A Year in Weddings at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House – Part 3
Posted
23rd January 2025
in blog, blogsNnews
‘All was bustle till the wedding was over’
Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South
The third instalment in my round-up of 2024 weddings is all about DIY and personal touches.
DIY Décor
We saw some incredible DIY jobs in 2024, from flowers to bunting to cake. This can be such a special way for our couples to make their day as personal as possible. It’s also a great way to keep the wedding day more affordable as florists, venue dressers and caterers can be some of the most expensive suppliers on the wedding day.
A personal favourite from 2024 was Danielle & Damien’s grazing table in October. The bride arrived at the house a couple of hours before the ceremony and set up a full grazing table for 36 people with the help of her daughter. Even better, she did the whole thing with curlers in her hair! Danielle did an amazing job and even decorated the Servants’ Hall in beautiful autumnal colours, perfect for an October wedding.



Danielle & Damien, photography by Sophie Smalley
We also cannot forget to mention Julia & Suzanne’s amazing banister garland, kindly made by their friend. This stunning faux flower garland included trailing vines and sparkling fairy lights and it certainly stole the show at their wedding in March! It helped to create a lovely cosy atmosphere on a rainy day. Julia & Suzanne kindly donated this to the House after their wedding so it can be used and enjoyed by other couples in the future.



Personal Touches
Even though I managed 21 weddings in 2024, each and every one was different. One of the things that I love most about my job is that no two days or weddings are the same. Our couples have personalised their day in so many different ways, here are a few of my favourite special and personal touches.
Wedding favours are one of the primary sources of waste at weddings and usually involve all sorts of plastic packaging. Many of them get left behind and simply end up in the bin. For this reason, we tend to discourage our couples from having wedding favours or at least ask that they choose with our sustainability policy in mind. A particularly lovely idea this year came from Julia & Suzanne who purchased small paper packets of seeds from the Elizabeth Gaskell’s House garden for their guests. What a lovely, sustainable and permanent reminder of their special day!
Many of our couples tell us that one of the reasons they chose to have their wedding at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is because their money is going to a good cause by keeping the House open to the public. In June, our 100th couple(!) Jaqueline & Emyr added an extra charitable touch to their special day. They purchased their biodegradable confetti from Cancer Research which was such a lovely gesture.



Jacqueline & Emyr, photography by Claire McClean
Finally, we have noticed a trend for Lego at the House this year. Laura & Liam started this in April with their Lego guest book. This involved a bowl of heads, one of torsos and one of legs! Guests were then invited to make themselves out of Lego and place their mini-me on a named brick to be added to a 3D guestbook. This was such a unique idea and great fun for all of the guests. Ellen & Josh also added some Lego to their special day in November with a Lego cake topper. The tiny bride and groom looked fantastic on top of their cake under an archway of hearts and flowers!



Laura & Liam, photography by Lauren Elliott
If you are interested in booking your wedding at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, you can find out more and contact our team here.
Lucy Green, Wedding and Hires Manager at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House
Cover image – credit Andy Wilkinson