I mentioned in my engagement post that I thought I may create a little wedding series here on my blog… I had the idea to detail parts of the planning, run up, ideas, hints and tips and just general excitement around it all. As a bride to be, I literally had no idea where to begin when we got engaged, and obviously the main part of your day, and the thing that your entire planning process centres around, is your venue; therefore I thought it would be nice to kick the series off with a look at all the venues we paid a visit to, when deciding where we wanted to book for our special day. First up (as the name would suggest), is Hazelwood Castle…
Hazelwood Castle is a privately owned hotel and wedding venue boasting some of the most stunning, picturesque grounds, 32 bedrooms & suites; a chapel; restaurant; on site spa; helicopter landing areas; and woodland area, complete with a tree bar, waterfall, and fire pit. It’s situated in Yorkshire, just off the A64 between York and Leeds. It’s one of those places that you’d never know existed if you weren’t looking for it, as it’s quietly nestled away – yet stuns with its grandeur (particularly the grounds themselves), when you do unearth it.
Now I did take a look at the inside of the castle too, but that wasn’t really my thing – however the woodland area did catch my attention. It’s almost like secret garden, on site, but hidden completely away from the rest of the castle; if you did opt for this kind of wedding, you’d have all the privacy you could ever wish for.
There’s a dedicated area for civil ceremonies, so your entire celebrations could be done in one special place; but the castle also have an on site chapel (at an additional £375), if that’s more your thing.
Available March – October, packages start at £120 per person to include the following:
Drinks reception (one glass per person)
Wedding breakfast woodland buffet
Half a bottle of wine per person
Prosecco wedding toast
Wedding planner & wedding day manager
Cake tree stand and knife, sword or axe (I suppose for the more daring amongst us)
Dancefloor & DJ booth
Tree Bar
Blankets for guests
Fire pits and fire control
Tree lighting and candles
Canopy for dining area
Woodland pagoda
Special accommodation prices for guests staying at the castle
and Complete woodland venue hire
This can be upgraded to £145 per person to include a free flowing drinks reception, a champagne wedding toast, a civil ceremony in the woodland pagoda, cabins for the Bride & Groom; and a complimentary first anniversary stay including dinner in the Vavasour Restaurant & full Yorkshire breakfast.
The wedding breakfast and evening food options are pretty impressive too – actually one of the best and biggest ranges I saw at all the venues I looked at – with offerings of woodland pizzas (cooked in the wood fired pizza oven), a BBQ, a hog roast, or more traditional hot dishes. Desserts (included toasted marshmallows), salads and fish & whole meats can also be added on as options too. Five styles of canapés can be provided (at £7.50 per person), and any extra evening guests are charged from £10 per person.
This wedding option would certainly be something different, and one to remember. The only drawbacks I can see is that your day could have the potential to be ruined by the UK’s completely unpredictable weather choices; and although there is a canopy included within all woodland packages, I think if you are booking something like this, you’d want to enjoy the entire area and experience. However, pick the right day… and you’d have yourself the fairytale wedding of dreams.
