Driving through the quaint gates of Ellingham Hall and then down the secret garden style driveway, our interest had certainly been captured. As the driveway opened up, the view of the Hall and its grounds were enough to make us turn to each other, smiling in appreciation of what lay before us and undoubtedly in acknowledgement, that this might just be the one.
As if the views externally were not enough, arriving in the entrance lounge of Ellingham, we instantly felt at home. We were greeted by a beaming and bubbly individual, who now, after the wedding we both agree, can only be described as the real world fairy godmother of Ellingham Hall, Wendy. We arrived with our then, 8 month old little boy, crawling at what felt like Mach-2, inquisitive beyond reason and having both our nerves on edge. Little did we know, this wouldn't phase our wonderful host, the 2 hit it off instantly, wide smiles, laughter and plenty of cuddles put both, my now Wife and I at ease. With reflection I would now say it was this initial interaction that made our choice so easy. It wasn't the beauty of the Halls exterior, nor the elegance of its interior. It was this sole woman who made us feel like she had welcomed us into 'her home', like family from a far, it was Wendy.
The challenge we truly faced in making our wedding happen was doing so around the complexity of military life. 4 months to go from nothing to everything is a big ask for many brides, never mind the wedding coordinator behind the bride. It will come as no surprise that Wendy took this in her stride as well, arguably more so than we both did and gave us the confidence that our dream day was more than achievable and had the full support of the team at Ellingham. Date changes to menu tastings were aplenty, delays in correspondence on our behalf and regular changes to the events plan are but to name a few of the complexities. What we thought were wedding changing difficulties, Wendy simplified and provided an answer, she went above and beyond excellent service in accommodating our, what I can only imagine as difficult, circumstances.
Eventually, without a hitch, we made it to our wedding weekend. Now my lacking description of exactly what and how much the staff did for us that weekend is in itself testament to their efforts. Everything was seamless, the whole weekend transitioned naturally and if I am honest the magic of the Ellingham staff is that you don't even realise they are there. Having met 10 years ago working in a wedding venue ourselves, we both know the challenges the team face. From the brides wedding shoes falling apart as she descends the Halls staircase on her way to the Church (Wendy again thanks, Connor and the superglue, you too!), getting the wedding breakfast out to 90 guests without any difficulty (particularly after the groom has rambled through his speech and delayed the service, apologies!) to enabling the after party for over 120, now even more tipsy guests, and cleaning up the numerous smashed glasses on the dancefloor that the groom has dropped due to rather aggressive dance moves. These are but to name a few, there are undoubtedly many more. I certainly can not do any of you justice with the written word but perhaps the knowledge that every single person in attendance had an incredible day and were full of praise for you all the morning after, will go the rest of the way that my words fail to.
Ellingham Hall, the venue, all the staff and in particular Wendy are fantastic, if we could do it all again, we certainly would and it would without question be with you all again. A weekend that we will remember for the rest of our lives, for a lot more than just the wedding vows we made at St. Aidan's.
Thank you so so much everyone