Mr and Mrs Tozer - Friday 17th February 2012

The Peacock can represent spring, birth, new growth, longevity and love. It is a good omen, signaling prestige, success and contentment in relationships and careers.

After reading the above, it is understandable why Robert Tozer and Janine Payne chose the peacock as a theme that would run throughout their wedding day which took place on Friday 17th February here at The Great Hall at Mains, Lancashire’s premier wedding venue.

Teal blue and ivory were the colours of the day and the majestic peacock featured from the order of service to the cake and even to the bride’s bouquet!

The weather didn’t dampen Janine’s spirits as she braved the wind and rain to enter from the terrace doors to walk down the aisle to meet her groom, Rob.

The Newleywed's sign the register to legalise their marriage, before making their way up the aisle as Mr and Mrs Tozer - Hurrah!

After the 2pm ceremony, Twelve Event Management were on hand to assist The Great Hall team in turning the room around. No detail had been ignored, with peacock feathers featuring in the centre pieces and peacock shaped place cards adorning the champagne flutes.

While we set the hall up for the wedding breakfast and with a break from the rain, the official photographs took place in the grounds of The Great Hall.

After a sumptuous meal of cream of vegetable soup, breast of chicken and chocolate fudge cake, the guests were treated to some very funny speeches by Janine’s dad David, proud Groom Rob and best man Andy. The Great Hall team then set about readying the room for the evening reception.

The cake was magnificent, a real feat of confectionary. And of course, atop the three tiered wonder was a beautiful peacock! DJ Dave Adams, courtesy of CamScott Leisure, was on hand to call the guests around the dancefloor to act as paparazzi as the happy couple cut the cake.

 Sustenance in the form of walking canapes from Twelve Event Management kept the guests on their feet as they danced the night away.

Rob and Janine made their way to The Shard Riverside Inn for their first night as a married couple. From everyone at The Great Hall we wish you every happiness as you embark on your future together as Mr and Mrs Tozer.

Garry Wilders and Joanne Prytherch – Friday 10th February 2012

Our first wedding of February was that of Garry Wilders and Joanne Prytherch. Garry and Joanne booked their wedding with us in October 2011 and so after a  few short months of planning we were delighted to welcome the couple along with their family and friends to The Great Hall at Mains to see them become ‘Mr and Mrs’.

The couple chose recommended supplier to The Great Hall, Creative Cover Hire to dress the chairs for their big day choosing Ivory covers with champagne hooded bows and Ivory chandelier drapes adorned with twinkling fairy lights to match. As much as we love a summer wedding (or any wedding for that matter!) here at The Great Hall, having the roaring log fire ready for the ceremony is just marvellous, it really complements the hall and makes that February chill worthwhile!

First to arrive at The Great Hall was groom Garry, so our reception manager Mel set to work putting the final touches to his wedding attire before heading out onto the driveway for some official photographs with his groomsmen – they all look so suave!

As guests began to fill up The Great Hall’s bar area, the air buzzed with anticipation as we awaited the arrival of the Bride. As we are a team of ladies here in the office, we love seeing all the fabulous outfits that guests wear and these four lovely ladies are no exception.

In no time at all it was time to meet our 3 lovely bridesmaids, who were waiting on the terrace for Joanne to arrive from The Shard. Joanne arrived at The Great Hall courtesy of Lancashire Limo’s, with her father Dave who looked proud as punch to be giving her away.

 Joanne was escorted down the aisle by her bridesmaids with her dad on her arm to a waiting Garry, and after a few formalities were pronounced husband and wife by celebrant Jane.

The couple made their way back up the aisle as Mr and Mrs Wilders, to a celebratory glass of bucks fizz, while the super efficient team from chosen caterers Twelve prepared to serve a selection of canapés chosen by the couple.

After a swift turnaround of the hall, Garry and Joanne took to their seats for the wedding breakfast to raptures of applause from their guests, followed by a sumptuous feast including leek and potato soup, breast of chicken and sticky toffee pudding, again served by the award winning Twelve Event Management.

After the always anticipated speeches, it was time for us to clear the dance floor in preparation for the arrival of the evening guests and DJ Dave Adams from Camscott Leisure. Garry and Joanne took centre stage once again for the traditional cake cut, which was supplied by a relative of the bride. It’s always nice to have that personal touch during your special day!  Following the cake cut, the couple started the evenings proceedings off in style, dancing to a Lifehouse classic ‘You and Me’, with the guests joining the couple and dancing the night away to DJ Dave’s collection of classics!

All too soon it was time to bid the couple a fond farewell, as they were whisked off to The Shard courtesy of Jetset Limousines. The couple will be honeymooning in Mexico in November and we are sure they will have a fantastic time, a big thank you to them for choosing The Great Hall at Mains to host their special day!

The Great Hall at Mains… Looking back on Jo and Melissa Wright’s Wedding – Friday 19th February 2010

Here at The Great Hall we welcome many lovely couples each year, with some booking their big day with us up to 2 years in advance. Over this time, we get to know our couples very well and once their wedding is over, try to keep in touch as much as we can as they become not only clients of ours – but friends as well. We also like to re visit the excitement of the ‘big day’, by doing a special blog to look back on the wedding, providing some lovely memories for us and some new inspiration for our new Bride and Grooms in the early stages of  their planning. On this special feature we will be looking back on Jo and Melissa’s wedding, which was almost 2 years ago now (how fast has that gone!!) – on Friday 19^th February 2010.

Jo and Melissa booked their wedding with us in June 2009 and had months of exciting planning leading up to their big day at The Great Hall on Friday 19th February 2010. Even though the wedding was in February, Joe and Melissa couldn’t have had a better day for weather – with blue sky and no wind it was a perfect crisp winter’s day.

The couples black and white colour scheme worked brilliantly in the hall, and the groomsmen looked dashing in co-ordinating suites. Jo and Melissa’s ceremony started at 1pm, with guest and groom arrival from 12pm. The wedding party eagerly awaited Melissa’s arrival, who looked totally stunning in her amazing Dizzy Lizzie wedding gown!

The pure white, princess silk dress was by designer 'Dizzy Lizzie' laced up at the back and scattered with Swarovski crystals. The dress was instant fairytale and Melissa added an 11-layer underskirt providing the dress with extra shape, without the need for a sometimes-uncomfortable hooped skirt. Total 'wow factor' dress!

The black and white theme that Joe and Mel had chosen for the day complemented The Great Hall, and the roaring log fire and candles added to the warmth, inviting guests in from the February chill. Chair covers and bows were provided by The Wedding Place, and reccomended suppliers Creative Cover Hire provided beam drapes. The team at The Great Hall decorated the isle with rose petals and lanterns, and the hall looked so romantic – a perfect setting in which to make the all important vows!

Once the ceremony was complete, the couple enjoyed a celebratory post ceremony drink with their guests, before posing for pictures in The Great Halls gardens taken by the fantastic and ever professional Ashton Photography.

Wedding entertainer Howard Wing arrived along with Calvin Henry a fantastic saxophonist, who played throughout the room turnaround until Howard took over at 4pm – entertaining guests throughout the wedding breakfast.

Catering for the day was provided by Twelve, who always do a fantastic job in creating the most delicious of wedding breakfasts. The wedding breakfast started off with Lancashire Cheese Rarebit, followed by breast of chicken with fondant potato, bacon, red wine sauce and traditional accompaniments and finishing with sticky toffee pudding, coffee and chocolates. Mmmmm.....Guests certainly were treated!
It was a fantastic wedding for us to run and we had a great time working with Jo and Mel to pull off their 'perfect day'!

Two years on, the couple now have a new addition to the family and are all doing well! We hope they have a lovely 2 year anniversary and look forward to seeing them again soon

Special thanks to Ashton Photography for the images used on our Blog!

The Gorgeous Winter Wedding of Alex and Elizabeth Downing

Saturday’s wedding here at The Great Hall showed that you don’t need two years to plan a wedding. Alex and Liz came to visit us on the off chance that they would be able to have a look around on a bright sunny autumn day in October 2011 having just got engaged. 2 weeks later they had booked their wedding here at The Great Hall with just 4 months to plan. They have been together for nearly 10 years and just couldn’t wait any longer!

This was our first wedding of 2012 and their day started early, with Alex and his groomsmen arriving just after 10.30am in order to be in plenty of time to welcome the couple’s guests. The couple opted for close friends and family to attend the daytime festivities, with many of their close friends joining them for the evening’s party (but more of that later on!)

 The simple colour scheme of sage green and ivory was echoed from the champagne and ivory chair covers provided by recommended Great Hall suppliers Creative Cover Hire to the green ties worn by Alex and his groomsmen.

Due to the fact that they themselves aren’t great fans of the traditional wedding cake, Alex and Liz opted for a “cake of cheese” which went down a storm! It also provided a great looking alternative to a traditional cake with tasty looking fresh fruit adorning it. The goat’s cheese hearts were also a particular favourite!

Event Manager Zoe helps Groom Alex with his buttonhole - all in a days work here at The Great Hall!

 There was no danger of the bride being late as Liz, driven by step dad Graham, arrived at The Great Hall to meet the registrars right on time. Her bridesmaids made their way to the terrace to meet her as she made her way down the main drive accompanied by her dad Luiz and mum Lesley.

The ceremony was officiated by Carol from Lancaster Registration Services, and when she gave the nod, Liz made her way down the aisle in her stunning beaded lace gown Escorted by her 3 lovely bridesmaids with her mum and dad by her side.

The ceremony was one full of laughs as one of the readings took place in the form of a poem written for the happy couple and read by Sam and Olivia.

Once the ceremony had concluded the new Mr and Mrs Downing made their way back up the aisle and straight outside with their bucks fizz for the all important confetti shot.

We were busy turning the room around, helped by Twelve Event Management who were also busy serving up delicious canapés of salmon with pea puree, fillet of beef with fat chip and baby tomato and mozzarella balls. Delicious!

As we put everything in to place, we couldn’t help but admire the couples unique choice of place settings, using scrabble letters instead of the standard written cards – it must have taken forever to sort through each letter! This was also reflected on the table plan, which we thought was just lovely.

While we put the finishing touches to the tables, Alex and Liz made the most of our roaring log fire to pose for pictures with family and their Bridal party.

At 2.30 exactly, guests were called to their seats for the traditional wedding breakfast. Again, Twelve did not disappoint, serving up a scrumptious starter of Cream of Vegetable Soup, followed by a main of Honey Glazed Pork Belly with Spring Onion Mash, Crackling and traditional accompaniments. To finish guests were treated to a sticky toffee pudding – any New Year Resolutions the guests may have had to diet will no doubt have gone out of the window, as the food looked irresistible!  

The evening guests started arriving from 6pm along with Rob DJ, provided by Camscott Leisure and to kick off the evening’s proceedings, our groom and his brother Stuart performed a few songs, which then led into the best man Alex and his much anticipated speech! Following this, the newlyweds took to the floor for their first dance – “Lovely Day”....

It certainly was a lovely day, not just for the Bride, Groom and their guests but for us here at The Great Hall at Mains – Alex and Liz are a great couple, it was a pleasure for us to play host to their special day and we wish them many more happy years together!