Recently we were invited to stay at the Lords of the Manor hotel, nestled in the Cotswolds, to see for ourselves what it has to offer for brides and grooms for their wedding day.
Based in the picturesque, small village of Upper Slaughter (Slaughter means muddy place in the old days), surrounded by rolling countryside, stone built houses and a lovely looking church, the hotel stands pride of place alongside the truly stunning gardens. Walking up to reception, the first thing you notice is the walled garden which is a joy, filled with spring bulbs and lavender. You know that the hotel will be lovely when you are greeted by gardens of this quality and it didn’t disappoint. From our arrival to our check out, we were delighted by the service, the rooms, the food…so let me get into more detail about how Lords of the Manor makes such a great wedding venue.
The grounds
As mentioned the gardens are lovely and make the perfect place to have your wedding ceremony if you want an outdoor wedding. The gardens in front of the hotel are ideal for drinks on arrival, then you can walk down the gently sloping lawn to an area beside the river. Here has more of a meadow feel to it and would make such a romantic position for your ceremony.
There is also a large piece of lawn to the side which is where you can position a marquee if you wish to have a large wedding (as the venue itself caters for 60- 80 guests). Here the venue can help with sourcing a marquee company or you can find your own – either way the setting once you walk outside is beautiful.
There are a few areas of privacy, with country flowers growing and some shade, making the perfect place to be photographed.
The rooms
What we loved about Lords of the Manor were all the downstairs smaller rooms that make up the hotel, with real fires burning, nicely upholstered furniture with a cosy, country feel to them. There are larger rooms of course for your ceremony and for your wedding breakfast – there is real flexibility here and you can almost choose what you want while consulting with the wedding team.
When booking the hotel for your wedding, you have exclusive use of the whole hotel, including all the bedrooms. These can then be given away to your guests or sold at your desired rate, and you can then of course choose the room that you want for your wedding night.
We stayed in a spacious room (one of the Lords rooms) with a large bay window, with views over the gardens and beyond which really made it something special. Lovely touches greeted us such as fluffy dressing gowns, magazines and elderflower water by the bed. It would make a wonderful room for the wedding couple. There are smaller rooms available, all with the same country luxury feel.
The food
Then there is the food – boy is it good! The hotel and restaurant has a Michelin star with Charles Smith as the head chef. The hotel has been awarded the prestigious award for the last 8 years so you know that the quality of food and service is fantastic. From the canopes in the bar to the 5 course meal in the restaurant, we were wowed with what we were served. We enjoy our food and love eating out but it is a rarity for us to enjoy food like this. The highlights for me were the celeriac mouse for an appetiser and the panacotta with grapefruit crystals for the pre-desert.
Adam chose the cheese board for desert – more like cheese shop! This cost extra but is worth it, and your guests will love you for it!
The hotel is based near to Stow on the Wold and Cheltenham, with easy access for your guests. As mentioned there is flexibility with rooms depending on your wedding size; the conservatory seats 30 guests, the restaurant up to 60 but if you add on the conservatory you can seat 80. You can work with the chef to design your ideal meal or there are set packages. Or maybe choose the picnic package and enjoy eating al fresco on the lawn. Whatever you choose, it will be a stunning day!
A huge thanks to the hotel for providing us with such a lovely stay, away from the hustle and bustle of town life.
Please note that we were gifted this stay, however all our thoughts in this blog post are true and our own. All photos are courtesy of Lords of the Manor.
