Wedding Questions Answered

The ultimate Northamptonshire country house wedding venue, Highgate House, has every detail covered...

Q. How many pre-event meetings will we have with the wedding planner?
A. Our wedding planner will meet you twice before your big day; we recommend that one of these meetings is arranged for 5 weeks before the event, and the other at your convenience. At the five weeks notice meeting we will require your final numbers so it is suggested considering this when giving your RSVP date on invitations.

Q. Is there a menu tasting session before the wedding?
A. Yes, the wedding couple are invited to visit Highgate House for a complimentary menu taster (drinks chargeable), on a Monday - Thursday evening, approximately 3 months before the wedding. Two options can be chosen for each course, one week before the tasting date to ensure that the chefs have all necessary stock to prepare these dishes. Additional guests are more than welcome to come too, at £30 per head.

Q. Can you cater for dietary requirement?
A. Yes, our chefs are happy to cater for all kinds of dietary requirements. Since our food is all freshly prepared in our own kitchens using only the highest quality ingredients, we know exactly what goes into each meal so we know exactly what we need to take out for any allergy sufferers. We simply ask that you please ensure there is a note on your invitations asking about dietary requirements and allergies so that our chefs have plenty of notice prior to the wedding breakfast.

Our all-inclusive wedding packages include tea, FairTrade coffee and after-dinner mints. All tables are supplied with jugs of tap water, free of charge.

Q. Is there a children's menu?
A. Yes, children aged between 4-12yrs can either have a half price wedding breakfast or a special children's meal of garlic bread, homemade breaded chicken with chips and ice cream for £10 per child. Children aged 3 and under are free of charge.

Please note that Highgate House cannot supervise the children attending; this is the full responsibility of their parent/guardian.

Q. How will we prepare for the photographs on the day?
A. We would suggest your photographer meet you at our Northamptonshire wedding venue, Highgate House, before your big day to firstly view the property and the rooms you will be using, and secondly for you all to decide on where the photographs will be taken and how long this will take. We would suggest your group shots are taken quite early on in the Drinks Reception to then allow more time for the formal family shots.

Q. Can we stay at Highgate House the night before the wedding?
A. Yes, if you would like to stay the night before your wedding we are pleased to offer you a special private dining rate of just £35 per person for you and your guests to enjoy a three course dinner. Alternatively, we can reserve a table for you in our Terrace Restaurant.

With the finest wedding accommodation in Northamptonshire we frequently accommodate couples, family members and guests prior ro the big day. Unfortunately we are not able to guarantee the Bridal Suite for you the night before but we will ensure that you are accommodated in a suitable room, subject to bedroom availability.

Q. When can we check-in on the wedding day?
A. We aim for the Bridal Suite to be ready by midday. Should you wish to arrive a Highgate House before midday and would like to get ready, we will allocate you a bedroom to get ready in (advance notice is required) and then happily move your belongings into the Bridal Suite during the ceremony.

For your guests, check-in is available from 1.30pm onwards. We have a secure luggage store for guests to store their items before check-in and temporary rooms maybe available (could be subject to an additional charge) for guests arriving before check-in.

We will Accommodation Forms to you roughly 8-9 months before your wedding so that you can send these out with your invitations.

Q. How long does each stage of the day last?
A. The civil ceremony lasts for approximately 20 minutes, based on including one reading.
The drinks reception usually lasts between 1 and 2 hours, including photographs.
With a receiving line we recommend that you allow approximately 15 minutes per 50 guests to enter the room.
The Wedding Breakfast is approximately 2½ hours, including the cutting of the cake and speeches (please bear in mind that speeches can take anything up to an hour.)
The evening buffet ordinarily comes out at 9pm with bar and disco, which concludes naturally at midnight. We invite hourly extensions after midnight at an additional cost.

Q. Who will make announcements on the day?
A. Our Service Manager will happily do ‘announcing' for you, should you decide not to have a Master of Ceremonies. If you wish for your Best Man or Usher to do this instead, we will keep them informed about what to say and when to say it!

Q. Where will the Bridal car enter the wedding venue?
A. The gates at the top of the main lawn in front of Highgate House are opened exclusively for weddings. Bridal cars are the only cars allowed through here, although if parents, groomsmen and bridesmaids are travelling in hired cars, they too have access this way.

Q. When will the room be set up?
A. We will begin setting up the room first thing in the morning of your special day. To ensure that all runs smoothly we ask for all table items, such as the table plan, place cards, favours, guest book etc, to be delivered to Highgate House the day before the big day so that we can begin setting up first thing in the morning.

Q. Will you provide a table plan and place cards?
A. Yes, we will provide you with a master table plan to work from and will happily print this on plain white A3 paper for the big day, free of charge. We can also print place cards for you, at a cost of 50p each.

Q. Can you supply table decorations and chair covers?
A. White linen table cloths are included, along with all crockery and cutlery. We use recyclable thick linen replacement table napkins which come in white or cream, and can be rolled with a silver napkin ring or folded to suit. Although we do not carry our own chair covers we work closely with some great companies who do, which can be found on our supplier list, along with details of companies which provide table decorations, linen napkins and more.

Q. Do you provide a cake stand?
A. Yes. We have a number of cake stands in various shapes and sizes*, we also provide a cake table, with a white table cloth and a cake knife in both silver and gold for you to use free of charge.

*Round: We have both silver and gold round cake bases with a diameter of 35cm
Square: We have gold and silver square cake bases in two sizes; one 35cm x 35cm, the other 42.5cm x 42.5cm but we only have the larger one in silver.
Tiered: We have a three tiered cake stand which is in silver and measures 15cm and 23cm and 31cm diameters.

Q. How will we organise all the extras and outside equipment?
A. We will contact your florist, cake maker and DJ the week before the wedding to find out what time they will be likely to arrive at our Northamptonshire wedding venue, and ensure they know where they need to access and ascertain how we can help them.

Q. Can you provide music?
A. Yes, we have a couple of DJ's who we use regularly at Highgate House, their details can be found with our wedding suppliers information. Should your wedding breakfast be taking place in Coote, we recommend that your DJ and/or Band set up during the morning so not to disturb you during the wedding breakfast. If you would like your music to continue after midnight that is no problem, our wedding planner can give details of the hourly extension we offer and the rate for these.

Your DJ is able to park conveniently outside each of our function rooms, gaining easy access. We would suggest that any DJ's who have not played at Highgate House previously do come to visit prior to the day, to get an idea of the function room layout and what equipment they will require.

Q. How big is the dance floor and stage at Highgate House?
A. Our dance floor is 4m x 4m and our stage is 4.8m x 2.4m.

Q. How much are drinks in the bar?
A. Our drinks prices are in line with competitors and local establishments.

Q. Can you supply outdoor games for summer weddings?
A. Yes, we have Giant Jenga, Connect 4 and croquet which can all be used free of charge. Please inform your Wedding Planner if you would like these so we can book them to your event.

Q. Do you allow fireworks?
A. Unfortunately we do not hold a license for fireworks, due to the residential location of our Northamptonshire country house wedding venue.

Q. Will someone oversee the wedding day itself?
A. Yes, there will be a service Manager present at your event who will oversee it and ensure all runs smoothly. The day before your celebration the wedding planner will meet with the service manager and discuss all details of your big day. The Service Manager will be your main point of contact throughout the day and they will make sure everything runs to schedule.

Our Wedding Planner hopes to be at every wedding but this cannot be guaranteed so please be assured that you are in very capable hands with the Service Team and that they are highly skilled professionals.