Charlotte & Dan’s Winter Wedding at Thicket Priory

Thicket Priory is a country house in North Yorkshire with the ability to host 70 guests overnight, so when the couple wanted an exclusive venue all to themselves for a weekend gathering amidst a winter wonderland atmosphere, this venue delivered… and then some! Their wedding festivities were accentuated by roaring fires, a bespoke champagne tower, and 35 stylish and sumptuous guest bedrooms. Bride Charlotte puts it perfectly: “How could we not choose Thicket?!“. Indeed…

Charlotte says…

How could we not choose Thicket Priory!! When we drove up the driveway, saw the impressive building, and then walked into the impressive rooms, traditional but modern décor and EVERYTHING under one roof, the answer was a quick yes! Thicket was the perfect winter wonderland from the roaring fires, twinkly lights and Christmas trees! When looking for a wedding venue, we wanted somewhere everyone could stay! Having 70 people stay under one roof was a dream come true! Other venues could cater for 20/30 (most of that was in our houses or further away from the venue), but having many of our wedding guests stay with us was amazing! As York city centre was only a 20-minute drive away, we also put on a coach for guests to get to and from Thicket to make it easy for everyone. Everywhere else we saw didn’t compare to what Thicket Priory could offer for the most magical wedding and the feeling you get when you walk in!

The grandness but also homeliness – you can only understand this by visiting! The building, bedroom and grounds are so impressive, but it also feels like a big home you’ve hired out for a weekend away! The attention to detail and the decor are exquisite – the bedrooms, the bar or even the bathroom with a ‘bride’ toilet cubicle! Many wedding venues we had visited were a bit dated or didn’t have exclusivity (I had a big thing that I didn’t want members of the public seeing me on my wedding day!), and Thicket just ticked every box. So many venues gave us a list of ‘rules’ or ‘no cans’, and Thicket staff went out of their way to let us have the champagne tower of dreams and a vodka luge …. one big party centred around our wedding!

I always wanted a classic winter look. Thicket didn’t need much decorating as the venue in December is magical with the decorations, candles, lights and impressive Christmas tree! We went for white and green flowers and black bridesmaid dresses, and Dan went for a black velvet jacket. Choosing Thicket Priory allowed us to choose our own caterers, personalised drinks, Yorkshire nibbles in the pantries and even McDonald’s for our evening food!

When you choose Thicket, you don’t just choose a ‘wedding day’, you select a ‘wedding weekend’, which was our favourite memory! From walking through the doors on Friday afternoon to leaving on Sunday lunchtime….every moment together and with our nearest and dearest was special! It felt like one big weekend away!

Jess and the team were incredible. Maggie and Becca kept that bar alive, and it felt like we were in a romantic country pub on Friday night – all of our guests had the best weekend, so we chose Thicket!

If you’re thinking of booking Thicket Priory for your wedding venue, I cannot urge you enough to visit and see for yourself as we understand the overwhelming decision of picking a wedding venue! We both feel so, so lucky that we were able to get married at Thicket Priory. We had the December wedding of our dreams at the dream venue with the dreamiest staff. We cannot write enough about how Thicket makes you feel and how you can easily create the wedding of your dreams. I am very jealous of the future winter wedding couples, as we know they will have a fantastic celebration!