Horton Grange Venue Guide
Are you here because you searched for Horton Grange Weddings? You’ll be excited to know that I have a bit of insider knowledge to share with you about this wedding venue, as I’ve photographed weddings there before!
This guide is up to date as of June 2023.
Perfect for small and medium sized weddings of up to 100 ceremony guests
Exclusive use - no random hotel guests, golfers etc to get in the way!
Range of indoor and outdoor ceremony options
Delicious in-house catering with lots of food options
Easy to get to for traveling guests
Accommodation on site
Here are the quick facts:
The Big Picture
Horton Grange is a privately owned Grade-II listed country house hotel set in 4 acres of beautiful South East Northumberland, around a 10 minute drive from Morpeth, 20 minutes from Newcastle and 10 minutes to Ponteland.
It’s got excellent transport links being within 15 minutes of Newcastle International Airport and close to the A1, making it really easy for your guests to travel to, and yet feels as though it’s in the heart of the countryside.
Horton Grange has a capacity of up to 100 day guests and up to 150 evening guests (in total, not additional to the 100 day guests.)
Ceremonies can take place indoors in a larger or smaller space within the main House, outside in the grounds, or in the stunning newly converted barn.
Incredible value wedding packages for 2023 can be had here from just £5,500 (60 day guests & 90 evening guests) and with beautiful interiors, grounds and so many options for your ceremony, Horton Grange Country House Hotel could be the perfect northumberland wedding venue for you!
The Bedrooms
Horton Grange has a total of 9 bedrooms including the ‘bridal’ suite, 5 of which are within the House itself. A further 4 are in a converted stable block. The bedrooms are a good size and decorated in a classic, timeless style fitting the style of the building.
The cost per night is based on 2 guests sharing and varies based on time of year and which night of the week is being booked. Prices start from £110 Mon- Fri in Jan/Feb up to £190 on a Saturday May-September. All bedroom bookings include a full english breakfast, served in the Lounge.
Hotels & Other Accommodation Nearby
More guests needing to stay? There are lots of nearby accommodation options. The nearest is the Holiday Inn Newcastle Gosforth Park, located at Seaton Burn is just a 2 minute drive from Horton Grange.
For tighter budgets, Seaton Burn also has a Travelodge. Morpeth is around 10 minutes away by car, and has lots of small hotels and B&Bs for your guests to choose from.
The Ceremony
On a sunny summers day, you might opt for an outdoor ceremony on the lawn. For smaller guest lists, the Lounge is ideal, seating up to 60 guests - just be aware of the entrance meaning you won’t get to walk a full length aisle though!
Larger indoor ceremonies will be better suited to the larger room, seating up to 100 or the newly converted barn - which is the perfect blend of rustic and elegant with it’s stone walls, vaulted ceilings and huge circular light fittings (and the photographer in me also loves the skylights, making lighting the photos a breeze!)
Guests should arrive around 45 minutes before the ceremony time, there is a bar for drinks and your guests can mingle before being seated. The ceremony time is usually 2pm, there may be leeway on this though, just ask!
If you’d like that all important Confetti shot after your ceremony, you’ll be pleased to know confetti is allowed, and I understand both petals and paper discs are acceptable.
Registrar or Celebrant?
Before you book your date with Horton Grange Country House Hotel, you’ll need to confirm there is a registrar available to cover your ceremony. You can contact the Northumberland Registrars directly by calling 01665 602870. For 2023/24 Weddings, there’s a £45 non-refundable booking fee to secure your Registrar. You can then expect to pay Northumberland County Council between £510 and £595 for the service and ceremony fees, depending on the date you chose.
The exception to this would be if you were planning to have a celebrant-led ceremony - you’ll instead need to do the legal formalities at a registry office (in Northumberland this is only available at Alnwick registry office and only on Tuesday or Thursday mornings at a cost of about £57) and a celebrant-led ceremony will be much more personalised and bespoke. Some of my favourite north east wedding celebrants are Sarah Clarke, Lisa Wilson and Love Jo.
Wedding Breakfast
All tables, chairs, cutlery, glassware are included, but additional styling such as centrepieces, runners and styling items would need to be sourced. Some of my favourite North East wedding stylists are Birdcages and Dragonflies, Ambience Newcastle and The Whole Sch-Bang. A lot of venues don’t allow them, so you might be wondering, does Horton Grange allow real candles? Good news! Yes they do!
In addition to styling, you’ll probably want flowers too, my favourite florists close to Horton Grange are Moira J, Jones & Jones and the Bee & Botanist.
Suppliers can access the spaces on the morning of your wedding to set up your styling, if you’re using the large room for your ceremony it will need to be ‘turned over’ for your wedding breakfast and again for your evening reception - so be sure to ask your suppliers how they would recommend that should happen.
The menu options are extensive for your wedding breakfast, with 10 or more options per course for you to choose from. A three course menu starts from £52.50 per person and includes vegetarian and vegan options. Horton Grange even has a dedicated children’s menu, with 3 courses at £20.00 per child.
Evening Reception
After your meal, the space will be readied for your evening reception. Evening guests can arrive from around 7pm and Horton Grange is open until 1am.
Whether you choose a live band - I can recommend Red Wings and the Folk Soul Brothers, or a DJ, Horton Grange can accommodate.
The food choices for your evening buffet are again really extensive. Ranging from £11.00 to £31.00 per person, hot sandwiches with chips or wedges come in at the lowest cost, ‘hot fork buffet or pizzas are great value mid-price options and a BBQ coming in most costly.
Venue Hire Costs
According to the venue’s brochure (as of June 2023), the hire charge varies from £850 for a midweek winter date, up to £2,950 for a summer Saturday date.
This hire charge includes:
Exclusive use of house & grounds
A dedicated Wedding Manager
The Bridal Suite for the night of your wedding
Full English Breakfast the following morning
Use of a red aisle carpet, cake knife, cake stand, table linens, crockery, cutlery and glassware
Complimentary wedding menu tasting
A master of ceremonies
Photography
As a photographer, I look at venues from a slightly different perspective than you might as a couple. I want to see light-filled rooms, beautifully planted gardens with space for the large group photos and variety in backgrounds for those all-important portraits of the two of you as newlyweds. Horton Grange ticks all of these boxes!
Is Horton Grange a great place to get married?
In short - yes! It’s a really cost effective venue considering you get exclusive use, really attentive staff and beautiful (& very tasty!) food. With so many options for where to have your ceremony, including the stunning new wedding barn, you can really make your day exactly how you want it.
Who am I?
I’m Alex Katherine, a Northumberland wedding photographer, based just 10 minutes from Horton Grange. If it’s candid, natural images your looking for and a photographer who seamlessly fits in on the day, documenting it all as it happens and not turning it into a photoshoot instead of a wedding- I’m your girl!
You can find out more about me here and see what I offer here. I’d love to chat with you about your Horton Grange wedding.
“Alexxxxx 🥺🥺
I’m sat crying here looking at these, you are truly an amazing photographer. We can’t wait to see the rest ❤️❤️”
Horton Grange bride, Abbie, on receiving previews