Booked Couples FAQ’s!
This is a super quick fire round of answers to those questions our booked couples ask most often!
Payments, Deposits & Your Quote
Meetings & Important Dates
Ceremony
Grounds
Bedrooms
Decoration, Entertainment & Suppliers
Food & Drink
The Big Day
Payments, Deposits & Your Quote
What is the payment schedule?
Payments are as follows and do not include your deposit:
18 months prior, total of 10% of initial quote for your wedding to be paid
1 year prior, total of 25% of initial quote for your wedding to be paid
6 months prior, total of 75% of initial quote for your wedding to be paid
6 weeks prior, (following your final meeting with final numbers given to Wedding Coordinator), final balance for your wedding to be paid
How do I make a payment?
You’ll receive an email with a link to pay online a week or so before the payment is due. If you want to make ad-hoc payments, please ask your wedding coordinator for the bank details for a transer, or just give us a call to pay by card.
How does my deposit work?
£600 of your deposit is retained and is refunded back to you within 14 days of your wedding. This is not included in your wedding quote, but is included in your payment amounts. If you have booked fully exclusive, £375 of your deposit is taken off your final balance amount.
Can I add or remove extras or guests from my quote?
Just send us an email. The only thing you are contracted for is the package cost, which includes the minimum guests for your date, and any additional items you have already had, like a taster day. You can remove any extras you added during the planning process up until your final meeting. You can also add extras whenever you like too. We will amend your quote and adjust your payment schedule accordingly and resend your confirmation.
Meetings & Important Dates
Can I bring my friends and family for a look around?
Absolutely. We have an Open Evening on the first Wednesday of every month (excluding January) from 5-8pm. You don’t need to book and they are great for our booked couples to come and get some inspo. If this doesn’t work for you, we can sometimes do Sundays but please contact us to arrange a date as we may have a wedding!
How many meetings do we have?
Other than your final meeting which is around 6 weeks before your wedding, there are no other pre-scheduled/necessary meetings. However, we do have check-in meetings available when you need them, just contact us to book one. We encourage our couples to keep in touch with us by email, whatsapp or at our open evenings.
Do you have Open Days or Wedding Fairs?
We only have one Wedding Fair in January. It is often very busy and we usually have an hour just for booked couples. Our open evenings are best for our booked couples.
How do I book my taster day / final meeting?
You’ll get emails with links to book when it’s time.
Ceremony
What’s the difference between a civil ceremony done by registrars and a celebrant?
A civil ceremony with registrars coming out to our venue is fully legal. A celebrant is great if you want a service a bit more bespoke and tailored to you but if you have a celebrant perform your service then you will still be required to visit the registry office either that morning or on a different day to get the legal parts done.
Do I need to book the registrars myself?
It is your responsibility to book your registrars and you must confirm it with your wedding coordinator once booked. You are now able to book them up to 3 years in advance. For more information regarding the civil ceremony itself, click here.
What time shall I book my ceremony for?
The perfect time is 1:30pm, if this isn’t available, please contact your wedding coordinator to advise prior to booking registrar.
Do we have to arrange our ceremony music?
The registrars ask you to pick 6 songs. All these songs need to be okayed by the registry office (can’t have any religious connotations) and confirmed with us on your final wedding meeting. We can either play them for you on our sound system or you can have live music by musicians.
2 songs for guests arriving
1 song for bride walking down the aisle
2 songs for signing of the license
1 song as you and your guests leave
Grounds
Are we allowed fireworks?
Sorry, we don’t allow fireworks as we are in a residential area.
Do you allow confetti?
Absolutely! We allow biodegradable, petal confetti down our very own Confetti Lane! We also don’t charge a clean up fee.
How many parking spaces are there?
Approximately 30 parking spaces.
Can we have sparklers in the evening?
Yes but a member of the Sparth House team will need to be present to ensure sparklers are all disposed of correctly. We also only allow up to 20 to take part at a time for safety reasons.
Can we have lawn games?
Yes absolutely. These can either be from a company or brought by yourself.
Bedrooms
How do my guests book a bedroom?
FULLY EXCLUSIVE: Your guests can not book a room direct with us. You must use the bedroom sheet to allocate the rooms to your guests. Fill in the sheet then send it to us before your final meeting and we will add the guests to our system and send them an email with the link to pay for their room.
NON EXCLUSIVE: Guests can call us as soon as you’ve booked to book a room. They will be offered on a first come, first served basis and executive rooms will be offered first. Guests can also book online but they will need the link and code you received via email when you booked.
Can guests book a room for the night before?
No, we do not offer bedrooms the night before a wedding as we are not a hotel. In most cases, there will be an exclusive wedding the day before so that couple would have all the rooms.
What time is check-in?
Standard check-in time is 2pm. If you are on the Ideal Package and we don’t have a wedding the day before, we will offer guests early-check in of 12pm for an additional charge. This must be requested prior to arrival.
How do I know how many guests can sleep in each room?
Download the bedroom sheet on the booked couples area. This has all the information relating to each room including guests and cost.
Decoration, Entertainment & Suppliers
Do you have a list of recommended suppliers?
Yes. This is available on the booked couples area of the website.
Can we make a playlist?
Yes. Please use Apple Music where possible.
Are candles allowed?
Yes but all candles must be in enclosed holders with no flames exposed to prevent any fire hazards. Registrars will not usually allow any open flame candles in the ceremony room.
Do we need to get any documents from our suppliers?
Just PLI & PAT certificates for anyone with electrical equipment. We also require a full list of all suppliers on the day which must be given at your final 6 week meeting.
What chairs can we have and do you charge to move them?
Our wedding package includes white chiavari chairs but you can hire alternative chairs from other suppliers. If you are using our own chairs, we will not charge to move them from one room to the other. If you have less than 60 guests, we will not need to move any chairs. If you are hiring chairs or chair drapes or chairs, you will need to hire enough for both the ceremony room and the wedding breakfast room.
What is included on the tables for the wedding breakfast?
Tables & Chiavari chairs
White table linen and napkins
Glasswear
Cutlery
Do you have any easels?
Yes, we have three you can use free of charge.
Do I need a cake stand or knife?
You may want to hire a cake stand from your cake maker so that it fits the design of your cake perfectly. You do not need a knife as we will supply one and we will also cut your cake free of charge to put out with the evening food. We do have a riser than can be placed underneath the cake table cloth if needed. Your cake can either be on a traditional table or a gold trolley depending on its size and style.
Food & Drink
What drinks are included in the Ideal Wedding package?
One drink per guest during drinks reception (options to choose from)
Half a bottle of house wine per guest during the wedding breakfast
One glass of sparkling wine per guest to toast
Tea or coffee & homemade fudge after the meal
Upgrades are also available if you’d like to personalise it a little more.
What do children get to eat & drink?
They will be served soft drink alternatives throughout the day and you can choose to feed them either half portions of your adult meal choices or give them a childrens meal of cheesy garlic bread, chicken goujons & wedges OR sausage & mash, and ice cream. If there are any babies, please check with their parents if they will require a meal.
Do we get a choice menu for the wedding breakfast meal?
Our package includes one option per course so everyone would have the same. If you want to give your guests a choice menu you can select 2 options per course or just a choice from the main course.
What time is last orders?
Last orders is midnight with music off at 00:30am or midnight on Sundays.
Do you charge for cutting our cake?
No we don’t charge extra to cut your cake. If you’d like us to cut it we can put it out with the evening buffet for your guests to enjoy it that evening.
Can we bring in our own sweets table/ real cheese cake?
You are allowed to bring in your own sweet tables. If you want a real cheese cake, this is okay but we do charge a corkage on it.
Are alcohol miniatures allowed for our favours?
Yes, but you’ll need to pay a corkage fee. Please ask your wedding coordinator for the most recent cost.
Can we sample the wedding breakfast before we decide?
You will be invited to book for a Taster Day around 6-3 months before your wedding date. We only hold a few a year, as they’re very special events, so make sure you make a note of your date and book on asap. The cost is charged to your wedding account and you can book for up to 6 people in your group. If you are planning on having a choice menu, please let your wedding coordinator know and we will invite you much earlier than usual to a Taster Day.
The Big Day
What are the timings of the day?
1:30 till 2 - Civil Ceremony
2 till 3:30 - Drinks Reception / Photographs
3:30 till 4 - Seating Guests
4 till 4:30 - Speeches
4:30 till 6:30 - Wedding Breakfast
6:30 - 7:30 - Room Turn Around
8:30 - Cutting of Cake & First Dance
9:30 - Evening Nibbles
12:00 - Last Orders
12:30 - Music Off / Carriages
If you would like to change or move any of the timings, please discuss with your wedding coordinator.
When do we drop everything off for the wedding?
If you are able to set up the day before then you will bring everything with you then and set up that afternoon. If you aren’t able to then you would need to drop everything off about a week before (see below). Suppliers can usually gain access to the venue from 8am to set up on the wedding day itself and 8am the following day to pick up. Everything must be removed by 11am the next day.
Do we set up the rooms the day before or does our wedding coordinator do it?
If we are not hosting a wedding the day before yours, we will set up the room so you can come and dress the room the day before your wedding from 2pm. Alternatively if it is not possible for you to set up the day before, a week before your wedding, your Wedding Coordinator will book an appointment to set up a wedding table with you so we will then be able to dress the room for you on your big day. This will mean we will go through every aspect of how you would like your tables to look. We will require all the guest name cards, favours etc to be split up by tables and labelled. We will also need the order of how the guests will sit at the table so we can make sure the correct people will be sitting next to each other.
Do we have to pack everything up ourselves?
Our night porter will collect all of your decorations etc and leave them all together ready for you to take with you when you check out the following morning. Any items left on the property after your wedding will be disposed of after 1 week if not collected.
What time do non staying guests have to leave by?
Guests not staying the night will have to leave the venue by 00:30am.
Got a question we’ve not answered? Then get in touch - no question is ever a silly question!
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