Belhurst Castle hosted my only daughter’s wedding so beautifully, thoughtfully, carefully and professionally during the Covid pandemic—I could not have asked for more. The price was also reasonable. The key wedding coordinator, Carmen, is so ex...perienced & hardworking that every little detail I asked for was done perfectly, & she gave us good advice. We were kept posted on changing Covid impacts (especially the 50 person limit), & Belhurst was flexible & responsive as we struggled with decisions w/Covid impacting everything. Their goal was to make sure we had a fun, safe, beautiful celebration despite it all—& we did.
I was the mother of the bride, & officiated as well as was the de facto wedding planner & bill payor. Those roles made it a virtual necessity that Belhurst staff were top notch. Many guests stayed at Belhurst (a beautiful place w/many elegant rooms & amazing lake views). A number of reservations had to be canceled as attendees dropped out due to Covid. Sometimes new people were substituted on prior reservations. It got complicated. Belhurst handled this efficiently and without any unnecessary cost.
The food was very good. The bride, groom and I sampled at least 10 meals before picking the menu. (Plated meals were required due to Covid.) I only sampled the vegetarian & vegan meals, and they were delicious. The Belhurst menu allowed many meals to be made gluten free which was also important. Belhurst only charged for actual meals served & allowed variations and substitutions as requested on the wedding day. I could not have asked for more.
Carmen knew the exact order for wedding ceremony events and how to do them. This was particularly important to me as I did not know how to both officiate and be the MOB at the same time. When she told me I would walk down the side with the groom followed by the groomsmen, I was elated. That was perfect, & I had not thought of that solution in all my ruminating about whether to be escorted down the aisle, wear my robe or dress then, etc. What a relief to be guided by someone with so much experience that she had seen everything and knew what worked.
We had to decide last minute whether to have the wedding inside or outside in the cool fall weather. I liked Carmen’s position—it’s the bride’s call. Though my daughter had her heart set on outside, it was too cool for the string quartet and for guests, so we stayed inside for the ceremony — but got many formal pictures outside plus the rehearsal was outside—the perfect compromise.
Carmen not only oversaw everything, she was a waitress at the dinner so that she could make sure everyone was happy. I have never seen anyone else work so hard & smart.
The staff was very helpful with the little extras —and when it came to decorating, we had a lot happening. They worked hard and well with me and the florist. E.g., I asked belatedly for little LED light strings from the rehearsal dinner to be added to the display of family wedding photos. 20 minutes after my request I found 4 employees sitting on the floor untangling LED lights for the display.
PS—The Halloween rehearsal dinner was at Belhurst too, & what a beautiful job they did with our many rehearsal dinner decorations! They showed their creativity—w/a white owl & crows up high in front of stained glass windows, bats too, black candles, bat art & black Jack-o-lanterns on tables, & skeleton mice peaking out of plants. The candy table was beautiful, the entry display breathtaking.