Yesterday, was the Lime Portfolio ‘wedding safari’ so, up I got and headed out to Greenwich to the Royal Naval College. A journey I rarely do so, allowed two hours only to take 45 minutes so made the most of Greenwich and what I have to say was one of the best coffee shops ‘Rhodes’. As, I sat in Rhodes looking out of the window I thought to myself I wonder how many other wedding planners will be on the Wedding Safari, it was five of us, so a perfect number.
On arriving at Royal Naval College, Sarah and Jayne welcomed us as the hosts and the adventure began.
Nicola showed us Admiralty House and the Painted Hall which are the two main spaces available and were really lovely. Admiralty House is so reasonable to hire and the back drop of the river just stunning. They have a brilliant ‘offer’ from 10.30am to 2.30pm which is perfect for a bride and groom on a tight budget. The Painted Hall is just amazing and standing in the under croft reminded me of one of the events I had done their about 10 years ago for a celebrity for Chinese New Year. Bonnie who has worked at The Royal Naval College for over 20 years also remembered that night. It was an event which would go down in history books, sorry but I can’t share it. They had organised for some suppliers to be on site which was a nice touch and I caught up with Karen Woolven again and met Nicola of Hall of Cakes and Kirri of Mandalay Stationery.
Then, it was onto the mini bus and off to Dartmouth House or too many The English Speaking Union in the heart of the West End where Maria met us and showed us the space which you get exclusively for a weekend wedding. It also includes a private garden space which is very versatile as you can have a BBQ outside and even put a small marquee structure within it.
Then, it was back onto the mini bus and out to Hatfield House where Nathalie welcomed us and what an amazing back drop for a wedding. The Old Palace, an Elizabethan Hall was just the perfect setting for a banquet, steeped in history. They also had the Riding School which was the original building but with modern décor. The gardens attached to the main hall were stunning as you can see from the image and couples are allowed to use the main house as a back drop.
Hatfield House
Gemma from Beaulieu also popped along a venue situated in the heart of the New Forest again offering a perfect back drop.
Then, lastly it was back into London to Stationers Hall located in St Paul’s to meet Hannah. This discreet venue tucked off Warwick Lane is a great space where again you have total exclusivity and even offers a private garden.
Stationers Hall
It was a great day planned by Sarah from Lime Portfolio and Jayne of Payne and Gunter and the different venues hospitality along the way was amazing, as we certainly didn’t go hungry and even had some cake in our goody bags for the tube trip home.
Lime Portfolio are part of Compass Group and within London have over 55 venues and then an additional +/- 50 over Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the rest of the UK.
So, next time you want the stress taken out of the venue searching click on www.limevenueportfolio.com and let them ease the stress.
Event Management Consultant and Fundraiser 