up until the evening when Leanne pulled on a dazzling jumpsuit in preparation to party the night away.

She says, “I wanted to be more comfortable for the evening. We booked the After Dark experience to extend our party until 2am and I didn’t want to restrict anyone who might be worried about stepping on my train!”

Notes from the Bride

Why did you choose Ellingham Hall?

We viewed quite a lot of wedding venues in the North East. We wanted to find somewhere none of our friends had been married at, as we are all at that age when a lot of our friends are also planning their weddings. We’d never heard of Ellingham Hall but spotted it when going to see another venue, and we are so pleased that we did!

What was your first impression?

When we walked in it felt so friendly, it didn’t feel intimidating. When you walk into some venues, you don’t always get a warm feeling from staff, as it’s just a place where they work. But at Ellingham Hall, we felt we were walking into our home.

As soon as we walked in, we fell in love. We absolutely loved everything about it. And when we found out that you could have a full weekend wedding experience, we thought that would be brilliant.

And did we meet your expectations?

It was even better than I expected! There was a lot of refurbishments that took place at the venue, between the time we booked in 2018 and our wedding in August 2022!

Covid meant we had to move our wedding three times because there were so many postponed weddings that needed rescheduling, but David the General Manager was amazing. He totally got it and what we wanted. David and his team did everything they could to make sure we got everything we originally envisioned. I’ve heard of horror stories from people about other wedding venues in the North East, so I was so thankful that Ellingham Hall’s team and David looked after us so well.

Any standout moments?

The ceremony! The atmosphere was just amazing. Our guests were singing and there was so much confetti – it was outrageous.

So, you created a wedding Instagram account?

I wanted to create a journey from our engagement and planning as something to look back on. But it turned out to be a great forum for chatting about ideas with other brides who were getting married at Ellingham Hall and other wedding venues in the North East. I learnt a lot from it, particularly how lucky we were with Ellingham’s wedding planners, who ensured our wedding plan gave us what we wanted. Not everyone was as fortunate at other venues.

Would you do it all again?

I would! But I would also love to relive it as a guest. Everyone loved it so much and commented on how amazing Ellingham Hall was, particularly the staff, the food… well everything! It’s a real credit to the team. I keep asking friends to get married at Ellingham Hall so we can visit again!

If you are searching for the best wedding venues in the North East, contact our wedding planning team today and let us make your wedding dreams come true!

Credits

Photographer – Focal Point Photography

Videographer – Hello There Films 

Registrar – Northumberland Registrars

Wedding Dress – Alice Elizabeth Bridal 

Flowers – Floral Grace

Décor – The Whole Sch-Bang

MUA – Labelle Vous

Cake – Sugar Chic

Reception Band – Samantha Durnan

Cocktail Hour Music – Glen R Music

Singing Waiters – Waiter Surprise

Evening Band – Hip Operation