London wedding venues

[dinny]

Anyone been to any lovely weddings in central London? My sister is looking for a v special venue for later this year.
tia, Dinny

• yes we are, and the same time too! Excellent. Another chance for me to wheel a bashed-up buggy full of clean laundry into the lovely surroundings of the Woolacombe Bay ) Dinny, the Guildhall Crypts themselves are stunning, and you can get a special licence to be married in St Lawrence Jewry across the square. If fine, there is also a small Shakespeare Garden at the end of the street for pretty, secluded photo opportunities. All the City venues (livery halls etc) have great architectural charm...but...some of their banqueting facilities mean rather uninspired catering - and it's not cheap. Georginars, slug, we've been to a wedding at the Traf too! What a gorgeous venue it is, agreed. The BEST wedding we went to in Greenwich though, was in the Painted Hall of the Royal College. Candlelit, in November, the flickering shadows against the stunning walls made for a memorable evening. We on the other hand had our reception at Charlton House, a bizarre amalgam of tatty council community centre and stunning Jacobean mansion. A bargain at £100 for the room for the day!

(off topic again) oh Marina I love Charlton House. It does make me laugh, splendid on the outside and then full of strange people drinking tea and kipping inside in the tatty council bits.
Painted Hall gorgeous, I agree. We got married in All Saints on Blackheath, where I'd always wanted to get married, then we were driven through the park to the Trafalgar in a lovely old car. Just what I'd always wanted, a wedding in my 'manor'

We had ours (you might think worthily) at the English Speaking Union building in Mayfair - Dartmouth House . It's unexpectedly grand & gracious inside. Leith's do the catering.

And we plan to have our 10th wedding anniv do there in November, in the form of a giant old-fashioned children's tea party, plus champagne for the elders. As a bit of a balance to those child-free wedding events.

georgina, so did we! At ASB I mean! When? We led a convoy through the mean streets of SE7 in our hired Citroen Deesse, very Maigret. Our best man took more pictures of the cars than of us...
I sang in the choir there for some years and ds was baptised there too. We carried on attending after we moved to the outer burbs but the drive across SE London got too much.
We shared our wedding reception with a whist drive on the ground floor and a lively meeting of the Somali Families' Support Network in the room next door
Do you remember Handmade Food in the village? That's where we really shelled out. Fergus did us a fantastic spread

We got married in August 1999. It should have been at St Margarets in Lee Terrace (we lived in Belmont Hill) but it was closed for refurbishment so we had our vicar but at All Saints - I was very please. My parents still live in Blackheath half the year, so I go back a lot and I'd live there if I could. My nieces go to All Saints school and my brother and his wife are regular churchgoers there (think my bro is on the parish council now as well).
I loved Handmade food - my mum used to get things for parties there. Oh I love Blackheath - I still feel like a traitor for having moved to the other side of town and of the river!

There is a venue called Forte Hall in Enfield or Edgware. Haven't been there. The Landmark is very nice, I've been to a BatMitzvah there and a birthday tea and it was really nice, very good for NW3.
My sister works for a company called VenueSearch and they find venues for people for small and huge events, all over the country. I don't think the "party giver" has to pay..... I don't have the phone number to hand, its in Kingston.

(sorry dinny)
Georgina, so you had Dick Butler then? What a nice man. His wife was our GP before we moved and she retired. And I liked Jenny Standage a lot. We used to do the odd combined choral evensong with her choir in the mid 90s. An NCT pal reports that the new priest at St Marg's is a bit keen on sticking all the families down in the crypt and she misses the Butlers a lot.
We still know a few folk in Blackheath and at ASB, although obviously people who were heavily involved when we were have moved on a bit.
Your brother's initials wouldn't be EB, would they? If so, your youngest niece is almost exactly the same age as ds...and an older one does tennis with him on Saturday mornings, weather permitting. If we're thinking of the same family...
I am not surprised you miss it . I grew up on Shooters Hill and my idea of a total treat was a haircut at Hext followed by a good mooch around the bookshop.

Weird - I knew Jenny Standage too, although I can't think in what context (I went to Blackheath high school and grew up in Greenwich). We got married in Lee, and then went by Routemaster to Greenwich Pier where we had a river boat. It was fantastic - just before Christmas and in the late afternoon, so the river at night. Everytime I see the river I am reminded and everyone commented on what a great night they had.

Were Jenny and Simon school parents perhaps nooka? Did either of them offer instrumental teaching at the school? All these SE3ers coming out of the woodwork! A colleague, and one of my oldest friends, have BHSG connections....

(sorry dinny, this is turning into a major highjack)
oh god nooka - I went to Blackheath High (all the way from 5 to 18) as well, as did my sister (10 years before me though)!

Yes I know Jenny S (and her sons, used to hang around with the elder one when I was younger), and Dick was our vicar - my mum is good friends with his wife and they have been to stay with my parents in NZ. My mum is talking about swapping to All Saints next time she comes back to Blackheath as she can't really be doing with the new vicar at St Margarets.

ooh, I am feeling all nostalgic now. how funny to find so many connections

My brother's initials are MS so not who you're thinking of - my nieces are 8 and 6. Here's were we find out you can't stand him Marina!

the pump house in Battersea Park is lovely - not quite central but not too far

Ah, Marina, now I did have violin lessons - did Jenny teach violin? That would seem to fit to me (and I think I only did a year or so, because I was so awful! so that would explain the familiarity, but lack of memory!). georginars I've lost touch with all my BHSG contempories - I hope you had good memories! I was only there from 1982-1987 - didn't do the junior house bit, or sixth form. Sorry dinny! I don't know how central your sister wants to go - I've heard there are some great Dulwich venues, and my mother was keen on the Cutty Sark for us (you can rent it, if she likes hstorical things). I'd still say the river at night is the best way to experience central London

Georginas - how strange - we lived on Belmont Hill too

We probably went to the docs at the same time

Syon Park in Brentford

you are a little bit older than me nooka, but might have coincided with my sister!
How funny someone else lived in Belmont Hill...I lived there from 1976 to 2000

dinny, the Cutty Sark (next to the Traf) is a lovely ship but undergoing long-overdue refurb and under sheeting etc - hopefully to look beautiful once again nooka
I knew Jenny as an organist locally but Simon her husband was in a local professional string quartet so could it have been him who taught you? Or perhaps Jenny is also a violinist/teacher. Simon is better known though.
I must organise coughing my £5 to CAT and then I will cat you Georginars as I can't think who your brother is...but I am sure he is v. nice
Your mum may not find the PP at ASB any nicer than Mr Grumpy at St Marg's though - we weren't that sorry to leave him behind . Fr Burgin (BIG jolly priest) married us and was much missed when he retired. Did Michael Micholas do your music though? I think he left ASB summer of 1999, ie when ds was about 6 weeks old. He was the best DoM we ever had.

Ah, Marina, I checked with my mother (anything to sort a mystery!) and Jenny did teach me the violin. Only to Grade 1 though - maybe if I hadn't been awful Simon might have taken over later! Georginars, my mother probably taught you at BHSG

We were there from 1998 to 2001

Belmost Hill madam or one of the churches under discussion? We must have passed in the street you know

oh Marina, that's right - my friend taught at All Saints school until a few years ago and I remember the chuntering when the new one came. Father Burgin's daughter was in the year above me at school - rather odd girl. Loved Father B though. Can't for the life of me remember who did our music.

What did your mother teach Nooka? Trying hard to think of all the mothers who had daughters there....no probs if you don't wish to reveal yourself though!

My parents still live in St Josephs Vale for half the year, so I drive up my beloved Belmont Hill a lot and curse the people who bought our house and paved over our front garden - our house was right opposite the doctor's surgery Soapbox. I loved that house - sob.

I am sorry about this comprehensive hijack Dinny - think there are still some good suggestions on this thread though!

I reckon I'm probably safe on the identification front georginars, as you weren't there at the same time as me - she taught Religious Studies.

OMG - it wasn't the one with the bus stop right outside was it - we put an offer in on that one, and hte one next door!!!!

yes it was one of the two semi-detached ones right by the bus stop. This is getting spooky! Was my parents house and not mine, I hasten to add. And I think I know who your mother is nooka....

I mean, ours was the one right by the bus stop