The Old Royal Naval College

16 Nov 2006, Roger B rated The Old Royal Naval College  

Magnificent - Spectacular - Incredible - The finest available venue
From the moment we contacted Leiths, nothing was too much trouble. Our impressions of The Painted Hall, Management team - Ian, Kate and Will cannot be fully described in any other way than the superlatives already used. The food was delicious, service superb and ambiance second to none. The early November evening ceremony, reception and breakfast presented a back drop which left guests open mouthed. The after-breakfast party downstairs in the Queen Mary ante-room was so successful the bride and groom didn''t want to leave! Truly a day we shall remember for the rest of our lives. Thank you Leiths.

20 Mar 2005, Natalie Wills rated The Old Royal Naval College  

The Painted Hall Surpassed Our Expectations as Our Wedding Venue!
We would not hesitate to recommend The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich as a venue for your wedding. The venue is breathtaking and certainly gave a ‘wow’ factor to our celebrations. If you haven’t visited The Painted Hall we urge you to. We chose to marry in a civil ceremony and our wedding took place in The Painted Hall on the 29th January 2005. The Painted Hall is a truly stunning venue for an evening winter wedding and we received many compliments from our guests about our choice of venue. On a dark winter’s evening The Painted Hall took on a romantic air, the candelabras providing very subtle lighting and the Hall itself offering a stunning back-drop for our photographs which were deliberately taken indoors. From the moment we visited Leith’s, the Old Royal Naval College’s exclusive hospitality and events management company, we received unbeatable service. Our wedding coordinators, Bonnie Sahil and Kerry Pedrick, could not have done anything more to help us in organising our wedding. No question or request was too small or too big and their professionalism, together with their friendly approach and genuine enthusiasm, made preparing for our big day a pleasure rather than a stress. We were very lucky to have this kind of support throughout. On the day itself Leith’s continued to impress us. Ian’s catering team were all immaculately turned out and attentively looked after our family and friends. His team was slick and professional at all times and did a great job catering for a large crowd. We received many compliments about the food which was excellent. We enjoyed a fairytale wedding in a stunning venue … a day dreams are made of.

09 Mar 2005, Glynis Sullivan-Porteous rated The Old Royal Naval College  

A TRUE "CINDERELLA AT THE BALL" VENUE!!
If you want to feel like Cinderella, and have each and every one of your guests say WOW at the same time when they walk into your venue, then go to the Painted Hall. It has to be seen to be believed - it is quite breathtaking and without exception our guests were blown away by its beauty. Topped with the fact that the catering is done by Leiths, you can have one really amazing "do", and they are very good at catering for your exact budget so you don't even have to break the bank. The team at Leiths were quite simply wonderful - which was particularly important to me as I was arranging the wedding from New York, so didn't have time to chase people up all the time. The meal and drink service on the day was like a military operation, and so many of our guests commented on the fantastic food, and the fact that every time they turned around their glass had already been filled!! (Perfect for our friends!) After the meal that took 3 hours (we didn't want to leave the setting!) we went downstairs for dancing which was great as there's a bar that runs along the whole length of the room - with lots of staff as there's nothing worse than waiting for a drink! If I had to do it all again there's nothing I would change - apart from the fact I'm so sad that I don't have to speak to my contacts there again - they became firm friends in my 9 months of planning! Go and see for yourself the venue - words really can't do it justice.

09 Mar 2005, Kevin and Rajee Watts rated The Old Royal Naval College  

The venue made it a fairy tale wedding to remember
We were married in January at 4.30pm. The Painted Hall looks absolutely magnificent in the early evening as the long hall spans out in front of you, the painted walls and ceiling were illuminated by the candlabra lights throughout. As 100 or so guests arrived, the remnant splendour of the hall came to life and the feeling was truly surreal. This is a great venue for a winter wedding. We had the civil ceremony in the main hall where seating had been set up at the top of the hall, theatre style. We used a string quartet for background music. After the service we held a drinks reception by the entrance and photographs were in the collonades outside and inside the hall itself. As you are unable to access the hall until 4.00pm one of the down sides is that all the photography is by flash as it is dark early. But the collonade shots still look quite impressive, and down by gates to the river Thames came out well. The shots inside the hall look very impressive with the painted backdrop everywhere. (Outside it was very cold!!) For the reception we had a banquet in the upper hall (no party, just dinner and speeches) and the service was excellent. The caterers were very attentive to our needs and followed our instructions accurately, were also on hand for last minute adjustments throughout, as you would expect. Early contact in the planning stages had been a bit poor but once we had finally met, the communication after this, two weeks or so leading up to the event, was excellent. We found it a bit pricey on drink but food was competitive. Good quality though and very flexible. Overall, it is more affordable than you might think overall. All our guests were blown away with this venue and often will remind us; that it truly was a "fairy tale wedding to remember".