Hylands House Estate, Chelmsford

Hi,

We looked at Hylands and I absolutely loved it but it was too small for us in the end so we have booked with Creeksea Place.

i'm not sure about what you can get thrown in but we visited on an open day and they offered 5% off the venue hire if you booked within a week of the open day. They also let you provide your own drink for the welcome drinks and meal which will save you a fortune.

We haggled with Creeksea and ended up getting £1800 worth of things thrown in for free. I made sure I got quotes for similar places and produced them during the meeting! I also said I really wanted to book but it was over budget and if they could get it down by a thousand pounds or so the we would book. After some to and fro'ing were got the deal that we wanted.

Good luck! X

Thank you! That was really helpful. I don't suppose you visited Fennes as well? I am seeing it tomorrow X

I've seen Fennes, I didn't hate it but it wasn't for us. The house is too small. Much better than Quendon Hall though, which was a great disappointment.

Oh thanks for that Becki! We won't bother going to Quendon then. It is currently between Fennes and Hylands House. I like that Fennes has onsite accommodation, albeit not much, but it helps as H2B's family are coming from France. Where did you decide on?

We've shot at both and each have their own selling points, so i'd advise visiting both and seeing what you prefer really as they are quite different when it comes down to it.

With Hylands, the grounds are still open to the public, so that's something to consider if you'd not yet thought about it. Not been a problem whilst shooting at all, it just means you may bump into the odd dog walker if you venture into the gardens for your couples photos. But it's worth it as the grounds are gorgeous. There's also accommodation locally, so I wouldn't anticipate that being a problem.

Fennes often do lots of last minute deals and offers for weekdays, so I would imagine they are up for negotiation to some degree.

We haven't decided anywhere yet. We went to see my number 1 Quendon Hall and was really really disappointed with it. So we then drove to my number 2 Fennes as they had an open day that day too. Decided it was too small. Had to have a think about the places I had already poopooed without seeing.
Then a couple of days later decided we were going to buy a house first, wait a couple of months and start looking at venues again.

Should be moving any time soon so hopefully be back on wedding planning soon.
God knows where we will do it, I don't really like anywhere.

I've performed at all the venues mentioned and will be back at Hylands on this coming Sunday. Fennes is my favourite of the ones mentioned but you could also look at Smeetham Hall Barn or Essex Barn at The White Hart in Great Yeldham. They are also nice venues. I wouldn't rule out Quendon Hall as I've recently been booked for a wedding there and the couple said they chose it over Fennes so it just goes to show its all about personal preference.

You're welcome. I loved Hylands but as already mentioned, the grounds aren't private which put my OH off. It is very beautiful though.

I got a brochure for Fennes but didn't like the decor so didn't bother visiting it. Plus my ex got married there!!! I get bombarded with emails with offers from them now so I think they would definitely offer you a deal.

That's interesting about Quendon as I loved the look of it but they quoted us £19,200 for just hire, food and drink so I decided against going to view it!

Have you looked at Prested Hall? That was my second favourite. They have around 15 rooms above which are included in the price and extra rooms in the spa area.

x

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