Pauntley Court’s OPEN HOUSE & WEDDING FAYRE
A warm welcome awaits you at our exciting Open House & Wedding Fayre this March. With spring in the air, come along and soak up the romantic atmosphere and uncover the magic that this unique country house exudes from every brick and tile, to help make your wedding celebration unforgettable!
Our family home just so happens to be the birthplace of Dick Whittington as well! This charming, characterful Gloucestershire house boasts spectacular vistas, magical gardens, and boutique accommodation, all wrapped up in an enchanting rural setting that will instantly capture your heart.
Whether you are considering a large affair of up to 100 people in a marquee, or a more intimate gathering using the Main House for your evening reception, then why not come along to have a tour of the estate? See for yourself the wonderful bedrooms (all ten sleeping up to 24!) and come and meet some of our amazing suppliers, and Wedding Coordinators; Holly, Rebecca, and Jilly, who will all be able to set your imagination racing and give you a boost of inspiration for your plans and creative ideas for your special day.
If you are considering a large wedding of up to 100 guests, then this is your opportunity to see a stunning marquee from The Country Marquee Company, who will have their traditional three-pole marquee, on our marquee lawn in front of the sunken gardens. Walk inside through the witch’s hat marquee entrance and be ready to start your Pauntley Court Wedding Fayre experience! You will be greeted by one of the smiley Pauntley Court Team who will register you and get you underway. Don’t forget to claim your free EXTRA ticket entry to the prize draw for more of a chance to win a 2-night stay in the romantic Elinor Fettiplace wing of the Main House, overlooking the quince orchard!
You will be able to wander around the marquee at your leisure, and perhaps sample a quince cocktail (using quinces from our own gardens), created by the The Watering Hole Event Bars, whilst starting to get a true sense of how to create the perfect wedding day. With the wonderful floral creations of Christiane and Beth of The Honeysuckle Flower Co. and various tables styled by Beth of Alba Tableware, you will be able to get a proper picture of how your special day could look and feel.
Our fantastic wedding coordinators will be chatting to all couples who have already booked their weddings at Pauntley Court, while Melissa will be taking private tours of the bedrooms in the house and Dovecote.
Other suppliers in the marquee include Matt Bee of The Cotswold Wedding Guitarist , creative wedding cake maker Beth of, Cake Box, canapes to sample from Charlotte Gardner Catering and be ready to be surprised with a touch of magic from the amazing entertainer and magician, Darren Campbell
David Leibst Photography will also be here, and you can ask him about where you will be for the all-important sunset shot, or best time of day for that romantic lakeside photograph!
Melissa will come to the marquee to meet you and take you on a tour of the beautiful bedrooms in the house and tell you all about the history and a few interesting historic facts about Pauntley. Afterwards, perhaps talk to Charlotte Holder (hair stylist) and make up artist, Emily Tarrant in the ballroom. Lauradana of Wedding Creations will have styled a wedding breakfast table for an intimate wedding and in Ballroom too, Bec of Home Farm Kitchen will have a mouth-watering and beautiful wedding cake on the grand piano and perhaps something delicious to taste!
Next, why not go into the main house kitchen and chat to Rachel, our amazing housekeeper, grab a cup of coffee and find out how she can help make your weekend stay even more of a treat for all your family and friends who are staying with you over the three days! She can tell you about how she can help support you with pre-wedding cooking on the Friday night, making a cooked breakfast for 24 on Saturday and Sunday morning, tidy-up duties of the kitchen, and if necessary, baby-sitting.
Take your coffee into our ‘Pink Room’ and watch our slide show to see photos of the venue from some of our past weddings. Meet with Emily Collett, another fantastic wedding photographer. Then perhaps head off to the bar in the ‘Panelled room’ and chat honeymoons and special holidays with Phil Birley of World Odyssey.
Outside in the main drive, Dom of Taste the Good Life, will be making some fresh pizzas to sample and Matt Fox with his original photo booth - The Flash Fox - will be in our Flower Room.
The Tentickle Stretch Tent will be buzzing with some flowers from local flower farm growers, The Ledbury to Lydney Flower Collective, including my sister–in–law from the top of the lane, Jules (Pauntley Petals) and Rozanne, of The Ledbury Flower Farmer.
Afterwards, don’t forget to stroll around our stunning gardens, which will be looking spring-like with tulips peeping up and hyacinths and wall flowers in bloom in the pots (we hope!). There may well be a spot of mini golf to try your hand at too from Crazy Golf Fun. You will be able to envisage an outdoor wedding nestled between the quince trees or a large humanist ceremony on the main formal ceremony lawn. There are so many magical spaces or ‘garden rooms’ to walk around, not forgetting our new terrace area outside the kitchen in the walled garden, with espaliered fruit trees and a statue of Pan in the centre of it.
If it is a church wedding you are considering, then Church Warden’s Derek and Sue will also be in the house to talk to you. The beautiful Norman Church, just next door, will be open so you can make your way up there before you leave, and have a look inside.
We cannot wait to welcome you here!
Love Melissa, Holly, Rebecca, Jilly, Rachel and the Pauntley Team xx
PS Oh and you also might meet Parky, Melissa’s husband!!!
Blog Photos by David Liebst Photography
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Long story short - if you are making a wedding venue decision, look no further.
I waited 6 months before leaving a review to make sure im not just riding on high emotions after the wedding. But truthfully, all the high emotions are still there because this place was so perfect. We fell in love with Pauntley Court at first sight even though we visited during a gloomy rainy afternoon in December. Not even for a second at any point it felt like a commercial “venue”, it has a soul that you can feel as soon as you step on the grounds.
Our guests travelled from all over the world and Pauntley Court was so perfect to show them the English experience. Everyone was so impressed by the house, rooms and the beautiful gardens.
Melissa was so incredibly kind in every way since the moment we met her the first time. Absolutely nothing felt like too much to ask for neither during preparation nor on the day.
We had the wedding day exactly the way we wanted, absolutely everything could be done like we imagined - from choosing the ceremony space among multiple options to arranging dinner the night before. The most magical time however happened after the wedding when guests staying in the house gathered in the kitchen having tea and leftover cake, you can’t create a core memory like this in most of other wedding venues.
Another highlight was the amazing Rachel. At first I didn’t fully believe the reviews about how great she was, and I admittedly was quite skeptical if one person would be able to manage everything we wanted. And how wrong I was to ever doubt! Rachel ran the show so seamlessly and impeccable as if there was a team of 10. Our guests loved her as much as we did.
We can’t wait to go back to Pauntley for our anniversary. Thank you Melissa and all the team for making memories of a lifetime for us!