I truly don't know how to thank the Colehayes staff enough, we had the wedding of our dreams at the end of June, and the whole process was outstanding. We found Colehayes online and instantly fell in love with the DIY vibe. Rebecca took us on a tour of the house and grounds, and I think it's safe to say after 10 minutes of that tour we were sold. Rebecca was laid back, answered every single question with complete honesty, and clearly loves hosting events at her beautiful property! After booking, the support from Ellice and Briony was second to none. Every email was responded to quickly, every question answered, and made my life as easy as possible. They were happy for us to visit on numerous occasions, and gave us such freedom to make the venue our own for the weekend. It really did feel like our home, and there are no other wedding venues I have been to that can offer this.
From a logistical point of view, Colehayes is second to none. When asking other venues about furniture/crockery/cutlery/rooms etc, everything was at an extra cost. Not Colehayes! All of the chairs and tables we could need, all the crockery and cutlery, the decorations room in the basement is HEAVEN (I love that everyone who previously held an event at Colehayes leaves some decorations for future weddings/parties, it has such a community vibe).
Once it got to the big weekend, we were welcomed in with open arms on Friday, Briony ensured to meet us, and the helping hands staff ran through the wedding day to ensure it would run as smoothly as possible. The whole house was immaculate, the rooms cosy and plentiful!! The gardens simply didn't need decorating, you can see how much work the grounds keepers put into them, it's just beautiful. There's plenty of parking, super easy to order your food delivery right to the door, and so much storage/fridges so you don't have to scramble for space.
So, to the day of the wedding. Perfect in every single way. The venue was flawless, the helping hands staff were kind, efficient, polite, everything you could ask for! We did not want a serious, soulless day, and we loved that the staff all had such a great sense of humour, laughing with our guests and helping create the atmosphere we wanted. The whole day ran seamlessly, I just didn't need to feel like I was checking on anything or worried about timings, because they were so well organised.
We also loved that our friends and family could all stay in the house with us, so once the party was over in the marquee, we could go down to the rave cave and keep the party going as late as we wanted! And it went LATE.
On a side note, four of our suppliers were Colehayes recommended suppliers.
Caterers - Dan's American Kitchen and my goodness do not miss out on Dan's catering. He made up the entire menu with us and was so passionate (he catered for us on both Saturday and Sunday and the guests could not stop raving about his food!). I can see why he his a recommended supplier!
Photographer - Warren and Howell Jones Photography. Again, I cannot shout loudly enough about this man. We do not love posing, and Warren captured the most beautiful, natural, candid photos of everyone. He joined us at 10am, and didn't leave us until we were down in the rave cave, late into the night. I have NEVER known a photographer like him!
Marquee - Really Good Marquees, the name says it all. Impeccable service, amazing quality marquee, and left it for the WHOLE weekend for us, just ideal!
Hair stylist - Brigitte Fisher. I wanted mermaid locks with plaits and flowers, and she truly gave me the hair I have dreamt of since I was a little girl. Brigitte was so kind, kept me calm, and gave all my bridesmaids the perfect styles personalised to them.
Colehayes clearly care about who they recommend, as the standard of suppliers was out of this world.
I could keep going for an age, but all I can really say is Colehayes were the very best venue, and gave us the dreamiest wedding. We are so, so grateful. Thank you