Elin and Tom married on a Tuesday in December, with 60 guests, in the Orangery at Wrenhurst House. They chose a winter weekday date for two reasons: the house was quiet, and the winter weekday offer brought the venue hire down to a figure they could plan around.

A Tuesday in December

They looked at three Saturdays first, then asked what a Tuesday would cost. The winter weekday offer runs from Monday to Thursday, November to March, and the Orangery is one of the seven spaces in it. Venue hire from £3,200, down from £3,600. The date was held only after both sides signed the hire agreement and the first payment of 25% of venue hire arrived by bank transfer.

December light goes early, so they set the ceremony for 2pm and dinner for 4pm. That sounds early. In practice it meant the candles were lit before the room turned dark, and nobody was sitting in a cold room waiting for the light to change.

Candles and blue hydrangeas

The flowers were blue hydrangeas, a simple white arrangement on each table and a low bowl at the ceremony end. They kept the rest of the room plain: ivory linen, glass candle holders, and the house chairs without covers. The Orangery is warm in winter but bright, and the blinds were drawn as the afternoon went on so the candles could do their work.

Sixty guests sat at six round tables. The room seats 80 at round tables, so there was space around the dance floor and room for a small band without moving furniture between courses. Each table had three candles, and by the speeches the flames were doing most of the lighting.

What the offer covered

The offer applies to venue hire, not to food and drink. Elin and Tom worked with the house kitchen on a three course wedding breakfast at £68 a guest, and they added an evening buffet at £16 a guest. Their planner wrote the full price down before they held the date, which is the part they mention most often when they talk about the day.

• 60 guests for the ceremony and dinner
• Tuesday in December, on the winter weekday offer
• Venue hire from £3,200, down from £3,600
• Candles and blue hydrangeas on six round tables
• Ceremony at 2pm and dinner at 4pm
• Three courses at £68 a guest and an evening buffet at £16 a guest

What they would do again

They would keep the early dinner and the short guest list. They would also book the show-round for a dark afternoon rather than a bright morning, because the room they chose is at its best when the candles are lit. The Orangery holds 80 at round tables and 120 standing, so 60 guests left the space they wanted for the band and for people to move between tables.

They stayed in the bridal suite, which comes with any hire at the house. Breakfast the next morning was quiet, with the flowers still out and the candles burned down. That hour, after everyone had gone, was the part they describe as the real end of the wedding.