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Monday 21 February 2011

My Venue, Madeley Court Hotel

Madeley Court Hotel

view Madeley Court Hotel websitemadeley

We’d almost booked Rowton Castle, we almost booked Somerford Hall so that when we looked at Madeley Court I wasn’t expecting much. I absolutely fell in love!

It does have that winding drive way, albeit along side a leisure centre, but a row of trees would hide that fence. It is an old country manor house; it was a catholic stronghold, owned by an abbey but it passed into private ownership at the dissolution of the monasteries. It has been lovingly restored by Madeley’s previous owners and has recently passed into the ownership of Mercure Hotels.

We first saw Madeley Court Jan 2010, I went with my mum to have a look. I was sceptical. The gate house did make me gasp as we came around the corner as it looks like an old castle gatehouse. Just stunning. We had a meeting with Peter, the wedding coordinator, who was so professional madeley-2and friendly and took the time to show us all around the hotel and the Mill, where our reception will be held. 

The Mill has recently been restored and looks amazing, with a medieval style.There are two minstrel's galleries at either end, medieval paintings across the walls, a gorgeous carpet which can be removed to reveal a dance floor, and plenty of space! The Mill is on two floors, the ground floor is a spacious but dark bar and the top floor is a vast room big enough for a wedding breakfast.

What we wanted was a room big enough for a wedding breakfast and then big enough for a right old knees up in the evening. The Mill at Madeley Court is the first wedding venue that I saw which achieved this. I knew this was something h2b was concerned about, having enough space, so as soon as I saw that this was one of the biggest rooms I’d seen, then I was hooked! It also has the second room for those of your guests who want to retreat from the loud music, the bar downstairs. I also wanted to set up space for some mahjong tables, as I will be having some Chinese guests, and the Mill has plenty of space for this. madeley-3

And Peter is absolutely fantastic. He’s serious and dedicated and he has a brilliant sense of humour. Just talking things through with him the other day really put a lot of our thoughts at ease. He is full of funny wedding stories, I could listen to him talking about past weddings! My friend’s little sister is getting married at Madeley Court in June, and as soon as I mentioned her name he reeled off her wedding date and knew exactly who I was talking about, even though he must be working with hundreds of couples each year. And yesterday, I was asked at a wedding fayre where my venue is and as soon as I mentioned Madeley Court the chap said Peter was fantastic and we are in safe hands. I really do feel that I’m in safe hands and I believe that Peter will do his best to give us the most wonderful day!

Why We Booked
I have a check list of things I wanted from my venue and Madeley ticked most of the boxes! 

  1. Old manor house with lots of character and original features tick
  2. Long, romantic, winding drive down to the manor house tick
  3. Large room for the wedding breakfast and the evening reception tick
  4. Second room for guests to go to if they don’t like the music but still being a part of the wedding tick
  5. Catering and bar services all sorted for us tick
  6. On site accommodation for us and our guests tick
  7. An amazing wedding coordinator who also works as master of ceremonies tick
  8. Ample parking tick
  9. In the countryside wrong

The only element that I don’t like is that Madeley Court is in Madeley and is surrounded by the the-mill leisure centre and houses. Luckily it is difficult to see any of these from the grounds and you’re so surrounded by history and beautiful buildings that one tends not to look outside the grounds.

You can see from my photos that the houses and leisure centre are nowhere to be seen. I feel like Madeley Court is a wow venue, and with so many of our guests attending our wedding coming to the UK for the first time, we really wanted something that was going to wow them.

My Recommendations
As Madeley Court is my venue of course I’m going to recommend it. I think that Madeley Court is ideal for a bride who has a moderate sized budget, who loves history and beautiful architecture, and who wants a large-ish space for a wonderful party. It’s ideal for a bride who wants to be taken care of by a wonderful wedding coordinator and yet has her own ideas for how she wants things to be.

It’s difficult to think why I wouldn’t recommend Madeley Court, I think everyone should get married here! Everyone who wants a historical venue. If you want an ultra modern wedding venue then Madeley Court is not for you.

2 comments:

  1. hi im going to view this venue at the weekend .have you any advice on questions for me to ask them?im so in love with the venue i think it will be the one.depending on budget i have been emailing there wedding co-ordinator but she never replies .how have you found her?thanks jen

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  2. Hi Jen,

    When I first booked Madeley Court, Peter was the wedding coordinator and he could not do enough for us! We couldn't afford the additional cost for the beef dish in the brochure so he offered us an alternative dish.

    It has taken the new coordinator about a week to reply to emails but I found her very very helpful. It may be the email address you're using, as I've not had replies if I've sent it to the main address.

    I know that they do try to give you what you want while attempting to fit into your budget. At the last wedding fayre, the coordinator spent a really long time with us, showing us all the rooms, even though we've already booked and paid our deposit! Other brides have told me she's very attentive and helpful.

    Ask to see the bridal suit, it is stunning! Have a look at the hotel's reviews on Trip Advisor and if there's something you want that's not in the brochure, see if you can have it within the red carpet package.

    I love love love Madeley Court and I think we'll both have fantastic weddings there!

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