The wedding dress aside, choosing your venue might be one of the hardest wedding decisions you make. You might feel you’re handing control of your day to a bunch of strangers – how well are they going to perform and live up to your expectations? You need to be confident you’ve made the best decision.
As one of Yorkshire’s most successful wedding venues, here are the top ten reasons brides tell us they choose Holdsworth House:
1) It’s somewhere so flexible
“Holdsworth, unlike a lot of places, caters for whatever you want”
Your wedding day should be completely unique. We don’t shoehorn couples into packages that don’t suit them. Holdsworth House wedding packages are built from experience, from the average number of guests and using timings that we know work well for guests, registrars and for you to get the most out of your day. But if the package doesn’t fit you, we’ll tailor one that does.
Being an independent hotel means we can chop and change things to suit you more readily. If you’ve got some wild and crazy ideas – great, we will help you realise them. If you want a small, intimate celebration – wonderful, it will be very romantic.
You are the customer and you retain control. We can help and advise you at every step of the way. We don’t know any other venue offering the same flexibility.
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| Image-I-Nation Photography |
2) Your friends and family will thank you
“My son’s wedding was held at the hotel. The entire stay from beginning to end went without a fault or hitch and the staff could not have been more helpful and friendly.”
Most of our wedding business comes from referrals: couples who feel the urge to share their happy wedding with the world. Holdsworth House is not an off-the-shelf hotel, but if you want somewhere that will stand out and stay with your guests for years to come, this is it.
It’s true that many of our Tripadvisor reviews are from brides and grooms, but we also get a heap of comments from guests that celebrate with the wedding party. In a year we welcome around 20,000 wedding guests; you should come in and read our comment book from those who are checking out the morning after the night before. It makes our hearts sing.
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| John Hope Photography |
3) Holdsworth House is a photographer’s dream
“The house and grounds are stunning, we couldn’t have chosen a more beautiful location”
Knowing good suppliers is part of what we do. We don’t earn commission from any wedding supplier, but we will only recommend companies that we know have delivered great results in the past. But when a supplier recommends us back, that’s a lovely compliment.
Many photographers for example love shooting weddings here. They love the grounds, the lighting, the quirkiness and character of the building that they can pick out in pictures. Holdsworth House offers photographers something different from bog standard wedding portraits and they can use our hotel like a playground to capture the character of each bride and groom perfectly.
We’re used to working with a whole range of wedding companies – florists, cake makers, venue dressers – if they’re from Yorkshire, we’ve probably worked with them! All this experience means we can help them to help you, we see your other suppliers as our customers too so we will make sure they have everything they need to get their job done.
A bride making her way to the Hall
4) Tripadvisor winners again and again
“I’ve never written a review on Tripadvisor but after one of my best friend’s lovely wedding at Holdsworth House, I thought I’d have a go! Just really want to say how great all the staff were and it was such a special day. This is a really beautiful place to stay, I wish we’d had longer than just one night!”
Everyone knows what Tripadvisor is about. As hoteliers we don’t hide from it or pretend it’s not there. In fact we embrace all feedback, which is why Holdsworth House has won the Certificate of Excellence for the last seven years running.
We respond to all feedback, but most importantly ensure we do everything possible to resolve any issue as it happens, before a guest leaves. So you can rest assured that things don’t get brushed under the carpet nor corners cut – the good thing about Tripadvisor is that there is no place for a venue to hide!
Canapes for guests.
© Amore Photography
5) Fabulous food
“The food was to die for”
Holdsworth House is well known for outstanding food. Ingredients are sourced locally and the kitchen is located next to the main function room so wedding food is served hot and fresh.
A fresh banqueting service is nothing to be sniffed at. It means, unlike at some venues, wedding meals here are prepared fresh without freezing and reheating so that the taste packs a punch and your guests get a restaurant quality meal. Ours is quite the envy of a lot of venue kitchens.
6) 50 years’ experience
“All the team were superb but a special thank you to Matthew, Phil and our waitress – she has had lots of practice tucking in brides!!!!”
We get lots of strange and wonderful requests. That’s what makes a day in the life of Holdsworth House so interesting. Whatever particular needs and desire you have to make your wedding special, we will pull out the stops to help.
We have over 55 years’ experience as an independent hotel. From a private member’s socialising den in the 1960s to one of Yorkshire’s top wedding venues – we have a wealth of experience and there’s almost nothing our walls have not witnessed!
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| Holdsworth House co-owner Gail and Jamie Oliver |
7) A team that cares
“I was first introduced to Holdsworth House by Sally Wainwright (writer of Last Tango in Halifax & Happy Valley), who suggested it as one of the locations for Alan & Celia’s wedding in LTiH series two. Holdsworth House is a beautiful building, and it did eventually form part of our wedding sequence. From my initial contact with owner I was welcomed with open arms, a welcome that was extended to all the cast and crew whilst filming took place.” Andy Morgan, Location Manager
Being an independent hotel means our team takes things personally; perhaps that’s why we go above and beyond many other venues. Personal pride is very important and is engrained within the culture from the owners and management team to everyone working behind the scenes.
It’s this personal touch that continues to win us business. The team is selected for special projects, including TV and film, because we have a reputation of being able to deliver. We recently welcomed the cast and crew of Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax, and Jamie Oliver chose Holdsworth House to film Jamie’s Great Britain. It’s a reputation that goes back fifty years, when The Beatles stayed here to escape the crowds on their British tour.
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| Courtesy of Mr & Mrs Costello |
8) It’s a stunning year round setting
“My wife and I got married at this beautiful and charming hotel and have nothing but rave recommendations for every aspect of our special day.”
Spring and summer weddings are always popular. The gardens burst to life and the courtyards are full of birdsong. Many brides and grooms now consider a winter wedding equally as magical; a sprinkling of frost or snow makes Holdsworth House look spectacular.
There is so much to see at Holdsworth House. If you’re looking for a venue packed to the rafters with character, history and charm, look no further. We don’t pretend to be contemporary and corporate, we like to offer all of life’s luxuries in a more interesting and engaging way.
9) Indoors or out, take your pick
“We married at Holdsworth House and all I can say is that it was amazing. We had a perfect day. The hotel is fabulous, the food is gorgeous and the staff are absolutely amazing. If you want to tie the knot Holdsworth is the place to do it.”
10) Only one wedding per day
“I will remember this day always and for all the right reasons! The staff here are fabulous, much more than just professional and helpful, they are really friendly too and this made a huge difference to me on my big day!”
