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Ham House and Gardens is now owned by the National Trust, who describe the property as "unique in Europe as the most complete survival of 17th century fashion and power" Ham House overlooks the River Thames, in Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Marble Hill House on the opposite bank of the river in Twickenham.

As you approach the property you are greeted rather appropriately by a statue of Father Thames crafted in Coade stone by John Bacon the younger. Meander around the beautiful Stuart gardens you will find the famous Cherry Garden, featuring lavender parterres flanked by two vaulted trellises of pleached hornbeam with a statue of Bacchus as a centre piece.

It was built in 1610 for Sir Thomas Vavasour. In 1626 it became the property of William Murray the "whipping boy" of Charles I. Murray remodelled the house, before it passed into the hands of perhaps it’s most infamous owner, his daughter Elizabeth, Lady Dysart, who through marriage became The Duchess of Lauderdale. Her legacy continues to this day not only with the extravagant work she had carried out to the house, but it is said that her spirit and that of her dog are still roaming the corridors of this mansion. Making it one of Britain’s most haunted buildings.

Weddings and Filming

Along as being a great place to visit, Ham House is often used as a filming location as well as a stylish wedding venue.

Ham House Resources

• Ham House Chauffeur Service
• Ham Wedding Car Hire
• Ham House Wikipedia entry

Chiswick House is a octagonal domed Palladian villa in Chiswick, in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London.

Inspired by the Villa Capra "La Rotonda" near Vicenza, Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork PC (1694 – 1753) designed the villa with William Kent and had it constructed in 1726-9. A fine example of 18th-century architecture, featuring colonnaded portico on the upper storey, frescoed ceilings, velvet rooms and stone rooms. The mansion houses a superb collection of paintings and Palladian furnishings. The gardens are acknowledged by many as the birthplace of the English landscape movement.

Wedding Venue

Chiswick House can be hired as a stunning wedding venue, and can accommodate sit down dining for up to 96 guests within the house and up to 150 guests with the use of a marquee on the courtyard. Drinks receptions for up to 150 guests can be catered for within the house.

An interior photograph of Chiswick House by Hip and Funky Photography

Chiswick House,
Burlington Lane,
Chiswick
W4 2RP
Tel: 020 8995 0508
Official Website

Chiswick Wedding Car Hire

The Richmond Register office is located at 1, Spring Terrace, close to the centre of Richmond Upon Thames, Surrey. Featuring an elegant ceremony room which can accommodate 40 people. Fresh flowers, a comfortable waiting room, with French doors leading to a spacious garden, and a very private “secret garden”. There is a paved front area which is perfect for “confetti shots”, beneath the highest tree in Richmond. The venue also offers an exclusive Richmond certificate to commemorate your ceremony.

The registry office is located near to a large public car park, and well placed for wedding photographs beside Richmond Bridge and Richmond’s signature cobbled streets and alleyways.

Richmond Register Office
1, Spring Terrace
(corner of Mount Ararat/Paradise Roads)
Richmond Upon Thames
Surrey
TW9 1LW

Telephone: 020 8940 2853 or 020 8940 2651
Fax: 020 8940 8226
Official Website

Richmond Registry Office Resources

• Surrey Wedding Cars

The Royal Hospital in Chelsea was founded by King Charles II, who authorised the building of the hospital in 1681, especially for old or injured soldiers. Over 3 centuries later the Royal Hospital is a retirement home and nursing home for British soldiers who are unfit for further duty due to injury or old age, and often known as “Chelsea Pensioners”.

Since 1913, the Royal Hospital has been home to the Chelsea Flower Show.

Events at the Royal Hospital

Along with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show the hospital hosts special events including weddings at the The Conservatory at Chelsea, a luxury marquee erected in the grounds of the hospital, which makes a breathtaking wedding venue.

The Royal Hospital Chelsea
Royal Hospital Road
Chelsea
London
SW3 4SR
Tel: 020 7881 5200
Official Website

Castle Marquees of Burley are a leading Hampshire marquee hire company, providing luxury marquees for weddings, corporate events and social functions across the New Forest, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire. They offer "Traditional Marquees" alongside contemporary styled "Open Span" and "Chinese Hat" marquees.

From their base in Burley, in the heart of the New Forest, Castle Marquees have collected a glowing list of testimonials that demonstrate just how far this family run business will go to offer a truly bespoke, personal and amiable marquee hire service.

Castle Marquees of Burley
Castletop Cottage, Castle Hill Lane, Burley, Hampshire.
BH24 4HG
Tel: 01425 40 41 42

Website: Castle Marquees

The Absolut Icebar London is London and the UK’s first permanent ice bar. Everything inside is made out of crystal clear ice transported especially from the Torne River in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden and is kept super chilled at minus 5 degrees all year round. The walls, bar, tables, and even your own personal glass is made out of the purest ice. Absolut Icebar London is operated in 40 minute time slots and you will be given a designer thermal cape with a hood to keep you warm during your visit.

Every six months the Icebar is resculptured and the latest design will be unveiled on Wednesday 4th March 2009.

Opening Hours

Mon - Weds 3:30 pm - 11:00 pm,
Thurs 3.30pm - 11.45pm,
Fri 3.30pm - 12.30am,
Sat 12:30 pm - 12:30 am,
Sun 3.30pm - 10.15pm

Address

31-33 Heddon Street
London
W1B 4BN

Tel: 020 7478 8910

Official Site

Following the graceful Rhinefield Ornamental Drive home to gigantic North American Giant Sequoias (Giant Redwoods) and rhododendron bushes which align the Tall Trees Trail you reach the equally impressive Rhinefield House Hotel. Set in 40 private acres in the middle of the New Forest, not far from Brockenhurst, this luxury country retreat is a mixture of Tudor and Gothic styles which is as romantic as it is eccentric.

One quite outstanding feature of Rhinefield House is the former gentlemen’s smoking room. Modelled as an exact replica of a room in the Alhambra Palace in Granada, it is elaborately embellished with magnificent copper and bronze, hand-cut mosaic tiles and Persian onyx. The Alhambra Room is now available for private dining room for groups of up to 12.

Available to hire for events and as a stylish wedding venue, Rhinefield House Hotel forms part of the Hand Picked Hotels portfolio. The Hotel also boasts a health club with both indoor and outdoor pools, gym, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi and tennis courts.

Rhinefield House Hotel
Rhinefield Road, Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7QB

Telephone: 0845 072 7516
Facsimile: 0845 072 7517

Official Site

Nestling in the media stomping ground of north Soho, London is the Charlotte Street Hotel. A charmingly cool hotel that interestingly boasts a 67 seat, THX approved screening room.

With interiors by Kit Kemp and 52 individual bedrooms and suites. This luxury hotel is as arty and stylish as it is extremely comfortable. Featuring the bright and bold Oscar restaurant and bar, a fully appointed gym and private event rooms, this hotel is a very flexible and interesting residence in the centre of London’s media industry.

Charlotte Street Hotel
15-17 Charlotte Street
London
W1T 1RJ
Tel: +44 20 7806 2000
Fax: +44 20 7806 2002

Official Site

Nestling on the southern edge of the New Forest in Hampshire is the Chewton Glen Hotel and Spa. A short walk from the South Coast and it’s proximity to the New Forest National Park make it an ideal base for exploring, walking or cycling.

Voted the UK’s Favourite Spa Retreat by Readers of Conde Nast Traveller Magazine and listed amongst the best 25 restaurants in the UK by Egon Ronay. The Chewton Glen held three AA Rosettes continuously since 1993 and has just been awarded the ‘Best Small Hotel/Resort Under 100 Rooms in the World 2009′ by The Gallivanters Guide.

Captain Frederick Marryat stayed at Chewton Glen during the 1840s and collated material for his novel “The Children of the New Forest”. The hotel has many of its rooms named after The Children of the New Forest along with some other of his novels and characters.

The Chewton Glen is available to hire for special events and functions as well as a wedding venue. The Hotel is licensed with Hampshire County Council and the New Forest District Council for Civil Ceremonies and can accommodate up to 140 guests for a wedding banquet and 200 for a wedding ceremony or drinks reception.

Within the 130 acres of grounds there is a 9-hole par 3 golf course, a practice range, two indoor and two outdoor tennis courts, an outdoor swimming pool, a croquet lawn and a putting green.

Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa
New Milton
Hampshire
BH25 6QS

Tel: 00 44 1425 275341
Fax: 00 44 1425 272310
Website

This 312 bedroom establishment is a grand hotel in every sense of the word. The Midland is situated on Peter Street in Manchester city centre, and was built by Charles Trubshaw for the Midland Railway Company in 1898-1903. Today it is a Grade II listed building and has always been a favourite with celebrities, with the likes of Paul McCartney, The Spice Girls, The Beckhams, George Best, Tom Jones, Luciano Pavarotti, Mike Tyson, Jennifer Lopez, Prince Edward and Tony Blair all staying at this iconic hotel. Famously, the Beatles were once turned away from the French restaurant for being inappropriately dressed.

The Midland is perhaps most celebrated for being the meeting place of Charles Stewart Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce, which lead to the formation of Rolls-Royce Limited.

The Midland is available to hire as a wedding venue and also for other special occasions.

The Midland
Peter Street,
Manchester
M60 2DS
Tel: 0161 236 3333
Fax: 0161 932 4100

Official Site