November News; Photo Shoots, Autumn weddings & Festive Wreaths
It has to be said that the Butley Priory Events team (made up of myself, Daniela and Libby) are looking forward to a slightly quieter November with just a handful of weddings, after what has been an extremely busy Summer!
That said, we’ll be using this time to schedule in some project work and our Winter maintenance jobs including the installation of some new outdoor lighting between the Priory and the Farmhouse, which means our guests can navigate the track late at night more safely. We’re also midway through plans to host an event for a small group of wedding industry folk later this month, which we’re very excited about. You’ll be able to hear all about it in next month’s post.
October saw the launch of our Festive Wreath Making workshop which is taking place on Wednesday 7th December with two sessions in place for morning and afternoon. Tickets are selling well and we’re looking forward to welcoming our guests who’ll be greeted on arrival with a glass of fizz and a homemade mince pie.
We’ve teamed up with Lucy from Hall Lane Flowers, a local eco-florist & grower who offers a sustainable and eco-friendly approach to wreath-making. Lucy will be providing everything you need to create a beautiful wreath for your front door this Christmas. The Events team are 100% on board the Christmas train, so the tunes will be ringing loudly and there’s currently talk of festive jumpers…
Tickets are £75 per person, to include refreshments and a self-guided tour of Butley Priory. To book your place, head straight to our website.
Speaking of flowers…
Recently, we welcomed the lovely Emma Powell from Thea Lily Loves to Butley Priory for her self-styled photo shoot with photographer, Emily Fae. A joyful afternoon saw the Great Hall bedecked in splendid array of bright autumn colours. We look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour. Here’s just a few from the shoot.
Meanwhile, there has been great discussion in the office over what to wear for the Event team’s Christmas party. Our loyal, core team of bar managers, evening supervisors and glass collectors have been a wonderful support to us this year, working well into the wee hours and always with a smile, we look forward to treating them to a festive feast in December!
Looking ahead, we’ll be getting creative once again for another wedding styled shoot from Evie at Naya Bridal. We’ve already seen the mood board and there’s some incredibly talented wedding suppliers taking part – we’re looking forward to meeting some new faces and saying hello to some familiar ones too.
Some striking images from Emma and Aaron’s autumn wedding have just landed in our inbox and we couldn’t resist sharing them with you. Emma, a senior graphic designer, created a rich and vibrant terracotta colour scheme for their marquee wedding at Butley Priory last month, it was the perfect choice to celebrate the Autumn season and we loved the unusual collection of succulents used on the tables. All beautifully captured by Laura Williams Weddings
Later in November, the Friends of Orford Museum will be hosting a talk at Butley Priory on Tuesday, 29 November 2022 at 6.00pm.
Gary Battell, Woodland Advisor at Suffolk County Council, will talk about the trees and woodlands of Suffolk. There will be a follow-up walk through Staverton Thicks in the New Year which is included in the talk ticket price. The date for this will be subject to the weather and will be confirmed at a later date. Numbers will be limited to 60.
‘a famous and awesome place of Tolkienesque wonder and beauty’ and ‘one of the best-preserved uncompartmented medieval parks.’
Oliver Rackham, The History of the Countryside, 1986 Price: £15.00 for Friends of the Museum, £20 for non-Friends
Payment by cheque or bank transfer. Please email info@orfordmuseum.org.uk to book.
Come and enjoy a fascinating evening with mulled wine and log fires in a wonderful location.
Finally, we hosted a surprise visit for 15 year-old Aimee, whose dad secretly got in touch to ask if she could visit to have her photo taken outside the Priory with her brand new Arctic Monkey’s vinyl album ‘The Car’ (released on October 21st).
Well, we thought we could do better than that and invited them inside for a peek into the Great Hall, where band members had previously recorded tracks for the album in the Summer of 2021. Aimee is only now discovering the joy of vinyl records and dad says he’s very happy to have earned a good stash of ‘brownie points’ because of the visit. Well done dad!
August News from Butley Priory
Our monthly news blog posts are always a gentle reminder of how quickly each month comes around and I’m always amazed and aghast in equal measure at how time flies so quickly.
August conjures up the long summer break for schools and with it brings a busy influx of holiday guests to Butley Priory Cottage. We’ve had some lovely reviews from guests, and you can check these out on our Airbnb listing. Here’s just one from Tim who stayed with us recently…
Earlier in July, we welcomed a charming group from Earl Stonham WI who visited the Priory for a history talk from Edward Greenwell. It was a beautiful summer evening and they thoroughly enjoyed their visit which was organised through Historic Houses Invitation To View scheme. After their talk, they were given the opportunity to explore the Priory and then return to the Great Hall for tea and biscuits.
If you are part of a club, group or society which organises its own social calendar and your members might enjoy a fascinating talk on the history of Butley Priory, then please do get in touch with our Events team on 01394 450046.
As usual, we’ve been very busy with some amazing weddings here at the Priory. We’ve welcomed an array of different structures on the front lawn, from tipis from Events Under Canvas to clear-span marquees from Miller Marquees. We particularly loved Jenna & Sonny’s wedding, which took place on a beautifully hot day with some cool, stylish wedding planning – it looked amazing.
Then we celebrated with the adorable Dagnija & John, who welcomed some international visitors from Dagnija’s home country, Latvia. They chose to host their ceremony in the Great Hall with drinks in the South Garden before returning inside for a sumptuous wedding breakfast and evening dancing.
Photography: Beth Beresford Photography
Exciting news! We’ve now scheduled all our dates for next year’s Suffolk Sandlands metal detecting tours. We welcomed Kim from Bury & West Suffolk Magazine who wanted to try her hand at the full metal detecting experience. Our host Andy Sampson, was her guide for the afternoon and she thoroughly enjoyed it. As such, no hoards of jewels or coins on this occasion…though we look forward to seeing what our guests will uncover in September.
We have now sold out for spaces on our later tour, but still have some available spots for the tour starting on 5th September. To read more about it, take a look here.
Nigel delighted the events team with a ride in his open top dune buggy. Lovingly restored, coloured bright red and on a really warm day, we took a short drive at lunchtime to view what remains of ‘The Clumps’. For those who are familiar with our street address, the quincuncial 'Clumps' are a group of four beech trees surrounding a single pine tree, planted as an avenue near Butley Priory. It was a lot of fun and not too dissimilar from feeling like you’re inside a tumble drier!
Finally, our long-awaited Team ‘Pizza & Pimms’ night took place on the hottest day of the year so far. It was great to spend an evening relaxing with the team, such a jolly bunch – and the Pimm’s slipped down a treat.
The younger ones enjoyed playing hide & seek inside the Priory and splashing around in the water sprinklers, a dual-purpose effort of watering the garden and keeping them cool at the same time.
Looking ahead to August, we’ll be welcoming the residents of Grove Court in Woodbridge for a visit to the Priory, plenty more romantic weddings, holiday stays and a photo shoot for a childrenswear brand. It’s going to be a busy one!
APRIL NEWS
News from Butley Priory
April News – We’ve highlighted some of our suppliers stories this month and also asked them how they coped with lock down. And Rebecca and Jack have told us about their mini wedding at the Priory last summer. What it was like going from 220 to 15 guests with a picnic on the beach.
James Davidson – photographer
James is a regular wedding photographer at Butley Priory and a huge fan. “It’s both romantically intimate and a spectacular backdrop”. Not only weddings have been on hold for James, his other outlet, horse racing photography, has also been moth balled. On a brighter note, James says his house and garden are looking immaculate. James was the photographer for Rebecca and Jack’s wedding at the Priory. Despite the nail biting situation and slashed numbers, it took place. “It takes a certain type of couple to make is special. “Down to the wire, but Rebecca and Jack went with the flow and made it happen.”
Rebecca and Jack from London loved their wedding day despite the disappointment and last minute announcements from Boris. Numbers from January were sliced from 220 down to 15 in July. “We were determined to get married come what may, and prepared ourselves in the weeks before for setbacks. First cut was down to 50 (100 was harder to cherry pick). It was painful not just financially but the agony of uncertainty. “We had friends coming from six different countries. We were at the Priory the day before the wedding getting ready, when we heard that receptions were cancelled. But a marriage and photographs could go ahead. Our caterer brought the food in boxes, so after the ceremony we went to the beach at Shingle Street to celebrate.” The sun shone, the day was perfect, their friends watched around the world from Los Angeles to South Africa. They spent their wedding night in Forest Haven in Rendlesham forest. “It was magical.”
Peter Harrison – Chef
Peter has quite a biography, working in the catering industry in London, France, Australia and has run his own restaurant. Now based in Rendlesham Peter has worked at Butley Priory, catering for weddings for the last two years. He likes that it’s a family business, the relaxed vibe, the ancient, quirky building, surrounded by history and oak forests. “Its unique, and its very beautiful.”
Lockdown has been horrendous for the catering industry; “Small weddings are not viable financially” says Peter “The restricted numbers for the few weddings which went ahead were challenging, with suppliers and staff.” Peter is creative and resourceful, during the last year he has catered for a film company with Jamie Oliver, picked up consultancy work and spent a couple of months last summer picking asparagus with some of this staff at Blaxhall. “We enjoyed it, despite the back breaking work, the weather was wonderful, bird song, we met all sorts of interesting people from fellow chefs, artists, and skippers from yachts, all sorts. There was a good feeling of camaraderie, nobody knew much about the virus or the impact. And I now know everything there is about growing asparagus.’ But for now he is really keen to get back to work, and the wedding season. The kitchen at the Priory has been revamped so that’s another thing to look forward to.
Victoria Bradfield – Make-up Artist
It’s been a frustrating time for Victoria, especially in the first locked down when hairdressers were allowed to open before beauticians, causing an understanding ripple in the industry. Victoria trained 25 years ago in London. Her love of travelling to faraway off the beaten track destinations has been curtailed, but she‘s stayed positive concentrating staying fit and healthy, and learning photography. She’s been honing her make-up skills doing masters classes on line with Kristina Gasperas.
“I love working at the Priory, the cream and white colouring make a perfect setting for the brides. The light streams through the huge gothic arched windows, the photographs never fail.”
Victoria’s Yorkshire terrier Ruby has kept her sane during these last months. Ruby is a firm favourite with her brides doing makeup trials before the big day. “I’ve missed my brides, it’s been tough on them, and the whole industry; so much uncertainty and disappointment. I’m longing to get back to work.”
Photo credit: James Hiller Photography & Marianne Ford Photography
Helen Newman – Florist
Butley Priory is Helen’s favourite wedding venue - of course it is. Helen has kept going during lockdown with a few small weddings, which she’s enjoyed; “they are more intimate, stripped back to what its all about, a marriage. The brides tend to be more lavish with the flowers.” And of course there have been funerals, so that’s been sad, but the flowers lift spirits, they make all the difference.
A florist for many years Helen has worked in London, New York and the Middle East. A keen gardener, she has her own cutting garden, which she uses for her floristry. Tulips are her passion (she’s waiting patiently for her Sarah Raven mix to come up) but also roses, peonies hydrangeas. During lock down she’s indulged in a new interest, unusual house plants with unpronounceable names; she and her daughter are very pleased with their avocado tree, although the fruit has yet to appear.
Karen Lear- Celebrant and Florist
Karenlearflowers@hotmail.co.uk
Florist and Celebrant, Karen has known and loved the tranquillity and romance of Butley Priory since childhood, “when I use to bicycle passed it.” Karen ran the flower shop in Leiston for years; she first learnt floristry at Otley College and then stayed on and taught. She likes using flowers from the hedgerows, and locally sourced and lots of green foliage woven in. The Priory is a wonderful place to decorate; she likes the wide stone mantelpieces. “It’s a very flexible building, you can go elegant or boho, whatever, it’s a dream venue.”
As a Celebrant Karen trained 4 years ago in Salisbury. Karen tailors the ceremony to the couple’s wishes. “Sometimes they write their vows, sometimes I write them; it can be solemn, poetic, pagan, long or short and sweet, whatever the couple wants, sometimes a collaboration.” It’s nicer to meet in person, but with lock down over the phone or zoom has worked says Karen; we’ve all learnt to adapt.
During lock down Karen has kept busy gardening, painting, sewing, writing and floristry, one or two small weddings but sadly quite a few funerals. “I’ve stayed up upbeat and busy.”
Amelie’s Kitchen – Wedding cakes
Helen Ward found lockdown at first very hard, her business felt like “it had literally fallen off a cliff.” From making and creating two intricate wedding cakes a week, work instantly stopped. Her online shop set up on 2019 also went quiet. She felt lost and disorientated. But things slowly improved, the craze for home baking took off, and Helen capitalised, designing and making Cookie Embosser’s to decorate biscuits. Hey presto, her on line shop took off. “The upside of not making wedding cakes meant I got my weekends and evenings back.” But she’s looking forward to life getting back to normal. Her multi-flavoured wedding cakes, traditional fruit, chocolate mud, strawberry and champagne, Madagascan vanilla, carrot and pecan nut, will be back in demand with their exquisite sugar flowers.
NEW ! Gate Keeper’s Cottage - available May and June
Close to the Priory is an enchanting 18th century two bedroom cottage, bathroom, open plan sitting room, small private garden. Please contact us for further details and prices.
