Marquee and Tent Wedding Venues in North West - England

Helen

5.0 out of 5 rating

5.0

Gisburne Park Estate was the first venue we viewed. We both knew it was where we wanted to be married from the moment we set eyes on it. (We did look at one other venue, but our heads were never going to be turned.) From first being driven round the site by Steph and Jack, we knew this was the place and that these were the people we wanted to look after us and our guests. As we have family that would be coming up from London and the south coast, we were looking for a venue where everyone could be for the whole weekend. Joe’s parents, sisters and family were all able to stay together in The Stables House. Guests also stayed in the lodges at Ribblesdale Park, some glamped and a few couples stayed in the nearby White Bull pub. The site and the hot tubs were an all round big hit — what’s not to love when you’re greeted by deer and peacocks? We’d spent a couple of weekends at the lodges in the year before the wedding, so could recommend the accommodation and all the facilities in the area with full confidence. Steph was in regular contact from the time of booking to the weekend itself, helping us keep the planning all in good order and manageable. We had a wide range of ages to cater for, with one third of our guests under 18 and a fair few over 70s. So it was important to us that our wedding be as informal and chilled as possible, with the ceremony and photos being the only time where guests were required to be in a particular spot for any length of time. We wanted everyone to be free to do their thing and enjoy the party in their own ways. Steph, Jack and Tracy helped us to achieve this. We opted for the BBQ menu from Betty’s Kitchen and guests were free to eat outside or inside at tables of their choosing. The food was superb and everyone could select their food on the day, with all dietary requirements catered for without fuss. The late night pizzas were a big hit and helped keep the dancers going until midnight. Ste, the technician from Six15 did a great job with the dance floor lighting and was just lovely to have around on the day. As were all the bar and catering staff; they’re a really friendly, helpful team. We did have a timeline set out, but everyone was free to do as they wished and we made use of all the space in the tipis, outside in the grounds and around the fire pits. There was an epic 3 hour game of football, that continued through the speeches (with our blessing)! On the Sunday we enjoyed chilli and cake in the tipis followed by time at the pool. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t so kind to us that day, but the sun came out at all the right times on the wedding day itself. If it hadn’t, the tipis are so roomy we know we would all have been just fine. The day was all that we had hoped for and it was a truly special and very “us”. The ceremony tipi, in the woods by the stream is magical. Being able to stay in the middle of it all in Riverside House is just dreamy. I was tipped off by another bride to make sure I looked out the window to watch our guests walking down the hill and seeing the venue for the first time — such a lovely moment. The words of my uncle: “It was a wonderful day. Creative, imaginative, unique, easy-going, spectacular, poetic, ethereal, grounded. What more to say.” And another friend commented just how “accessible and joyful it was for all”, which meant a huge amount to us as it was our aim and of course we could not have achieved that without all the efforts of the Gisburne and Betty’s Tipis team. Gisburne is a very special place. We loved our day and are looking forward to coming back to stay at Ribblesdale Park for anniversaries or family get togethers in the years to come.

We wanted to have something a little less traditional to celebrate getting married after we had our civil ceremony in Dec 2023. We decided to have a festival style party in June 2025 and the venue was amazing, couldn’t fault it and had lots of compliments on how fun the night was! We had a great events team checking in and they were super flexible with anything we wanted.

We’re at The Hanmer Arms today for my nans 90th birthday meal. We had our own room upstairs (as there was a lot of us) and the staff and the food were amazing. They even served us from our own carvery station upstairs rather us go up and down. Definitely recommend.