A professional Team of Event and Wedding Specialists providing Luxury Chair Covers, Accessories and Table Linen for Weddings, Corporate Events and Private Parties.
Four in a Bed invites Guest Houses and B&B's to compete against each other for the best value for money. Simply Bows and Chair Covers love working at this fabulous venue and were very excited to see how they got on....
"Nick Lawler and Caroline (the lovely producer from Channel 4) won me
over after my initial concerns – I was worried about the impact (but
then again, I always like to have something to worry about!) But d’you
know what? I think I’m really glad we went for it!" Said Kate (One of Winder Hall's directors).
After working so much with Winder Hall and the fabulous team they have there we knew they certainly had a good chance of winning but don't just take our word for it! Earlier this year Winder Hall were awarded a Certificate of Excellence 2012 from Trip Adviser for impeccable reviews from their guests.
Sadly despite great TV viewing and a few hillarious moments over the last few evenings episodes there was no cigar in the end for Winder Hall although we do think that this was more tacticle than anything else! Well done anyway guys! You were winners to us!
We thought we would leave the last word to the lovely Kate at Winder Hall....
"There are a few uncomfortable moments. We made some
mistakes, and I’m still not sure we quite got the hang of the scoring
system, but we’ve had amazing feedback from people so far. Mainly on
good old Facebook where we’re lucky enough to enjoy keeping
in touch with friends, guests and those who we hope will visit us soon.
There has also been plenty from people texting us and phoning Winder
Hall to have a giggle with us about it.
We work with great organisations like Cumbria Tourism, My
Cumbria and Western
Lake District & Coast amongst others, and all of us are
fiercely proud of where we are. Disappointed that we didn’t get chance
to show off more of The Lakes during the programme, but hey, they have
to make entertaining TV and I think with all the characters involved it
certainly isn’t dull! Just hope that some who see the show think it
would be fun to come and give us a try! Just as I’m sure many will want
to go and see the lovely Wendy and John at Packhorse
and Smokey
Joe’s in Louth – what a cracking place and fantastic people. We had
good fun!"
Ladies, please introduce yourself,
name, age, which region/ venues you cover...
Hi my name is Susan, I am 53
years old and work alongside my daughter Vicki who is aged 30, we cover all
Dundee, Perth and Fife.
What is your background?
I (Susan) have worked in the leisure industry for 12 years and have since
taken a change in direction and become a bridal consultant, Vicki has worked in
Fashion all her life and has an eye for detail.
Why did you take a franchise with Simply Bows?
We saw an inspirational
article in the Tesco magazine on Simply Bows and Chair Covers and as I was
already in the bridal industry and found it very rewarding I decided to take it
a step further…
Why do you love working for yourself?
Lifestyle, flexibility and
the opportunity to earn what your worth.
If you could dress a
celebrity wedding - whose would you choose and why?
We would choose Katy Perry
as her personality is very wild and funky and feel this would be a look we
could deliver with no restrictions.
How would your
friends describe you in three words?
Susan- Confident, Outgoing, Passionate
Vicki- Friendly, Fun, Creative
Are you
married?
Vicki is actually planning her own wedding at the moment! She is having
white chair covers with black satin bows and heart broaches. Her table linen is
white with red runners.
Why choose Simply
Bows over another linen provider
Simply Bows and Chair Covers is a very professional, good quality brand
which provides excellent service who pay great attention to detail.
How can Simply Bows
blog readers get in touch with you?
Roy surprised me with a holiday to Meeru Island in the Maldives. On our second night there (18th November 2010) he had secretly arranged a candlelit dinner on the beach where we had a gorgeous 5 course meal. After the meal we went for a stroll by the water and he got on one knee and proposed with a giant flower ring with the plan of picking a diamond ring together. I was completely shocked and ecstatic! I couldn’t stop crying with happiness especially after he told me he had been to ask my dad's permission a while before. We celebrated with champagne until 4am. The holiday was fantastic, the island was like paradise.
When and where did you tie the knot?
We got married on 4th May 2012 or as Roy would say ‘may the fourth be with you’...Star Wars day.
We got married at Holy Trinity and St. Constantine’s Church in Wetheral near Carlisle and had our reception at Slaley Hall near Hexham.
Our theme was vintage Dior glamour. Our original inspiration for the colour scheme was lavender hydrangeas, I fell in love with these flowers and we added a hint of sparkle to match the diamonds in my engagement ring. Brenda Dowding from Gardenalia did a fabulous job of designing our flowers and decorations for the wedding party, the church and the venue. The flowers were a mix of hydrangea, peonies and other blousy flowers in smudgy lavender, pink and cream. The table centre’s comprised of large arrangements in a number of silver containers including trumpet vases, candelabra’s, birdcages, cake stands and a few other amazing designs surrounded by hundreds of candles to give the rooms a midsummer’s nights dream feel about them. It was magical. The bridesmaids wore lavender and the heather coloured bows on the chairs finished the room off gorgeously.
We saw Simply Bows and Chair Covers at a wedding fare and were so impressed by the mixture of designs, the choice of colours and loved that they looked at the whole picture rather than just the chairs. We chose to hire silver charger plates for our wedding breakfast and we felt that this finished off our tables perfectly. Meeting Kristy at her office, near Slaley Hall at a time that was convenient for us made things so much easier and the meeting was relaxed and fun. We enjoyed having a play around with our options and felt that our room looked more unique after choosing to display our bows hand tied to the side. The chair covers looked fabulous on the day!
Tell us about your dress and your bridesmaid's dresses....
I chose a glamorous Ian Stuart design and Marrime in Kendal ordered the dress in for me to try. The dress was called Vanderbilt and was a figure hugging fishtail dress made from ivory silk taffeta with heavy diamante detailing along the sweetheart neckline with a huge bow on the back. I fell in love with this dress and after trying a number of other dresses I realised that nothing else compared to it. It was the one and we thought it was made for me. I made a couple for changes to the original design which made it more unique. The girls at Marrime were an amazing help and made every trip to the boutique feel special. I paired the dress with a cathedral length veil that was sprinkled with diamantes. My headdress was a beautiful sparkly design by Ivory and Co. Roy bought me a fabulous pair of sparkly Jimmy Choo’s and matching handbag to wear on our big day. Although I had picked out jewelry for the wedding I was given a beautiful diamond necklace from my parents and a diamond tennis bracelet off Roy on the wedding day that were even more perfect with my dress.
Our 6 adult bridesmaids wore full length one shoulder Dessy dresses in lavender chiffon and the baby bridesmaid wore an ivory dress from Monsoon.
Tell us more...
Paul Mortimer was our photographer. He did a fantastic job with the photographs despite the rain at Slaley hall. He was a great help with keeping the day running smoothly.
We wanted to make our day as personal and special as possible. We surprised our guests with a gospel choir in the church. The Manchester Sing Out Choir sang a number of songs throughout the service and my favorite was Eva Cassidy song bird as I walked down the aisle. We gave our female guests Cath Kidston Soaps, bath melts and breast cancer badges in a white organza bag and cigars to the men. Brenda Dowding designed us a sweetie buffet on an old fashioned flower cart, it was beyond my expectations and the sweeties went down really well with our guests. Instead of having a guest book we booked an old fashioned photo booth from photorazzi that comes with a fancy dress box. Our guests get pictures taken in the booth and got to take one strip of photos with them as a souvenirs and the other went into a book where they could leave us a messages. The photo booth was so much fun and we get to keep the message book as a memory of our day.
The band hip operation entertained our guests at the evening do and had everyone on the dance floor all night.
It is hard to pick a favourite part of the day because it was all so perfect. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the church ceremony; I thought I would be really nervous having such a large audience but I surprised myself that I was so calm all day and enjoyed every second. We even had a little dance to the gospel choir. All the speeches were excellent and we all had a good laugh and a good cry. I also loved the fireworks that Roy surprised me with, everyone was singing along to ‘you’ve got the love’ and it finished the day off perfectly.
The day after the wedding we had a BBQ for our gusts to give us a chance to catch up with everyone. We went on honeymoon the following day for 4 nights in New York followed by 7 nights at the El Dorado Royal Casita Suites in the Riviera Maya, Mexico and finished it off with 4 nights at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. We had a fantastic honeymoon and loved every part of it.
We loved every second of the planning of our wedding. We had a lot of fun with it. Our tip other brides would be to give yourself plenty of time to plan your wedding and enjoy every second. A lot of time goes into the planning. I was really lucky that my Mum helped us with every step, she loved the planning as much as us. We had a year and a half to plan and we did a little bit at a time from the very start and it helped prevent any stress at the last minute. We were never stressed throughout the process because we felt organized and it meant that we enjoyed ourselves and I think that is important as the actual day goes so fast. We would also recommend getting a videographer. I was reluctant to have the wedding filmed as no one likes watching themselves back but it was one of the best things we did. The day went so fast and it was excellent getting to watch it back and see everything that we missed. Jesse Knibbs from Trigger happy entertainment did a wonderful job with our video and although he captured everything I didn’t notice him being around on the day.
Last week blushing bride Sarah Clark from North Yorkshire tied the knot in a dress worn not only by her mother when she married but also by her grandmother in 1959 when she married Sarah's grandfather!
Sarah and Jonathan
Not only did the happy couple follow family tradition by choosing to wear the family heirloom but they also married on exactly the same day that both the bride's parents and grandparents had done!
Sarah's parents
Sarah's grandparents
'Not many people can say they have their
wedding dress from 1959. I was a bit dubious as to whether
it would still be a dress and hadn't disintegrated. There's a bit of
blue confetti that got stuck and has been there since mum and dad got
married - I will consider it my lucky charm' said Sarah.
Last week Italian bridal dress designer Gianna Milaro showcased his silk and tulle creation on the steps of Rome's Trinita Dei Monti to celebrate the opening of Milaro's new workshop and hosted an incredible TWO MILE TRAIN!
The dress and amazing train was worn by Milaro's bride Elena De Angelis for her wedding last year in the Naples village of Casal di Princice last September. The train is over 28 times the length of Old Trafford's football pitch! Wowzer!
What
is your venue name, industry rating and where is your venue located?
Best Western Shap Wells Hotel (3*)
Shap
Nr Penrith
Cumbria
CA10 3QU
What facilities does your venue boast?
100 Guest bedroom
accommodation
3 Bar Areas
3 Dining rooms – main dining
room The Birkbeck Restaurant
Two Lounge areas with
fireplaces
7 Conference rooms
Caters for Wedding breakfasts & Evening Receptions from 10
to 350 guests and for civil ceremonies for up to 150 guests
Bathhouse Accommodation
Annex that caters for guests with Dogs
30 acres of grounds
Complimentary WIFI
throughout hotel
Complimentary Parking for up
to 120
Does your hotel cater for weddings?If so, what numbers can you accommodate and
what packages do you offer?
Your wedding
day is one of the most important events in your life and at Best Western Shap
Wells Hotel you will be receiving service of the highest professional quality
and will benefit from our long and vast experience of catering for specialised
events such as weddings.
You will see
that we offer a variety of venues for both Civil Ceremonies and Celebration
Parties, with the flexibility, unique to Cumbria, to cater for receptions from
10 to 350 guests, and for Civil Ceremonies for up to 150 guests. We also have
the availability of 100 bedrooms for wedding guests.
Inclusive Celebration Packages
include the following:
What about events, both large and small,
what numbers can you accommodate?
We can cater for events and
conferences from 2 to 350 and we also have accommodation availability of 100
bedrooms.
Can guests stay over at your venue?What accommodation is on offer?
We have 100 bedrooms at Shap
Wells.
Tell
us about your food/ menus/ wines...
Best Western Shap Wells Hotel prides itself on creating a
special dining experience that will be remembered and will make you want to
return to visit us again. The Birkbeck Suite consists of two dining room
experiences, the Birkbeck Restaurant and Lonsdale Room. The Birkbeck Restaurant
is our principal dining area and will seat up to 300 guests. The room is
air-conditioned and enjoys stunning views over the Birkbeck River and
surrounding fells. The Lonsdale Room is a more intimate room that allows guests
the opportunity to host smaller dining parties that suit their own dining
needs, it is also utilised when the Birkbeck is booked for private functions.
Our Head Chef has created an extensive menu in keeping with the
hotel surroundings and current season. Dine from our 3 course Table D’hôte menu
or choose from our À la Carte menu. Our Carvery lunches are served every
Wednesday and Sunday from 12.15pm until 2pm. A comprehensive wine list is
accessible to compliment your dining experience. Vegetarian options are
available and both dining areas are fully accessible to diners with
disabilities.
The Riverside Lounge and Bar is well placed next to the hotel’s
principal dining room "the Birkbeck Restaurant" and provides the
perfect setting to relax and unwind before and after dining with us. The
Riverside Lounge and Bar itself is a stylish art deco room with panoramic views
over the Birkbeck and the fells beyond. Our Riverside Lounge and Bar menu
offers a range of appetising food to suit all tastes of our guests from light
and refreshing snacks to traditional meals. Bar meals are available from 11am
to 10pm. Entertainment takes place here most nights of the week throughout the
year (subject to availability).
The
Salterwath and Fell Bar Lounges are ideal for guests looking for the
opportunity to relax and unwind in more intimate setting away from the hotel
principal dining and lounge area. These lounge areas offer two intimate rooms
that provide soft lighting and library theme which creates a warm and inviting
environment and also provides a small ‘snug’ bar atmosphere with adjoining area
for guests to relax in front of a warm log fire. The Fell Lounge has a 50” LCD
flat screen TV for guests who are avid TV watchers and the hotel also boasts a
friendly foyer lounge area with a welcoming log fire in the winter months.
Do you have any leisure facilities on site?
With 30 acres of wooded grounds, surrounded by moorland, Best
Western Shap Wells Hotel is an ideal place to relax. There are miles of quiet
paths and bridle ways for recreational walking and other similar activities in
the area. We offer written guides for small and medium walks within Best
Western Shap Wells grounds and outlying areas. Our games room offers free a
full-size snooker table, pool table, darts, table tennis and small aerobic
gymnasium.
We
also cater for individuals or groups of guests who are interested in long or
short term breaks that will allow them to enjoy partaking in leisure pursuits
that Best Western Shap Wells Hotel grounds and outlying areas provide such as
wildlife enthusiasts e.g. Red Squirrels and birdlife, fell climbers, high and
low level walkers, train enthusiasts e.g. Virgin mainline trains and from
Appleby the Carlisle to Settle line, using us for a base or stop off for
classic, vintage, veteran car and motorbike enthusiasts and university students
to study the historical (Romano-British) and geological aspects of Cumbria. We
have outside our hotel gate a site of special scientific interest and the
remains of a Romano-British Iron Age village settlement. We also cater for the
guests who wish to at their leisure visit the Lake District and the Yorkshire
Dales including visiting Scotland as we are a short drive away from the
Scottish borders.
What
sets your venue apart from others?
Situated in a secluded, wooded valley, high in the Shap Fells
and surrounded by mountain streams yet only minutes from the M6 (Junction 39)
and the A6. Best Western Shap Wells Hotel is the ideal place from which to
explore the Lakes, Dales and the English and Scottish Border Counties.
We are ideally situated for both leisure and business, easily
accessible from the M6 motorway making us the perfect location for business
events and conferences. The hotel has seven conference rooms that all benefit
from having natural daylight.
For leisure guests we are located close to the Lake District,
Yorkshire Dales and Scottish Borders, surrounded by open and wooded
countryside, red deer, red squirrels and other wildlife within the grounds of
the hotel and beyond. Whether you are visiting us for a leisurely break, a
conference, wedding celebration or simply breaking your journey on route to the
North or South we are the perfect destination for you.
Many of our rooms having breathtaking views of the surrounding
countryside and fells, offering a true taste of the English countryside, the
hotel has retained many of its original features over the years and much time
has been taken to retain the true character of the building.
Free
WiFi is available throughout the entire hotel including all public areas,
conference rooms and guest accommodation. Complimentary parking is available at
the front and rear of the hotel.
Anything special that we should know
about the venue?
We are the largest family
owned hotel in Cumbria. Shap Wells Hotel has been an established hotel for 180
years and was opened for business in 1833. One of the most interesting chapters
of the hotels history is occurred during the Second World War, when it became a
prisoner of war camp for German Naval and Luftwaffe Officers.
For many years people came
to Shap Wells Hotel to bathe in or drink the water of the Spa Well. The waters
were in fact, very similar to those of Leamington and Harrogate. The Well is no
longer in use, though water may still be obtained from the spring on the river
bank by any who may to risk it...
We have a thriving colony of
Red Squirrels...and many of our guests love going to watch them feed and play
in their own environment within our hotel grounds...
Where can we get more information/ read
more/ contact the venue? (web address and contact details)
For more detailed
information regarding our hotel please contact using the following formats:
