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Stately homes - a new choice for Asian brides

30/ 7/2008

THE stately homes of England are becoming venues of choice for a new generation of Asian brides.

Stately homes not only offer grandeur but are also among the few preferred venues that offer enough space for Asian celebrations – which are typically up to five times the size of an average UK wedding.

So the market interest is growing higher than ever - says leading wedding planner and event specialist Raj Somaiya.

Raj, who runs Manchester-based Payal Prestige specialising in large-scale fairytale marquee weddings said in the last four months he has organised receptions at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, Cliveden in Berkshire, Harewood House in Yorkshire and Knowsley Hall on Merseyside.

"Asian couples don’t just invite family and friends – they invite whole communities," said Raj.

"So a wedding becomes a get-together of almost everyone they have ever known.

"But we just can’t find enough large venues. That’s why the Asian market is moving towards country estates which have the right amount of space as well as car parks that sometimes need to take over 120 vehicles."

The trend is welcomed by Britain’s Historic Houses Association.

Its president, James Hervey-Bathurst said: "We are delighted whenever we can help bridal couples and their families to find the right venue for their wedding."

"It is particularly welcome that more and more Asian families see historic houses as the right place for a wedding, because of their romance, tradition, hospitality and spirit of continuity. That is the way their owners see them too."

Places like Capesthorne Hall - set in 100 acres of picturesque Cheshire parkland near Macclesfield and owned by the county’s Lord Lieutenant William Bromley-Davenport also welcomes the new trend.

Nicholas Bromley-Davenport added: "Couples are growing bored with the same old hotel circuit, they are discovering more romantic and photogenic places that offer alternative benefits of country space and exclusive privacy."