So how do you start? Well, we did the 3 following things:
- got together guest figures (around 80-120 for us)
- we had a think about what time of year we wanted to get married (possibly on our anniversary - it would be very romantic)
- we thought about what type of venue we would like: contemporary, traditional, barn, castle, house
There also had to be some other factors involved, and any venue would have to fulfill the following criteria:
- it has to be 1-2 hours from Swindon and Salisbury (where are family are)
- it has to have room for the ceremony and wedding breakfast inside (our anniversary is the 8th January - bit too cold for an outside event!)
- it has to have accommodation on site (the further away from Swindon the more rooms we will need - we're trying to keep our lot happy if they have to travel further)
- it has to have atmosphere, quirkiness, character
So from what we wanted we decided to look for country houses and hotels with a bit of character, and first on our list is Orchardleigh house.
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| ORCHARDLEIGH HOUSE |
- looks fantastic from the exterior
- beautiful grounds
- wood burning fireplaces
- nice decoration on the interior
- nice big bedrooms inside the house
- very, very cute little church on its own island
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| View from the wedding breakfast room |
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| The wedding breakfast room |
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| The oriel bedroom |
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| The church on the estate |
- the wedding breakfast room is the only room in the venue for your sit down dinner, dancing, etc.
- we are not thinking of a church ceremony and the only space to hold a civil ceremony is in the hall in the house (don't think I want to get married in a hall)
- the cost does not include the bedrooms and they are only a few bedrooms on site
- the little church is a bit of a walk form the venue so would probably need transport, particularly for older members of the family
- I didn't get the feeling....
So overall we would give Orchardleigh house:
7/10
It just didn't offer us the space that we were looking for, and like I said, it just didn't give me the feeling. Definitely worth a visit so keep an eye on their website for upcoming events.
xx
