A Luxury Wedding Planners Experience at Thicket Priory
Hosting a Luxury Wedding Planners Event was a no brainer as a new exclusive use North Yorkshire wedding venue. Wedding Planners can play such a huge part in a wedding for any couple and therefore we wanted to make sure some fabulous wedding planners had Thicket Priory firmly on their radars!

Image by Velvet May Designs

The Invites
Creating the invites for the event was so much fun and certainly kicked my crafty side in to full swing! As an autumnal event inspiration came from the fallen leaves and a hint of Halloween. Cutting, gluing and even wax stamping was involved in the production line for the invites, which were all handmade. One very important attachment to our guest’s invites was their ‘Gryffin Wings’ which would gain them access to the Priory!

Welcome to Thicket Priory
Guests arrived and were welcomed with pumpkins and autumnal décor throughout the Priory; being fed and watered from the moment they stepped through the door! Keys were displayed with all rooms allocated to our guests, however as we wanted to show everyone around first, it was straight to the pantries for biscuits and a brew or something a little stronger from the Gryffin Bar, before Yorkshire Afternoon Tea served in the Old Kitchen, beautifully created by Baba Ganoush.

Afternoon Tea…with Gin!
3pm was time for Tea! Our guests were seated around our beautiful 16ft Old Kitchen table for a super sociable afternoon tea, accompanied by Sloe Motion Hedgerow Blackberry & Apple Gin. The menu was as follows and went down a storm with those who had travelled from as far as Kent!

The Floral Workshop with Kathrine & Mandy
The Dunnington Room is the perfect ‘room of requirement’ to host a myriad of activities depending upon your group. As a group of wedding planners we thought a floral workshop…with a glass of fizz would be the perfect afternoon pastime. Kathrine & Mandy entertained our guests making floral wreaths and pumpkin/squash vases, filled with vibrant colour from the season! Everyone had lots of fun creating and catching up with fellow wedding planners from across the UK.

An evening with a hint of Halloween…
Guests then took some time in their rooms to relax and enjoy a luxurious bath…or some took advantage of a few more beverages in the bar before getting their Halloween glam on for dinner. Unbeknown to them they would have the option to have their face painted for the evening ahead! Sophie and Izzy provided the best face painting I’ve ever seen, including lots of glitter, bats, fire and even paints which glowed in the dark!
Pre-dinner bar activities didn’t just include face painting, we also provided a Gin Master Class from our Friends over at Sloe Motion, where Joff and Morgan talked about where the brand originated and helped educate our guests on the correct tonics and garnishes to serve with their beautiful tipples. My personal favourite was the Botanical Vodka which really did take me by surprise as a non-Vodka drinker!

…and of course, pre-dinner drinks cannot be served without some Yorkshire canapés to kick-start the catering for the evening.

Please take your seats for dinner…
Dinner was served on a show stopper table in the Ballroom created by the very talented Laura & Hana at Ambience Venue Styling UK, which included personalised place names laser cut and beautifully printed menus.
Golden charger plates brought the table to life, accompanied by flickering candle light and the MOST amazing cutlery I’ve ever seen!
Dining by Matthew Hyde delivered the most sublime dining experience. I mean you only need to look at the menu and the images to see just how delicious it was!

Here’s a little snap of the full Thicket Priory Team (central image), including the wonderful owner Bruce, who has put so much of his passion for all things nice into the Priory, and boy does it show!

After Dinner Activities
Let’s just say things got a little more ‘spooky’ after dinner where we were joined by some of our cellar guests, usually hidden from the seeing eye as to not cause a fright!!
The guests were split into 4 teams; the Bats, the Unicorns, the Witches and the Black Cats…all in competition for who could make the best ‘Corpse Bride’. I’m just so glad we get to work with such beautiful bridalwear all year round as there were some questionable styles amongst the contestants!

Breakfast and Bon Voyage
Before sending our guests on their journey’s home there were topped up just one last time with an offering of a bagel station, with a mixture of meat, fish and veg to help them on their way. I must ask how the chef’s make their maple bacon as it is divine!

A little gift to send you on your way…
Field & Fawcett helps us create these scrumptious hampers for everyone to take a little piece of Yorkshire home with them, filled with food and drink to get them through a tough morning or relax after a hard day at work. The cupcakes were made in the theme of the event, with Ginger and Bonfire Toffee…yummy, thanks Apple Charlotte!

…for those who wanted to take some time to explore the building in their own time, the morning gave them some ‘free time’ to do this…if you’d like to do this from the comfort of your sofa, explore using our 3D Tour or Interactive Map.

Behind the Scenes with the Team…
We know everyone loves to see a little behind the scenes action so here’s a few of the team and the efforts made to deliver what was a very memorable stay for all.

What a Team!!

(Left to Right: Flame, Anna, Becca & Sarah)

Here’s to many more fabulous Events!
Anna x

Styling: Ambience Venue Styling UK
Florist: Fleur Adamo & Wedding Blossoms York
Catering: Baba Ganoush – Dining by Matthew Hyde
Photography: Carla Whittingham Photography
Catering Hire/Tableware: White House Crockery
Hampers: Field & Fawcett
Biscuits: LS Cakery
Cupcakes: Apple Charlotte Cakes
Drinks Reception: Sloe Motion UK
Face Painting: Wow Face & Body Art UK