Sedgebrook Hall
I recently visited another Northamptonshire dog friendly wedding venue, namely Sedgebrook Hall which is less than 15 minutes drive from my house. Rebecca very kindly agreed to meet with me to show me around the venue. She even gave me a wedding goody bag that visiting couples normally receive when they visit!
Sedgebrook Hall History & Useful Information
Sedgebrook Hall is located in Chapel Brampton and was built in 1861 by Henry Philip Markham. It was almost certainly given this name because early ancestors of Henry Markham came from a Sedgebrook Hall in Lincolnshire. As well as building Sedgebrook Hall, Henry Philip Markham was also mayor of Northampton. A couple of other prominent families later owned Sedgebrook Hall and it remained a family home until the early 1990’s when it became a hotel and conference venue which is its main function to this day.
Dog friendly wedding venues seem to split between those that primarily only do weddings and those for which weddings only make up part of their business income. Sedgebrook Hall falls into this latter category. As already mentioned its main purpose is as a 4 star hotel with 103 bedrooms. It’s also a popular business conference venue, with a number of meeting rooms to suit the needs of most group sizes.
That’s not to say that weddings are just an afterthought, Sedgebrook Hall has much to offer wedding couples as we hope to highlight in this article. Some key points that will interest couples looking for a venue include:
- Weddings take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is the more expensive day with slight reductions being available to couples who book Friday or Sunday.
- Sedgebrook Hall has a number of dog friendly bedrooms but the Honeymoon Suite isn’t one of these bedrooms. All other areas of Sedgebrook Hall are dog friendly except the restaurant.
- There are 4 suites that can be booked for a wedding, depending on the capacity needed, details below.
The Oak Suite
The largest space catering for up to 120 people for the wedding ceremony and wedding breakfast. Once the food tables are removed this space increases to a capacity of 200 people for the evening celebrations and dancing.
The Mulberry Suite
Sedgebrook Hall’s medium sized room. It features high ceilings and is suitable for wedding ceremonies and wedding breakfasts for up to 50 guests. For the evening celebrations this capacity can increase to a total of 60 guests.
The Elm Suite
The smallest room for weddings, the Elm Suite is for up to 30 guests. This number applies to the wedding ceremony, the wedding breakfast and the evening celebrations.
Outside Pagoda
For those couples who require a space for up to 120 guests but would prefer the ceremony to take place outside, Sedgebrook Hall uses their pagoda area in the gardens. After the wedding vows, the wedding breakfast and evening celebrations would take place in The Oak Suite. Even if the ceremony is to take place inside in one of the suites mentioned I’m sure the wedding photographer will be keen to get some photos of the couple around the pagoda since it’s a lovely feature. They also have a Japanese garden which might prove a good location for some additional wedding photos.
It should be noted that this is not a sole use wedding venue. Whilst they never have more than one wedding booking each day, other areas of the venue may be used for a conference. Being such a large venue it’s unlikely that the wedding party will come into contact with other guests, and certainly not during the ceremony and wedding breakfast but the main bar is a shared area.
Other types of family celebrations that take place at Sedgebrook Hall include, graduation and prom events, funeral wakes and work Christmas parties.
Sedgebrook Hall Summary
When couples are looking for a dog friendly wedding venue there will be a number of factors that dictate which they will choose. Cost will certainly be one of these. Rather than list the current prices at time of writing I will link to their website where you can find all the information you are likely to need before deciding to schedule a visit of the venue. Prices can vary so much for a number of reasons, for instance the choice of evening food can be a cheaper, simpler buffet or a more expensive hog roast type of meal.
Where I feel Sedgebrook Hall could appeal to couples is the fact that they have various spaces to suit wedding parties between 30 and 120 guests. Dogs are allowed to take part in the wedding ceremony and the fact that dogs can stay overnight will also appeal to some couples. Indeed one of my most popular packages seems to be a custom quote where I’m asked to look after the dog until 11pm when a family member known to the dog will take them to one of the dog friendly bedrooms for the night. I can’t think of too many wedding venues that have as many as 103 bedrooms which might be a benefit to those couples that need accommodation for a large number of their wedding guests.
