Barton Grange Hotel Preston – Top tips to planning your perfect summer wedding
Planning your big day can often be a stressful and demanding time, with so much to pay out, book, arrange and organise. From inviting the guests, to choosing the dress, there is so much to think about that often small tasks can slip your mind and crop up just days before the big day.
To ensure that you have your checklist at hand, Barton Grange Hotel in Preston have come up with some top ten tips to make sure your wedding day runs smoothly and you have everything in place.
The award-winning Preston hotel have the staff and expertise in ensuring that your day is made special, from the flowers at the reception to the food on the table and know what hiccups can occur during a wedding day, and how to avoid them.
1. Finish the dress from top-to-toe
Make sure that you have your wedding dress steamed and pressed before the day, so you are not walking down the isle in a wrinkled dress. At the Barton Grange Hotel, you can leave your evening clothing (of you choose to get changed) in your beautiful luxury wedding bedroom suite, so you don’t have to worry about getting your belongings from A to B throughout the day.
2. Finalising the details of the ceremony.
Make sure that you finalise the details, including the church and venue and verify any last minute scheduling to ensure you get a good nights sleep before the big day. At Barton Grange Hotel, the wedding venue, Preston is also licensed for Wedding Ceremonies. If guests wish to marry at the hotel, they should contact the Ceremonies Officer in Preston, and give notice to the Superintendent Registrar of the District in which you live. The team at Barton Grange Hotel can create a beautiful setting for your ceremony in one of the luxury suites, with rooms accommodating for 30-300 people.
3. Choose your flowers
Meet with your florist to discuss the colours of your flowers making sure that you match them to your theme or colour scheme. A good tip is to give her a swatch of the fabric to match the colour of the linens, decorations or dresses. At Barton Grange Hotel you can make use of our wedding services such as our chair covers from £3.75 per chair, as well as floral vases from £15 per vase.
4. Arrive at your wedding in style
Make sure that you and your partner arrive at the wedding reception in style and allow Barton Grange Hotel to do the hard work for you. Walk down the red carpet on arrival, and add those little treats to welcome your guests such as a champagne reception and our staff on call ready to direct your guests to the main room.
5. Feast like a king and queen
Filling up your guests is the trick to a fun-filled happy ceremony. And the chefs at Barton Grange cook an impressive range of menus and always receive glowing compliments. And you can personalise your celebrations to suit your guests. Whether you want a carvery buffet to die for, pie and peas all round or our usual silver service, Barton Grange Hotel can offer a wide range of menus to cater for your needs and requirements.
6. Finish it off with your personal touches
Dressing the venue is a personal part of the wedding, and your finishing touches count. At Barton Grange Hotel, we have two banqueting rooms, meticulously dressed with fine table linens, alongside your own personal touches to create a truly impressive setting. Whether you are looking for a more intimate celebration in The Grange Room or a larger Wedding banquet in the Barton Suite, our approach is always to give you a good wedding celebration that is delivered with warmth, genuine friendliness and good humour.
7. Sleep soundly after your romantic day
After the day is over, and your guests retire to bed, make sure that they book their accommodation at the Preston hotel. The recent refurbishments at the hotel create an irresistible blend of warmth, and stylish contemporary look, retaining its traditional charm. Special accommodation rates are given for guests staying at the wedding venue Preston and if you celebrate your wedding at the Barton Grange Hotel, the bride and groom will stay in the Executive Room on the night of your wedding.
Notes to Editors
Barton Grange was built in 1900, as a country residence for Mr. John Healey, a Justice of the Peace and local cotton mill owner.
In 1925 Levi Collison, described in the deeds as “a country gentleman from St. Annes on Sea”, purchased the house. He was still living here in 1940 when the house was requisitioned by the War Office as a mess for officers of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Several years ago a guest staying in the hotel explained that he had been the requisitioning officer and that Mr. Collison had chased him away with a shotgun and he had to return with a police officer!
In 1945 Edward and Ada Topping were running a market gardening business in New Longton, west of Preston. Ada was looking for a large house to run as a bed and breakfast whilst Edward continued market gardening from the grounds. Barton Grange appeared to be tailor-made and they successfully purchased it at auction for £6,450. Unfortunately it was not de-requisitioned until 1950, by which time “it was in a dreadful state”.
Nonetheless, Ada set about transforming it and opened for business on the 16th July 1951 with 6 bedrooms. Trade increased steadily, new bedrooms were added in the 1950s and ‘60s and the ballroom in 1960. Significant expansion in the 1970s added 30 more rooms and a new restaurant and bar. The latest major changes occurred in 1996/7 when the entire property was re-designed and refurbished.
During these works, plans from 1901 were discovered; for a Walled Garden to the south of the house. This garden was re-created in faithful detail, had a roof put on it and became The Walled Garden Bistro. The hotel now has 51 bedrooms, a leisure centre, 2 restaurants and conference and banqueting facilities for 300 but the original house is still at its heart. (You can see the lintel announcing “1900” as you enter this room - through the original front doors)
In 1958, Edward Topping Junior (“Eddie”), returning from his National Service, started Barton Grange Landscapes, operating from the grounds of Barton Grange. In the 1970s Eddie also established a wholesale plant growing division, supplying garden centres up and down the country. Both divisions, located in various places around the county, are still going strong, now under the direction of Eddie’s eldest son Peter.
In 1963 Eddie started the North West’s first garden centre in the grounds of the hotel. This too started out in a very small way, little more than a cabin, but it soon became well established and very widely known. In 1990 Eddie’s youngest son, Guy, returned from Australia to expand the garden centre division with a new centre in Bolton. In March 2008, having outgrown this site, Guy moved the garden centre here two miles north, straight up the A6 to Brock. It now occupies a fantastic, 50 acre site with the Lancaster Canal running around it and the River Brock running through it and includes a farm shop and narrow boat marina as well as Willows Restaurant and The Riverside Café. Eddie also ran the hotel for 20 years from his mother’s retirement in the mid 1970’s before handing over to his other little boy!
May 7th, 2009 - 21:26
Great list with some great ideas. The Grange Hotel is a great place to get married.