Whatever the weather…we’ve got you covered!
21st August 2023
Speak to anyone from overseas and they will all tell you that the one thing us Brits are good at, is commenting (or complaining) about the UK weather. I think it is fair to say that July and August this year have not brought us the weather we all expect for the peak Summer wedding season; we have illusions of warm sunshine, blue skies and light evenings to enjoy being outside and making the most of the beautiful gardens here for stunning wedding photos.
It is a little ironic that while I’m sitting here writing this, the weather is gorgeous…although the forecast is sadly promising more rain by the weekend.
Whenever I am showing couples around the venue and we start chatting about the preferred time of year for the wedding, as soon as I hear something along the lines of “we are thinking of June as the weather is usually good then”, I encourage them to be realistic about our climate as it is often not what you expect.
We have hosted weddings in November or February, when the drinks reception and some photos still took place outside on a mild and sunny afternoon. Maybe not for the usual 1.5 hours that you might expect when the weather is warmer, but enough time to have some lovely photos in the gardens and grounds. On an aside, a mulled cider or Winter Pimms is a good alternative as a reception drink at this time of year, and has definitely proved popular with guests at previous Winter weddings.
Since we have restored the Barn as an alternative wedding reception space to the Long Gallery, we have realised what an absolute luxury it is to be able to offer another room as a back up for the wedding day when the weather is not in your favour. This might be a brief dash inside during a rain shower, or as we have seen on several occasions recently, a longer period of time to escape from persistent heavy rain.
Whether you have had a ceremony here in the Corsellis Room or Layer Marney parish church, or whether you have arrived here for a reception from a ceremony elsewhere, the alternative space to your chosen room for the wedding breakfast can quickly be opened up in the case of bad weather and be available for your wedding party. Bouquet Garni can then serve your reception drinks and canapes inside and any live musician that you may have planned for outside can also move in and continue to entertain guests.
The Long Gallery benefits from a fantastic staircase which works really well for any formal group photos and we also love seeing wedding photographers make use of the large window at the rear of the room. So not only do you have potential respite from the rain, there is also the knowledge that you have wonderful interior spaces to get some lovely wedding photos.
There is no additional charge to use the alternative reception space when it is simply for a wet weather back up option.
However, it is really important too to say that you should embrace whatever the weather throws at you! You may have expected guests to be needing shade from the hot sun and fans to cool them down, but umbrellas may need to be on hand instead. It is a really good idea to have a pretty umbrella so that you (the wedding couple) can still get outside for some fun photos in the garden!
There is little point getting stressed about the weather forecast as you have no control over Mother Nature. But at least you can be reassured in knowing that there are still perfect wedding photo opportunities to be had inside.
by Karen Brand – Wedding Coordinator
