Helpful Planning Info for Our Couples

I have put some ideas here of things you may want to consider as you are planning your day with us. I thought it might be useful as a reminder of the things you need to source and how it might all fit together.

Please also make sure that you have read our full terms and conditions very carefully. Please also make sure that you share these with your suppliers.

Don’t forget that you can visit as often as you like once you have booked a wedding with us. We will issue you with a card, you just need to show this to the Ticket Office on arrival. It is a great way to get ideas, share inspiration with friends and family and feel comfortable and at home here before your wedding day.

You are also welcome to bring suppliers here to talk through plans and make sure everything goes smoothly. I would definitely recommend bringing your photographer here, ideally at the same time of year and day (to see what is in bloom and where the light is best).

We strongly recommend that you take out wedding insurance.

What is a Dry Hire Venue?

We are hiring you Riverhill as a blank canvas for your day. You need to source everything that you will need to complete your vision.

This includes the big stuff like:

Caterer

Marquee

Generator

Toilets

Plus the smaller, pretty things:

crockery, cutlery and glassware

tables and chairs

flowers

entertainment

Usually the marquee company will also be able to supply your loos and generator and often tables and chairs too and your caterer should be able to get all the tableware for you.

We always suggest dealing with as few different suppliers as you possibly can and always put them in touch with each other so they can make sure they have what they need and you don’t get stuck in the middle.

POWER REQUIREMENTS - It is important that all your suppliers (caterer, band, bar etc) contact the marquee company with their individual power requirements. This ensures that there is enough power for everyone and the generator doesn’t get overloaded. Please also talk to the marquee company about cables and the positioning of items using power within the marquee. This way they can ensure that they have run the right sort of cables to the right locations.

Timing

The marquee lawn becomes yours on Thursday morning (for a Saturday wedding). We give you your own gatecode for our side drive so you can then come and go as you please. It is lovely to enjoy the set up process. Please do bring friends and family along to help you. There is no limit to how long you can be here for.

You are responsible for setting everything up and meeting suppliers as and when required. You are also responsible for making sure that the lawn is clear by 5pm on the Sunday. We do not have any rubbish disposal here so you must make sure that there is a plan for this with your caterer.

If you have things from the marquee that you are leaving inside overnight after the reception please make sure there is a plan for collection on the Sunday morning (NOT by you!!!). The marquee companies tend to like to get in early to take down and you don’t want a pile of things left on the lawn to get spoiled.

Suppliers

We recommend that you choose your marquee and caterer from our recommended suppliers list. As these are the two main elements most people like to get these booked in first and then fill in all the details. Usually they can also help you source the other things you need.

Our couples find it reassuring to go from the list. That way you know you are getting someone good who is reliable and trustworthy. We only include companies we have actually had here doing an event and we review them each year, removing anyone we are not 100% confident in recommending.

You are welcome to source everything else yourselves but you will find some suggestions on the list for people we rate highly. if you need any other suggestions please just ask.

We don’t charge corkage.

Please keep us up to date with who your suppliers are and if you are going ‘off-list’ we need to meet them here before your day (We also charge a £300 ‘off-list’ fee per supplier).

Food Trucks

We have an area of hard standing which is perfect for evening food trucks or mobile bars. Please do let us know if you are planning to have them so we can advise. They are not permitted to drive or park on the lawn.

Transport

We have plenty of free parking in our carpark for your guests.

Please do let us know in advance if you are thinking of having a bus to drop off / collect your guests. we need to make sure we have room for it.

We have parking by the house for you and a small number of disabled spaces we can reserve for guests. Please discuss with us how many you will need. Please make sure that all your guests know to use the main car park otherwise (they are welcome to drop off by the main house).

Set up

You will have your own gate code to use the side drive. We will send this out a week before along with the SUPPLIER RULES. Please make sure that all your suppliers have a copy of this and know that they need to have the code to gain access to the side drive. Please ask them to read the information as it will help them access the lawn easily. It also contains important information on lawn care.

Usually we will have our Head Gardener on hand to meet your marquee company and agree where they set up. See the map below for how the set up works best.

For a plan of the marquee lawn with measurements click here.

On the Day

I will be here during the day to help with logistics, parking and welcoming your guests. We will keep in touch in the run up and meet the week before to go through your plan for the day, timings, who is arriving when etc. The more we know, the more helpful we can be. Please do keep me up to date with your suppliers too.

As we are not wedding planners and do not run the day, have a think about how your day will work. Will you have someone incharge of keeping the day on schedule? Who will be in charge of any last minute issues? It is great if I can have details for who I should speak to should we encounter anything unforeseen.

We also provide you with an attendant for the evening, to welcome your evening guests, keep you all safe and light the paths back up to the car park and help everyone leave safely.