Stately Soirée

An elegantly refined Broughton Hall Luxury Wedding in Yorkshire

London couple, Fiona and David, approached Pocketful of Dreams to plan their wedding day, including finding them a venue, with a 3-month timescale. Due to Fiona’s Father being ill, the couple were keen to speed things along to ensure he could attend the wedding and walk his daughter down the aisle.

So we quickly got to work to understand more about the kind of day David and Fiona ideally wanted. This included an exclusive location they could take over for an entire weekend, with an onsite or Catholic chapel within walking distance for the ceremony. Given the tight timescales we suggested widening their search to the whole of England and quickly secured the stunning Broughton Hall in Yorkshire.

Broughton Hall dates back to 1597 and has belonged to the Tempest Baronet family for 900 years. It is one of the most exquisite event venues in the UK and one of the only exclusive hire historic houses in Yorkshire. The setting was perfect for their weekend of celebrations and their vision for “A relaxed and natural yet elegantly-refined atmosphere, with magical and dreamlike styling – think French Chateau meets Gatsby”. With the additional holiday houses available at Broughton we were able to accommodate all of their family and guests across the private estate.

The couple were keen to add a sense of theatrical fun and a twenties twist to proceedings, so Jeeves and Wooster became the grounding theme for the weekend. As Broughton is such a sprawling estate, we arranged for guests to be picked up from the local train station and chauffeured around the estate  in 1920s Bentleys, just like a vintage house party.

Celebrations commenced with an informal super hosted in one of Broughton Halls beautiful dining rooms. With guests enjoying Venison casserole cooked in Port and Guinness, with open fires crackling in the background.

The ceremony took place in the Tempest family chapel with Fiona saying “I loved our wedding, perhaps most of all because we had such a beautiful ceremony. I had a lovely friend who is a priest perform the ceremony, and we got married in a gorgeous private Catholic chapel owned by the Tempest family for ten centuries. While I was saying my vows I looked up at my husband (who is very tall) and noticed the ceiling, which was covered with blue and gold stars. It felt almost as if we were saying our vows under heaven!”. The ceremony had an array of music including a harpist and flautist accompanying the Harrogate Choral Society.

To transition from the ceremony into the celebrations, two actors were commissioned to play Jeeves and Gussie Fink Nottle (from Fiona and David’s favourite books by PG Wodehouse) and as the ceremony concluded they greeted guests in character. They spent the day causing trouble, in an entertaining way, and ushering guests to the next stage of proceedings. Guests enjoyed cocktails and afternoon tea in the delightful Orangery whilst a jazz trio played in the background. The wedding cake was cut, an incredibly detailed and bespoke creation by master baker Keiron George

Dining followed in a magnificent state room at Broughton Hall, with sumptuous decor and magnificent grandeur. We enhanced the spaces at the Hall with the help of Swallows and Damsons who created an array of autumnal floral features with overflowing fruits for a true feasting feel. The dining experience was set with a luxurious oyster damask linen, stunning florals and an abundance of twinkling candlelight at varying heights. Settings were beautifully laid with glass chargers, elegant glassware and beautifully designed menus and place cards by De Winton Paper Co.

Guests dined on a rich menu that celebrated local provenance with smoked wild duck breast salad and clementine’s to start, followed by pan seared Guinea fowl breast with Calvados, accompanied by a fine Barolo. Dining concluded with a Fig and almond tart with crème fraiche, followed by coffee and homemade chocolate truffles.

Keen to ensure guests didn’t fall into a slumber after all the delicious food, we arranged a New-Orleans-style jazz procession after dinner, with David and Fiona leading their guests along a candlelit pathway out to ‘Utopia’, Broughton Hall’s unique party place.

After watching David and Fiona take their first dance under a sea of balloons, guests danced the night away to the sounds of The Mini Big Band before tiptoeing back to their state rooms, overlooking the formal gardens.

A traditional Yorkshire Sunday lunch awaited guests on the Sunday afternoon, held in Utopia with panoramic views of the garden. The space was transformed from the evening prior with long banquet tables for a welcoming bistro feel.

Photography by: Belle and Beau