Topic ID 1563
Has anybody been to, or know of some good wedding venues locally? I was looking at Manor of Groves and Ponsbourne Park? Does anybody have any experience of these? [:)]
Reply ID 19207
quote:I had my wedding reception at Fanhams (Ware) in November 2004, although it has changed hands since then. I've heard very good reports of Ponsbourne too.
Originally posted by Nanny
Has anybody been to, or know of some good wedding venues locally? I was looking at Manor of Groves and Ponsbourne Park? Does anybody have any experience of these? [:)]
Reply ID 19208
If money no object, Hanbury Manor are very good. But cheap they aint.
Reply ID 19209
Hi. I have been to weddings at most of the local venues. The big deciding factor is...how many people do you want to cater for? Manor of Groves is very good for "big" weddings. Up to 200 easy. Any smaller that 175 and you begin to feel that the room is too big for the occasion. Ponsbounre Park is excellent, but size is an issue, again, depends on how many people you are thinking about. Others to think about: Hertford Castle (small) Tewinbury farm (medium) Ware Priory (small or medium) Fanhams hall (small and medium) Hanbury Manor (small medium and large) The White Horse (small/Medium) The Grange (small/medium) Briggins House (small/medium) Personally, I think Ware Priory is the best venue, followed by Tewinbury, but it very much depends on the type of wedding required, and whether the ceremony is to take place at the same venue?
Reply ID 19210
We used Hatfield House Old Riding School. Couldn't fault it. Brilliant organisation, very good venue. As the grounds are open to the public you sort of get more than your money's worth. Also well worth it is hiring the horse and carriage to bring the bride from the gate and for a ten minute trip round the grounds immediately after the ceremony - gives you a few minutes of peace. The only potential downside is that there's no accommodation there, but we really didn't find that a problem.
Reply ID 19211
quote:In my opinion, the place has been wrecked! It one of the best, if not the best, but the sale last year lead to massive cost cutting. I was best man at a wedding there last summer and it was almost comical how many errors and problems there were. Sounds like you got in just in time! [:)]
Originally posted by SMTquote:I had my wedding reception at Fanhams (Ware) in November 2004, although it has changed hands since then. I've heard very good reports of Ponsbourne too.
Originally posted by Nanny
Has anybody been to, or know of some good wedding venues locally? I was looking at Manor of Groves and Ponsbourne Park? Does anybody have any experience of these? [:)]
Reply ID 19215
We had our wedding reception at Tewinbury Farm in October last year. It is a beautiful setting just outside of Hertford. The wedding coordintors are very professional and I can honestly say the whole day went without a hitch. For the evening buffett they advised us on how many people to cater for but the food ran out quite quickly and they speedily made more food for us. It really was a lovely experience [:)] WWW.tewinburyfarm.co.uk
Reply ID 19216
I understand that County Hall are now tendering for wedding venues - new company doing the catering/hospitality - Eurest - and new Marketing Manager keen to offer a good deal at the County Suite.
Reply ID 19217
quote:They have been for a while, but you have to use the in house catering who do the cooking during the week. And I bring a packed lunch. The venue would not be my choice (esp as I work here!) as it is rather tatty. Obviously Fanhams has slumped - I had a fantastic time with no problems, but don't know anyone who married there recently. Also heard good (recent) reports of Tewinbury Farm.
Originally posted by sloopjohnb
I understand that County Hall are now tendering for wedding venues - new company doing the catering/hospitality - Eurest - and new Marketing Manager keen to offer a good deal at the County Suite.
Reply ID 19221
Numbers wise, we are thinking about 100 for a sitdown and 150 in the evening... My biggest problem is finding somewhere with the bar in the same room as the evening reception/disco?
Reply ID 19222
P&I were married at Tewinbury Farm's Tythe Barn last year - also in October (15th)! As previously mentioned by Tulip, the staff are extremely adept, practiced and professional. The Tythe Barn has a minimum of 90 people, the space is plentiful and the barn very beautiful. You also get your own private garden and bar for the event. The maximum number for evening guests is (I think) 200 which we came no-where near! They have a smaller venue called The Stables which has it's own garden and, I think, bar. Give them a call. If you book an appointment to view you will have two weeks to make up your mind if you want to book the room for your chosen date, so do some research first. They also put aside 12 rooms for each wedding party, one of which is complimentary for the B&G. Tulip: which room did you use?
Reply ID 19223
Really cant remember the name of the room as we did not go into the room until after midnight by which time i was totally exhausted (and a bit tipsy!) I think it might have been Otter ?? We got married on the 29th October in the tythe barn.
Reply ID 19224
quote:Aha! I had that debate myself. Off the top of my head.... Manor Of Groves would work well. You could keep the bar side as a lounge area, and seat the rest and that would work well for the numbers you are looking at. It can seat about 200, but you would use the dance floor and bar at the meal time for those numbers. Ware Priory has the bar in the disco area, (thats where I chose to have my wedding), but It might be a little small for your numbers. You can feed approx 90-100, and having the evening upto about 130. You can also hire the whole building and use the second room for the grannies to sit in! Thats what I did, and I could then get the evening numbers up higher. Knebworth barns can also suit your numbers, and works in a similar way as Ware priory. The bar is also in the disco room. Also, they share the same caterers as Ware priory and they are very good. You can make up any menu you wish(I had braughing sausages and mash and a selection of traditional english puddings!) Ponsbourne will be too small for your needs. People will end up spread out. I think you can fit about that amount at tewinbury, but you'd have to check because I'm not 100% on the options. You can rule out Hertford Castle, The Grange, Fanhams Hall, the white horse, Briggins house, as they are too small or have the bar in a seperate room. There are a few others around, but I don't want to give you bad advice, so I'm sure someone else on here can help. The other thing to think about is Venue Vs time of year. Some venues don't have the space in doors to house the guests while the tables are cleared away, and you don't want them standing in the rain! [:)]
Originally posted by Nanny
Numbers wise, we are thinking about 100 for a sitdown and 150 in the evening... My biggest problem is finding somewhere with the bar in the same room as the evening reception/disco?
Reply ID 19225
quote:Hatfield House do that. They also only charge for the wine that's ddrunk (some places charge for all the wine ordered no matter how much was drunk). I'm not totally sure they charged corkage for the champagne that we supplied (if they did it was very cheap).
Originally posted by Nanny
Numbers wise, we are thinking about 100 for a sitdown and 150 in the evening... My biggest problem is finding somewhere with the bar in the same room as the evening reception/disco?
Reply ID 19229
Got married 8 months ago at Ponsbourne. Very good (food excellent) but we only had 63 for the sit down. With 100 the tables would have the max number of guests around them which you may find a squeeze.
Reply ID 19230
You could try the Roebuck in Ware. One big advantage is that they have a seperate bar if it gets too loud...
Reply ID 19233
quote:Blimey - didn't mean that type of room - meant the venue! Can only remember 1.30am & a ground floor single storey building with 4-poster bed and too much champagne, aching feet, knackered and fallen-down hair. Was just being nosey, really, as the prople getting married in the stables had three of their youngish, drunk, male guests trying to crash ours, unfortunately for them the first person they met was P's dad! Very funny![:D] Nanny - if it's your wedding, I recommend getting two different pairs of shoes, one for the morning, one for the evening - it may save your feet!
Originally posted by tulip
Really cant remember the name of the room as we did not go into the room until after midnight by which time i was totally exhausted (and a bit tipsy!) I think it might have been Otter ?? We got married on the 29th October in the tythe barn.
Reply ID 19239
Road tested the Castle last week ' all v professional ' cant really get more than 50 in though.... My best man , usher and the bridesmaid may wish to comment.......
Reply ID 19245
quote:We had slightly less than that at Hatfield, but we didn't fill the available space, so I'm pretty sure they can cater for those numbers.
Originally posted by Nanny
Numbers wise, we are thinking about 100 for a sitdown and 150 in the evening... My biggest problem is finding somewhere with the bar in the same room as the evening reception/disco?