fbpx

Adele & Victoria’s Day At Our Essex Wedding Venue

Essex wedding venue

Real Wedding Blog – Victoria and Adele

It’s been quite a while since we shared a real wedding story from our Essex wedding venue so today’s blog post feels extra special. We’re looking at the beautiful nuptials of one of the loveliest couples we’ve had the fortune of coming across, the wonderful Victoria and Adele Hughes. Victoria and Adele met three years ago at Brighton Pride, August 2014 through mutual friends. Victoria said, “we all met up and the moment we saw each other, we fell for one another and haven’t really spent a day apart since” and the rest they say is history…

The Venue

When it came to choosing the venue, Adele and Victoria knew exactly what they wanted. Victoria explains, “We wanted somewhere solely exclusive to us. Adele had googled some places near to where we lived and That Amazing Place came up. As soon as we visited, we knew that it was the one.” Here at That Amazing Place, we often find the fact that being an exclusive use wedding venue sets us apart from so many others. Our country house wedding venue was indeed exclusively Victoria and Adele’s for their special day too and what’s more, Victoria added, “there was nothing we needed to do to the venue. It was perfect as it was”. Victoria pointed out they were after a “less is more” kind of feel. It wasn’t just the venue itself that drew them here, the service was also a big pull as they both complimented the service from Paul and Jane, “from start to finish, Paul and Jane always made us feel welcome and was more than happy to facilitate our needs. The whole day was just perfect and a day we’ll never forget.”

Theme and Entertainment

As we previously mentioned, the reason Adele and Victoria loved our country house wedding venue so much (exclusivity aside) was that they enjoyed the ‘less is more’ feel. Though their wedding wasn’t without a certain style with the pair opting for a real vintage theme, which included a fantastic sweet cart and a vintage photo booth. When it came to their entertainment, they used a company called JF Weddings whom they’d spotted at a wedding fair in Dunmow. He sang during reception drinks to entertain guests and also sang for their first dance. For the rest of the evenings entertainment, they hired a DJ to ensure their guests danced the night away.

Catering

For their catering, Adele and Victoria used one of our recommended suppliers, Premier Crew Hospitality. They chose canapés with reception drinks, which included mini prawn cocktails, Welsh rarebit, tomato and mozzarella skewers and vegetable spring rolls. They then enjoyed a BBQ for their wedding breakfast with an array of dishes to cater for their guests. Sarah at Premier Crew Hospitality even provided brioche buns for the burgers, along with gluten free buns at their request. For desserts, the girls chose chocolate brownies, Eaton mess as well as mango and passionfruit meringue. For the evening, they enjoyed mini takeaways with fish and chips in cones, chicken and pittas as well as pizza. Victoria had this to say about our recommended caterers, “what we liked about Premier Crew Hospitality was the fact that they were coming round to the guests with the evening food. Sarah and her team were superb and every guest went away happy and well fed.”

With Adele picking her suit from Asos, Topman and Curtis Hawes, and Victoria picking her bridal gown from Rock The Frock, these two beautiful women were guaranteed to look nothing short of stunning and the photos captured by the ever-talented Nigel Read Photography, only prove that fact. We couldn’t have been more pleased to witness such a beautiful ceremony and wish Victoria and Adele all the best for the future.

Photo Credit: Nigel Read Photography

An Autumn Wedding At Our Country House Wedding Venue

country house wedding venue

Autumn will soon be upon us at That Amazing Place, a country house wedding venue nestled in the heart of Essex, and what a season it is. Autumn is all about bringing the outside in so why don’t you celebrate the annual falling of the golden leaves by featuring beautiful coppers, burnt oranges and even rust tones in your wedding colour scheme?

Autumn Inspired Centrepieces

Autumn is the perfect time to start keeping things natural, highlighting the beauty of the season in your autumn wedding décor. Look at seasonal fruits and vegetables such as red apples, pumpkins and even wheat (perfect for those wanting a more country inspired wedding) in order to form running centerpieces. You can ensure they pack a real punch by piling them on top of things such as wooden crates and positioning them at the entrance of your venue as well as along any mantelpieces available.

country house wedding venue

Autumn Inspired Floral Designs

Your flowers play a big part in your wedding, and as such, will play a big part in your theme. If you plan on opting for the theme of autumn throughout your special day then we suggest you ask your florist to preprare something appropriate. Use autumn inspired flowers in bloom, focusing on the warm reds and golden tones. Tie in a little hessian and lace too. You may even want to team your flowers with some trailing ivy and allow them to cascade romantically from your wooden crates. This is where choosing a country house wedding venue such as That Amazing Place can make all the difference. With our extensive grounds, you’ll find the venue itself will even tie in with your theme and it’s all thanks to Mother Nature.

Add A Human Touch

We always love a natural touch when it comes to a wedding but let’s not forget, there are also some fantastic manmade accents that could be added to help with your autumnal wedding theme. Think about copper framed lanterns, metallic cutlery and even industrial style chairs. They’ll help lift your autumn inspired wedding theme and give it a much sought-after rustic style that’s becoming more and more popular.

The That Amazing Place Autumn Wedding Quickfire Top Tips…

  • Fill pumpkins with ice to use as wine coolers on tables
  • Use toffee apples as table decorations and treat the children once your wedding meal has finished
  • Pine cones are a great decoration, especially when sprayed in golds and warm reds; they’re also affordable too!
  • Chestnuts are another great addition, especially when displayed in traditional jam jars or used to surround the base of candles.
  • Keep your invites in line too with leaf motifs in autumnal colours, or even gold for a more luxurious feel.
  • Tree stumps are becoming more and more on-trend as people have them inscribed as memorable items or treasure or as a “Mr and Mrs” display. If you have tree stumps big enough, you can use them as additional seating outside during outdoor games or as a wedding cake stand.

When it comes to creating an autumn wedding theme here at our Essex wedding venue, the options are endless. If however, you feel you need a little more advice, then please don’t hesitate to contact our wedding planner Angie who’ll be only too happy to accommodate and offer advice and guidance every step of the way.

The Night Before At Our Essex Wedding Venue

Essex Wedding Venue

It’s nearly here…your big day. Whether you’ve been planning for years, months or weeks, we bet it’s felt like an age. What’s more, we know only too well that it’s no doubt caused a little stress here and there too. After all that planning, you’re probably feeling a mixture of both excitement and nerves as the big day finally approaches. To make sure you’re not feeling too lost in all the excitement (or too caught up in all the nerves), we thought we’d share a guide we’ve compiled over time, talking to other brides, about the best way to relax here at our Essex wedding venue.

Wash your hair – regardless of whether you’re having a professional hairdresser do your hair, it’s well worth washing your hair the night before your big day. As crazy as it sounds, freshly washed hair is a hairdresser’s nightmare. Washing it the night before however, makes it much more manageable and easier to work with.

Pack for your honeymoon – if you’re off on your honeymoon straight after your nuptials then it’s a good idea to pack before your wedding. This means things will be organised way ahead of time, leaving you to focus on your big day. This also prevents any hideous revelations in the middle of your wedding that you may have forgotten something hugely important. There’s an easy way to make sure things are done and that’s with an old-fashioned checklist. We suggest you start this a few weeks before your wedding and simply re-check everything is packed the night before. No rushing, no stress and a relaxed feeling the night before – sounds perfect.

Last minute beauty prep – the night before your big day is definitely the night for finishing touches. This is the time to enjoy manicures, pedicures and generally spoil yourself. Luckily for you, doing that here at That Amazing Place couldn’t be easier thanks to That Amazing Salon. Our in-house spa is a sanctuary of relaxation and the perfect place to pamper yourself the night before. With quality treatments and beauty therapy, you’ll be in “beauty prep” heaven. It’s the perfect place too, to spend a little time with the guys and girls, enjoying a little last-minute gossip, sharing stories of your single years and imagining your future with the love of your life. We couldn’t think of anything more wonderful the night before your wedding.

Create your emergency kit – ok, so this may actually be more of “a day before” kind of task but nevertheless, it’s one that needs tending to, in order to ensure you relax fully the night before your big day here at our Essex wedding venue. When we talk about your emergency kit, we refer to a kit containing things such as Kirby grips, safety pins, your favourite lipgloss and of course, tissues. By getting this done, you’ll save the midnight stresses and potentially, a complete lack of sleep – the most important kind of course – your beauty sleep.

Here at That Amazing Place, a beautiful Essex wedding venue, we want you to have the time of your life. Having everything organised and indulging in a little pampering the night before, is the perfect way to do that.

Wedding Planning In Your Lunch Break

Wedding Planning On Your Lunch Break!

Wedding Planning On Your Lunch Break!

When you work a full time job, spend time with family and friends, partake in your favourite hobbies, even hit the gym on a regular basis, finding the time to plan a wedding can seem almost impossible. That is until you’re introduced into what we like to a call a little lunch break wedding planning. That’s right! We’ve got the ultimate checklist to help you get things done on what can only be described as your only downtime during the day – your lunch break. Think about it, you’re at your most productive at your work desk so why not utilise that productivity a little when it comes to planning your wedding?

The Dress – for any bride, finding the dream dress is a hugely important, if not the most important, part of the wedding. Searching for the right dress however, isn’t without its fair share of stresses and let’s not forget the endless hours searching for the perfect gown. It can be made a whole lot easier however, by first understanding that what you think you want and what you’ll end up with may be slightly different but of course it pays to do a little investigative work. This is easily done from your smartphone on the commute, or from your office desk at lunch. Whether it’s Pinterest or your favourite boutique, choose your favoured dress style and find the nearest places that stock it. Gather a few questions to ensure you’ve got all the information from your very first boutique visit and you’ll have everything you need to make it quick, easy and done in your lunch time.

Finding Wedding Suppliers – while this may sound like a mammoth task, one that simply couldn’t be achieved without hours of phone calls and planning, we’re here to tell you it couldn’t be further from that. Why? Because we’ve gone out of our way to collate a full list of wedding suppliers from florists, to make up artists, entertainment to photographers. Having worked with these suppliers before, we can not only recommend them but we can proudly say we’ve seen and vetted the quality of their work for you. What’s more, all of these suppliers have spent time working here at our wedding venue already which means not only are they used to the venue, but they know what works best too. Now if that doesn’t make your wedding planning easier, we’re not sure what will.

Write Your Invitations – it’s a job that gets put off until the very last minute but one that doesn’t need to be. You’re already at your desk so why not write out your invitations. For those who dread the drudgery of such a task, why not start early and simply write a few a day. It’s a job that can be made so simple, it almost goes unnoticed.

Organise Your Seating Plan – once again, this is an area in which we can help make things a million times easier. Yes, they’ll always be guests you’ll want to keep apart or together, an extra plus one here and there that you’ll need to accommodate but for the most part, this is where we can take a lot of weight from your shoulders by showing a variety of seating plan options when it comes to seating plans, depending on your amount of guests. All that’s needed from you is to seat your guests exactly where you want them, which we think you’ll agree, is the perfect little lunch-time task.

 

Bring Fido With You To Our Dog Friendly Wedding Venue!

dog friendly wedding venue

Weddings are said to be one of the most important days of our lives so it’s only natural that you’d want your nearest and dearest there with you. For a great deal of couples, their “nearest and dearest” also happens to include their four legged, furry friend – their dog. Sadly, a great deal of wedding venues won’t allow your dog with you on your big day. Luckily for you however, here at That Amazing Place, we happen to be a dog friendly wedding venue.

With that in mind, as any owner will know, having your dog with you can mean mischievous behaviour at the best of times. Your wedding day however is the one day you can’t risk Rover doing a runner or stealing food from the buffet. Equally, you don’t want to spend your day keeping an eye on your dog. Thankfully, there’s now a fabulous service in the form of Walkies At Weddings.

dog friendly wedding venue

Walkies At Weddings was created by the wonderful Sally. After her beloved dog Archie died, she decided to give up her job in London and start her own business offering dog walking and doggy daycare services. It was only when a client asked her to bring their dog to their wedding in 2016 that she decided to offer the service for other pup loving couples too. This means for those getting married at our dog friendly wedding venue, they can now enjoy their four legged friend’s company as they say “I do”.

Walkies At Weddings offers three different packages: Gold, Silver and Bronze. The Gold package offers a two night stay with your dog being taken to the wedding, during which time your dog will be brushed, transported to and from your weddings and looked after for the duration. Sally explained that most brides opt for the Gold package as the two nights boarding alleviates a lot of stress, something they don’t exactly need any more of.

What’s more, you can even now have your doggy dressed to perfection to match the rest of your bridal party. Included in their prices are the use of bow ties and sparkly collars. If however, you’d like to arrange your dog to have something more specialised such as a floral collar, or doggy veil, Sally will be more than happy to fit it to your dog on arrival.

Dogs are a major part of people’s lives and if it just so happens to be the case for you, then Walkies At Weddings could be just the service you’re looking for. From having your dog watched, as you walk down the aisle to creating cherished memories as you pose for wedding photos with your favourite furry family member, Walkies At Weddings can help. What’s more, our dog-friendly wedding venue can make it happen for you. For more information contact Sally at Walkies at Weddings!

Picking The Perfect Engagement Ring

engagement rings

Back in the day, picking an engagement ring meant little more than finding a beautiful solitaire diamond and choosing whether to go with yellow or white gold. Today however, choosing an engagement ring can seem as baffling as picking the perfect mortgage over a thirty-five year term. What may seen like the right choice, could be the complete opposite of what your true love has always dreamt of. So, when you’re faced with a decision like this, just how do you ensure you make the right choice? Well, thankfully for you, this Essex wedding venue has seen it all. We’ve seen every single variety of engagement you could even dream of from huge coloured diamonds to cluster rings and even now the very popular halo diamond. So, who else better to offer you advice than the one’s that see a range of rings along with a range of brides passing through their wedding venue every day? Here’s the ultimate guide to perfecting the perfect engagement ring from That Amazing Place, a wedding venue in the heart of Essex;

Choose a budget – just as you would with a wedding venue or a wedding package, it’s important to choose your budget when it comes to an engagement ring. Remember, there’s no hard and fast rule about what you should be spending here. Try not to get caught up in what others tell you about a quarter of your wage etc. Simply spend whatever feels comfortable to you. Don’t forget, if you’re intent on spending more than you have in the bank account, there are always payment options but try not to jump in too deep.

engagement rings

Choose the gemstone – while most will opt for a diamond, don’t forget there are a variety of gemstones out there from sapphires to rubies. It could be that your wife to be would love an emerald surrounded by a halo of diamonds. Try your best to get an idea of this beforehand. While it may sound difficult, it’s rather easy, especially if they have a pinterest board; just look for the ‘engagement ring’ pin board.

Choose a gemstone shape – from princess cut to clusters, there are a multitude of options and once again, it’s down to you to speak with your betrothed and find out what their heart really wants. They may surprise you with something you’d never have picked out for them. While doing a little digging around may be stressful, we guarantee you’ll thank us in the end.

Choose a precious metal – from white gold to rose gold, yellow gold to platinum; the metal you choose will finish off your ring and mean the difference between ‘I do’ and ‘I don’t’ on your big day. The best way to get around this one? Look at the jewellery she’s wearing. Don’t buy her yellow gold if she lives in white gold, after-all, you wouldn’t marry in a city ceremony if she spent her time looking at country house wedding venues like ours would you?

engagement rings

Choose a ring size – last but most certainly not least, choose the right size. The worse thing you can do is choose a ring that’s too small and not be able to place it on her ring finger when she’s said yes! Take a peek at her current jewellery but if you’re unable to do that, it’s time to get imaginative. Is she a deep sleeper? Then place a piece of string around her finger while she’s sleeping…ok ok, so it’s not the best of ideas but it’s something!

If you have any hints, tips or tricks for picking the perfect engagement ring, then let us know in the comments below. Until then, from all of us here at our country house wedding venue, we wish you good luck and can’t wait to see you when you’re part of a newly engaged couple.