National Trust Weddings
The National Trust looks after some of the most historic and beautiful properties in the North East of England and Yorkshire, from Georgian country piles to medieval abbeys, and these places also make for some of the most spectacular wedding venues in the UK.
For couples looking for stunning scenery and properties with enormous heritage then the Yorkshire region is definitely worth considering. Wedding venues available include city centre hidden gems, Yorkshire’s first World Heritage Site and a garden lover’s paradise. For couples who want something a little bit different then the North East can offer a castle on a remote island, a medieval mansion or an 18th century chapel.
National Trust wedding venues in Yorkshire include:
Beningbrough Hall & Gardens
Just 20 minutes from York, this elegant and intimate Georgian house built in 1716 is surrounded by stunning prize-winning gardens and parkland. For garden lovers the walled garden is a riot of colour and perfume throughout the seasons, perfect for that special day. The Victorian conservatory, with its scented foliage plants opens onto the south lawn and is used for your champagne and canapé reception.
The Beningbrough Hall & Gardens Inclusive Wedding Ceremony package includes your ceremony in the Georgian Great Hall, the music, flowers, and a champagne and canapé reception in Beningbrough’s Victorian conservatory and on the south borders. There is also the use of the grounds and Walled Garden for your photographs and the services of the wedding co-coordinator in planning and on the big day. For fifty guests this costs £1,950 plus VAT and the maximum capacity is 80 guests. For 2010 and 2011 only, Beningbrough are also offering the beautiful Walled Garden for exclusive marquee receptions.
East Riddlesden Hall
This wonderful 17th century manor house with formal and wild gardens really is a hidden gem of the Aire Valley. The stunning gardens offer a tranquil and elegant setting for drinks, receptions and of course photos. On Fridays couples can enjoy exclusive use of the hall at East Riddlesden.
The Great Hall provides a stately and atmospheric setting for smaller weddings and ceremonies with a capacity of 35 guests and costs £600. Whilst the large converted, beamed Airedale Barn is suitable for larger groups up to 180 seated. The price of £1,750 includes the civil ceremony in the Great Hall or Barn and full hire of the Barn.
Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden
This is no ordinary wedding venue; this is a magnificent World Heritage Site in North Yorkshire with Cistercian abbey, elegant Georgian water garden and medieval deer park. Founded in 1132 the abbey ruins are the most complete monastic ruins in Britain displaying breathtaking medieval architecture and soaring gothic arches and passages.
Civil wedding ceremonies can take place in the Great Chamber at the Grade I listed Fountains Hall for up to 80 guests. The Great Chamber features an immense 400-year-old carved stone fireplace and remarkable ornate ceiling. The cost for the Great Chamber hire is £805.00 plus VAT and civil ceremony hire. Drinks receptions can take place in a number of stunning and unusual locations including the Elizabethan Walled Garden, Fountains Hall Lawns and the awe-inspiring Abbey Cellarium.
Wedding breakfasts and celebration dinners can take place in the Great Chamber for a maximum of 60 guests. Alternatively the Fountains Restaurant is a large, light and airy space with a dance floor, bar and patio area with views across to the Abbey tower. This restaurant famed for its locally sourced menu has a capacity of 150. Alternatively, during the summer months a truly spectacular marquee site is available just yards from the romantic ruins of Fountains Abbey.
Treasurer’s House
Situated in central York, Treasurer’s House is an oasis of tranquillity in the centre of the city. Built over a Roman road and on the site of the home of the Treasurers of York Minster, this award winning attraction is in the heart of the ancient and intriguing city of York.
Ceremonies can take place in the Great Hall, which has a capacity for 80 and costs £1,000. The Great Hall overlooks an elegant walled garden and is full of 17th-century furniture, pictures and textiles creating the perfect setting for a wedding. You can also have a small reception in the house and garden.
National Trust wedding venues in the North East include:
Wallington
In the heart of Northumberland, magnificent Wallington mansion provides a truly stunning setting for any wedding. Set in evocative Northumberland moorland, Wallington has the perfect combination of fine interiors and extensive and fabulous gardens. Civil ceremonies are licensed to take place within the Central Hall for 60 seated guests who can all admire the famous collection of William Bell Scott paintings of Northumbrian history.
For the reception, couples can choose from the exclusive use of the Clock Tower restaurant with a capacity for 60. Alternatively the huge marquee site gives the flexibility of inviting more guests whilst being surrounded by the magnificent gardens and parkland. The cost to hire the marquee site only is £1,375. For couples who wish to use the Central Hall for a ceremony and hire the marquee site, the cost is £1,950, hire for the ceremony only is £900.
Gibside
The first sight guests will have of this impressive landscape garden is the Column of Liberty rising dramatically high above the treetops. This fabulous wedding venue hosts Anglican weddings for those living within the Diocesan boundary. The intimate and graceful chapel sits at the end of a half mile tree lined Long Walk, along which the bride can travel to the ceremony providing a truly memorable experience.
Evening receptions can be held in a marquee within the stunning 18th-century landscape gardens, if the couple got married in the chapel. The wedding ceremony only cost £1,000; marquee hire and site hire fee from £2,469 plus VAT (prices for 2010); there are also various catering options for drinks receptions and sit down meals which can be tailored to all budgets.
Lindisfarne Castle
Dramatic, romantic, a true fairy tale; Lindisfarne is an atmospheric castle with a difference, for it is perched high on a rocky island crag. This alluring castle overlooks the charming village of Holy Island, a unique tidal island, which is cut off from the mainland twice a day.
For ceremonies, the Ship Room is a barrel vaulted drawing room with a capacity of 30. With delicately detailed windows, a magnificent fireplace and red brick herringbone floor the room has a warm and intimate feel. The price for hire of the Ship Room is £800. For smaller wedding parties the Long Gallery with stone arches and wooden beams has a capacity for 12 and costs £800.
For more information on National Trust properties available for wedding ceremonies or receptions, please visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/weddings.
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Notes to editors:
The National Trust is Europe’s largest conservation charity with 3.7 million members and more than 56,000 volunteers. Each year it welcomes tens of millions of visitors to its historic properties, coastline and open countryside. Our commercial activities raise much needed income to support the charity’s conservation work. The Trust’s income generating activities include shops (both at properties and on the high street), restaurants and cafeterias, plant centres, holiday cottages, a brand licensing programme, corporate partnerships, wedding and function hire, publishing activities and a film location business. Find out more at: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
For further information, please contact Silke Lohmann on silke@exclamationpr.co.uk or
07932 618754 or Jemma Tuomey on jemma@exclamationpr.co.uk.