Brides Up North Dream Venue: Bolton Castle

Posted on: 12/03/2013

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This afternoon we are off to Wensleydale, Grommit! 

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Sorry, I couldn’t resist (I’m so very much a product of the 90’s)!  However, the gorgeousness of today’s dream venue is no laughing matter.  Today we are in the Dales to meet Katie of Brides Up North Featured Supplier venue Bolton Castle and find out why this medieval fairy-tale venue should be on your shortlist. 

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Where is Bolton Castle located?

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Bolton Castle is in beautiful Wensleydale, just inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Our closest town is Leyburn and we are situated in the village of Castle Bolton, North Yorkshire.

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Tell Brides Up North about the venue, what facilities does it have?

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Bolton Castle is a 600 year old medieval fortress completed in 1399 by Sir Richard Le Scrope. The castle is steeped in history and has a wonderful atmosphere, which is brought to life when people come to celebrate here.

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Our spectacular rooms are licenced for Civil Ceremonies and Receptions and couples are able to entertain their guests as royalty once did. Wedding couples who choose to hold their reception at Bolton have exclusive use of the Castle and are able to treat it as their own. We hold ceremonies in our light and airy Solar room which is south facing to get the best of the sunlight and has stunning views over to Penn Hill. Wedding breakfasts are held in our magnificent Great Chamber which would have once held great banquets and feasts. We have several options for drinks receptions including our rustic old kitchen, partially ruined chapel, courtyard and medieval gardens.

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The Castle can seat 120 guests for the wedding breakfast and then up to 240 for an evening reception.

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What makes Bolton Castle a special wedding venue and sets you apart from others?

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Bolton is a completely unique and special venue as it is a partially ruined Medieval Castle and so the accommodation ranges from romantic ruined areas (which are a photographers dream) to fully restored stunning banqueting halls where couples can entertain their guests like royalty. We offer special extra experiences including having our beautiful barn owl deliver the wedding rings, enjoying a hawk and owl display in the courtyard, a falconry display in the grounds or an archery demonstration at the archery butts. We want each couple to have a day which is completely unique to them and so every wedding here is different. We only ever have one wedding a week and we allow couples to set up the rooms up to two days before the wedding meaning they do not have to worry about anything on the day. Our relaxed approach and limited restrictions mean that couples start to feel as if Bolton is their own personal Castle and completely fall in love with the place. Our couples have free visits on their anniversaries so many couples come back year after year to see their favourite castle.

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What sort of bride would be “a Bolton Castle bride”?

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A bride who wants something completely different for her big day. Our brides are often very creative with themes and colour schemes and enjoy doing a lot of the decoration and planning themselves so the day is very personal and homemade.

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How can your staff help to make the planning process easier and the big day amazing?

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Our staff can recommend trusted suppliers who have worked at the Castle before and we are always on hand to respond to any queries, meet potential new suppliers/photographers to show them around and help in any way we can. We are a very small team so couples can get to know the person who will be looking after them on the big day and feel confident that everything will run according to plan.

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We have our own in house caterers who can cater for all tastes and budgets from hog roasts and cold buffets to three course meals. Our caterers provide sample menus but are able to work with couples to create their perfect menu for the big day.

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Tell us about your catering services?  What makes them special? 

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Our catering services are provided by Guy Fairhurst who grew up in North Yorkshire and whose parents ran the successful and locally renowned restaurant at Bolton Castle in the 1980s.

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Since his childhood, Guy has been passionate about food. He qualified as a Chef at York College in 2005 and worked in London at the fashionable Eight Over Eight  Thai restaurant in Fulham, before returning to his native county of Yorkshire to further his career among his family and friends and the surroundings he loves.

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The North of England is famous for the quality of its stockmen and animal husbandry and we are lucky to be surrounded by farmers who take great pride in the meat and crops they produce and hope that this reflects in our food. Guy and his team are determined to combine the best local and homemade produce with a high quality and  friendly service.

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Can guests stay over at your venue? 

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We do not have any accommodation in the Castle as the whole building is open to the public during the week and wedding guests can explore the whole building during the wedding reception if they wish. We have a list of recommended accommodation including local pubs and inns, boutique hotels and B&Bs. 

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Can you give Brides Up North an idea on price?

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Ceremony Only: £19 per head (minimum charge £1,520)*: This includes exclusive use of the magnificent Great Chamber for duration of the ceremony and for an hour afterwards, as well as non exclusive use of the remainder of the Castle and gardens. We will also provide lime washed chiavari chairs, registrars table and cloth and a roaring log fire.

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Reception Only: £30 per head (minimum charge £2,400)*: This includes exclusive use of the entire Castle from 5.30pm until half past midnight. We will also provide lime washed chiavari chairs, a choice of round banqueting or rectangular trestle tables, registrars table and cloth, cake table and a roaring log fire.

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Ceremony and Reception: £37 per head (minimum charge £2960)*: This includes exclusive use of the entire Castle from 3.30pm until half past midnight. We will also provide lime washed chiavari chairs, a choice of round banqueting or rectangular trestle tables, registrars table and cloth, cake table and a roaring log fire.

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*All charges include VAT at the current rate.  Minimum charge is based on 80 guests and is not on top of the price per head.  At certain times of the year we can offer discounts where couples would pay the minimum charge and then be allowed up to 120 guests.

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Any really memorable weddings at the venue?  Any stories to share?

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Our most memorable wedding recently was last November when the entire wedding party were dressed in beautiful, vibrant and authentic medieval costume. The groom was dressed in a full chainmail suit and they chose to have the barn owl ring bearer. We were a bit concerned that the barn owl would be upset by the chainmail suit as he hadn’t come across it before but he flew perfectly. He just didn’t want to come back afterwards! The couple had decorated the Castle with help from family members and it looked absolutely amazing with flowers and autumn foliage on every surface and the autumnal colours were really striking. The little details such as place settings and table numbers really set off the medieval theme.

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Another fabulous wedding we had was the first wedding I worked on when starting at the Castle. The couple transformed the castle into a fairyland with  hundreds of tea lights and candles everywhere and beautiful greenery all over the Castle. It took them a whole week to decorate and half an hour to light all of the candles but was absolutely stunning.

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What else goes on at Bolton Castle?

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The Castle is open to the public 7 days a week from February to November (shutting early for weddings) and we have a full programme of events during the year including living history weekends, children’s craft activities, outdoor performances and more. We have a wonderful tea room serving homemade and locally sourced refreshments. We also have beautiful medieval gardens and a daily programme of archery demonstrations, falconry displays and wild boar feeding times.

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Where can Brides Up North get more information or contact the venue?

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More information is available at www.boltoncastle.co.uk, email me on katie.boggis@boltoncastle.co.uk or call on 01969 623981.

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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2013 supplied by Bolton Castle

Bolton Castle is a Brides Up North Featured Supplier

Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier

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