Wedding venues in Cheshire and Chester

Hi flowerfairy! Congrats!

I've photographed weddings at most of those venues so will step in and offer my humble opinion on the ones I know!

Crewe Hall - stunning venue in all respects

Rookery Hall - lovely food, nice grounds, but the new part where they have receptions isn't as nice as the main part of the hotel

Peckforton Castle - amazing venue, the best of the ones you've listed! (but also the most expensive methinks!)

Mottram Hall - bit too corporate for my liking, but grounds are wonderful

Hollin Hall - great for civil ceremonies as the room is lovey and light! Grounds a bit lacking though?

I'm sure loads of girls will step in with more advice - good luck!

Nicola

Hi Nicola,

Thanks!

In all honesty I think Peckforton will be out of our budget - but I still want to have a look around and you never know! ?

We've booked a few to visit - but some of our choices are already booked up April - Oct 2010 so we need to get it sorted asap!

Hopefully I'll get a few more replies to help us decide - it's not an easy job!

Thanks again,

x x x

I wouldn't really recommend Leasowe Castle, I went to look there and provisionally booked a date but after looking at a couple of venues I realised there are much nicer places available. x

Hi there

I wouldn't recommend Rookery Hall. I went there as I fell in love with it from the pics and was sorely disapointed. The wedding coordinator made me feel like I was an inconvience to her and the old part was much better but I was told that we couldn't have the wedding there. They also had quoted me some prices via a email but when we sat down after the show round, I was told that they had gone up and were more than likely to go up again for 2010 and they couldn't tell me what the menu would be.

A friend got married a Peck. Hall and it was lovely but v.v. expensive. What numbers are you looking at ? and how far travel wise would you be willing to go ?

Hi all,

Thanks for all your advice! We're willing to travel about an hour from the Stockport area. Re numbers - not too sure yet but probably 75-100 daytime and up to a total of 150 to the evening. Got a few visits booked so hopefully we'll find something soon ?

x x x

Hi All,

We have just booked Rowton Hall provisionally for August 2014. Does anyone have any thoughts/expereince of this venue? Thank you x

Hiya I am in the stockport area-ish too ? My venue is Heaton House Farm near Macc, about 40-50 mins away and I love it.

I wasn't keen on Hollin Hall, but there is another hitcher who I think booked it or was going to, Mrs W to be I think. The lack of exclusivity put us off and one of the rooms was a bit too oddly shaped for our liking.

I desperately wanted Mottram Hall but OH's friends get married there next year so he vetoed that! My friend got married at Tatton Park, stunning but very expensive.

Hi!!

I think with a lot of these you will rule some out on budget alone! your numbers are very similar to ours (80 day and 150 evening) and i have enquired about a few of these venues, it also depends WHEN you want to get married...we are aiming for a summer saturday in 2014 which is proving expensive! Mottram hall is a very lovely building and drive up, i got their prices through and felt they were very steep (£10.50 for a glass of kir royale) Peckforton i haven't actually been to because i knew from their website that they were WAYYYY out of budget i think last time i looked it was a minimum of £114 a head which is just ridiculous for us! (especially as it would increase for 2014) out of the ones you have mentioned our fave so far has been hollin hall...i'm the mrs W that pandora was saying about!

We love Hollin Hall, the main part of the Hotel is beautiful with lovely features and we just felt that the day would 'flow' a lot better there (civil ceremony in the restaurant followed by WB and reception in the hollin suite) there is the option of opening the double doors if it's hot so people don't have to go far to step outside. The wedding coordinator was brilliant and knowledgable but not pushy! We haven't eaten there (except afternoon tea) but we have had some fab reviews of family and friends that have! They also quoted us a very reasonable price however there are a few things we are unsure of:

. the bar for the Hollin Suite is the hotel bar, therefore if any hotel residents fancy a drink then they can sit in the area just outside your WB and evening reception room, this wasn't too much of an issue for us as we felt our guests would take up as lot of the rooms meaning there would be no residents to want to sit in the bar and also most people would see a wedding on and scoot into another room (well i would anyway)

. The 'add on' part of the hotel is currently being refurbished, they can't give an exact date of completion as they are pretty much doing one room at a time, the rooms that aren't refurbished are very basic! also the add on part of the building does look slightly odd (and maybe a bit scruffy) from the outside although for us the wedding would take place in the main part and guests would only be putting their heads down for the night in the other part! so again we had to prioritise.

and the main thing putting us off:

. Trip Advisor reviews - they have recently had some awful reviews, this is what is stopping us booking them at the moment...I know that with reviews you tend to get the people that really hated it or really loved it and from the recent reviews there isn't many that loved it i contacted a few of the wedding reviewers and they couldn't praise it enough but it's the normal guests that stay (not wedding related) and this worrys me!

in a nutshell it's still our favourite up to now, and we have seen about 12!! it's worth having a look and getting a quote but until the tripadvisor reviews improve i don't think i could part with nearly £6000 so we are still looking...heres a few others to consider:

. Quarry Bank Mill - Seen! we felt it was a bit 'cold' very much a blank canvas so you could have any colour scheme, staff lovely and very 'excited' about putting on the weddings, lovely setting but general public looking around put us off a bit, also not the best for walking from carpark to function room, especially in heels! although they do offer a golf buggy to collect elderley etc

. Statham Lodge - Seen! Prices a tad steep (but not compared to some places!!) rooms were nice with lots of character but the colours, carpets, curtains etc were too dark, patterned etc in some rooms we felt, woman was lovely and nice grounds!

. Stock Restaurant - Seen! they are getting a licence (hopefully) beautiful restaurant, the ceiling is fab! didn't like the fact that their was hardly any english speaking staff (except the event manager) they are all itallian but didn't understand what i was saying AT ALL which put me off if the event manager wasn't there! also no parking which means that guests will be paying premium town rates if they drive

. High Leigh Country Park Golf Club - Seen! nice drive up, nice grounds, club house is modern, light and airy, they seem to be making a few changes to turn it more of a wedding venue, didn't feel they had enough experience of weddings at the venue and room would take lots of decorating, man was really lovely though!

. Belle Epoque - Seen! Lovely restaurant, exclusive use we thought was expensive for what it was and to be honest i don't think you would want to share such a small venue, WB room lovely but Ceremony Room too dark!! especially for pics! We also weren't keen on the event manager she was a little bit unhelpful and it seemed we were 'taking up her precious time' but maybe thats just how we took her personality i don't know! I know people who have had wedding here and been v.happy!

. The Duke of Portland - Seen! Belle Epoque's sister venue, more of a pub, cheaper, lovely inside, different levels which makes it difficult to seat everyone within view of the bride and groom!, lovely little ceremony barn, perfect for a rustic vintage wedding BUT we didn't really understand why they are offering a package for 70 people for £3750 (i think!) but their ceremony barn only fits 50 and to be honest their inside space comfortably fits 50 so seemed weird that they would offer a package for 70!

. Heaton House Farm - Seen! Beautiful, staff are wonderful but it's out of our budget in the summer months! worth a look if you afford it

. Hilltop Country House - Seen! Someones house, small ceremony room and the dancefloor is separate from the main area but grounds are lovely! think it's pricey though!

. Sandhole Oak Barn - Seen! Very Pricey! room hire alone is pushing £5000 on a summer saturday but very pretty venue with beautiful lake and outside area

. Stannylands Hotel - Seen! nice but bit expensive for what it is! nice looking building

. The Deanwater - Seen! ok prices but inside needs an update in my opinion

. The Village Hotel Cheadle - Seen! Plainish decor

. Cheadle House - Devere - Seen! lovely building, nice entrance, function rooms are a big let down in my opinion

. The Bowdon Rooms - Seen! Unusual building, needs a lick of paint, not cheap for what it is and no outside space, would be fine for a winter wedding

. Hyde Bank Farm - Seen! small but cute, drive up to it is not nice at all (through some industrial type thing!) but once your there it's lovely!

. Castlefield Rooms - Seen! Great for a city wedding, nice spacious rooms, good prices, we weren't sure how noisy and busy that area would be in the summer with drinkers etc

. Wincham Hall Hotel - Seen! Nice family that runs it, nice building, small room, not much space for people to move when they are setting up for evening

. Bridge Hotel - nice setting, like the ceremony room, slight treck to the WB room, nice gardens with stream/bridge etc

Not seen the following but may be worth a look...most of them are out of budget, some we just haven't got round to seeing!!
. The Hallmark Hotel - Good packages
. Peover Golf Club - High room hire for what it is
. Shrigley Hall
. Arley Hall and Gardens - V.expensive
. Bolton School of Arts
. Capesthorne Pavillion
. Chancellors Hotel
. Cottons Hotel and Spa
. Davenport Green Hall - they had some problems with their license so i would double check that first
. Manchester Art Gallery - i think they only do 1 wedding a month! so exclusive = expensive!
. Mere Court Hotel - Expensive but friend went to a wedding there and said it was v.nice!
. Ridgmont House
. Thornton Manor - V.Pricey!
. Marriott Worsley Park - Pricey!
. Adlington Hall and the Hunting Lodge - Some good all inclusive packages
. Alderley Edge Hotel - Looks lovely, good package offer
. Cranage Hall - Amazing buildings but rooms are a huge dissapointment!
. Egerton House
. Mere Golf and Country Club - Just re-opening!
. The Place Hotel (Manchester) - Wasn't keen on the way they handled my request to view when i rang up (pretty much just come whenever)
. The Yellow Broom Restaurant - We are going to go and have a look!
. Whitworth Art Gallery - They are doing some work so can't accept bookings for a while or something!
. Rivington Hall Barn - High minimum numbers!
. Styal Lodge - Looks a little bit like a sauna in my opinion but i know someone that is getting married there, bit pricey for us!
. The Ashes - Beautiful but pricey!
. The Sadleworth Hotel - heard the manager is a bit pushy with his ideas!

Good Luck! hope you find something quicker than we have!!

x

Just realised this is a really old thread!! but hey could still help someone now!

x

My friend got married there in April 2011.

The staff are very helpful and it's really good to have the accommodation on site. The place has a good layout and though they have to use the same room for ceremony and meal, there is plenty of outside and inside space for your guests to mingle while they change the room over.

The food was good - not spectacular but plenty of it and it was fresh and tasty.

That's all I can think to say off the top of my head but feel free to ask any specific questions and I'll answer if I can

Doh! Didn't notice that. Mrs W2b you have been to so many! I was right when I thought it was you and Hollin Hall though, but knew there was something holding you back. Shame about those poor reviews.