< Previous70 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYWEDDING VENUESWe’ve all got our ideasabout the kind of weddingwe’ve got our heart set on.For some of us, the big day isall about the romance andtradition, involving a beautifulold venue, a formal weddingbreakfast, perhaps a stringquartet and all the aspectsthat have been passed downthrough generations. If it’sgood enough for William andKate...That’s one option. Another idea is tosee the wedding day as a giant party. Youmay have already been living together forsometime and be seen as inseparable as amarried couple in any case, so what’s thepoint of keeping it formal? You just wantto get all your friends together, enjoytheir company and celebrate. You can layon a buffet and dance until the earlyhours.The great thing about Lincolnshire’swedding venues is that they can sofrequently make a huge success of bothevents. They’ve got the wonderful viewsand beautiful surroundings and manyvenues have a rich history that permeatesits surroundings. At the same time, theyalso enjoy immense flexibility and oftenadvanced technology that can cope withall the requirements of a 21st centurywedding.You may argue that if it’s your big dayyou want to make sure everything runsthe way you want it, and so you don’twant to turn your wedding over tospecialists who, while they may behugely experienced, don’t share yourunique vision. That’s fair enough, but youmay want to think carefully about what itentails. For a start, while you think yourhome would be the perfect and mostappropriate setting, it’s highly unlikelyyou’ll be able to use it for the weddingitself.In Scotland the person carrying out thewedding is licenced and so if they’rehappy with the venue then everything’sfine. In England, however, it’s the venuethat needs the licence and one of themost important criteria is that it’s open tothe public and anyone canapply to host their weddingthere. Hence while you couldobtain a licence for yourhome, you’ll then be obligedto allow everyone else thechance to get married there aswell – not an idea that willappeal to many.In addition, you may beable to host quite a successfuldinner party or arrange animpressive social event atwork, but a wedding is quite anotherthing. For a start the guest list willdoubtless be far longer than ever before,and the ages and tastes of them will varywildly. Even more complicated than thatare the various logistical hoops you’llhave to jump through – is the venuelicenced to play music or serve alcohol?Are there going to be facilities to cookand store the food or will you have tohire some equipment? Might you needinsurance in case something crops up atthe last minute?For many the job of choosing the dressand deciding on the music for the firstdance is enough of a challenge, withouthaving these umpteen tasks to deal withas well. It’s not surprising, therefore, that72 The stage is setLincolnshire is blessed with dozens of beautiful venues to ensure the perfectbackdrop for your big day070-072:Layout 1 11/10/13 13:06 Page 1MAIN PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/A.KAZAK • PHOTO OPPOSITE: SHUTTERSTOCK>COM/DEBORAH BENBROOK070-072:Layout 1 11/10/13 13:07 Page 272 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYWEDDING VENUESmost people decide to make use of thespecialist wedding co-ordinators andplanners that most venues now offer aspart of the package.The best of these play a vital role in thesmooth running of the big day withouttaking the more creative decisions out ofyour hands. The fun aspects of planninga wedding – choosing the menus, theguest list, the entertainment and thetheme – will still be down to you, thoughthe planners will doubtless be able topoint you in the right direction. It may bethe case that in their experience yourideas can’t be realised on the budget orin the location you’ve chosen and they’lltell you – but they’ll also be able to adaptthese concepts so you can still put plentyof your own personality into proceedings.You’ll have the last word on whathappens though there are a few thingsyou should bear in mind. The size of thevenue will doubtless have an impact onyour planned itinerary and the number ofguests you’re hoping to invite. The venuewill be able to guide you as to what’spossible but, if you want to start sizingthings up, the general rule for thereception is to allow eight square feet perguest if there’s a buffet, and fifteensquare feet if a sit-down meal. If you startinviting more people than dancers anddiners might begin to fall out. Don’tforget you also need to work out where alive band, if you’ve chosen one, willperform – and what they’ll do whenthey’re not playing.Lincolnshire’s top venues offer fantasticvalue packages that can relieve many ofthe stresses and the strains of the big day– while still ensuring your celebrationsreflect you and your partner.PHOTO: TIALincolnshire’stop venues offerfantastic value packagesthat can relieve many ofthe stresses and thestrains of thebig day070-072:Layout 1 11/10/13 13:07 Page 3WEDDINGSatContact the events department on +44 (0) 1522 565197 / 565180DoubleTree by Hilton LincolnBrayford Wharf North, Lincoln LN1 1YWwww.lincoln.doubletree.comAll the elements of a perfect day5979 DoubleTree Wedding Advert Update 190x277 ART.indd 104/10/2013 14:15073:Layout 1 11/10/13 12:38 Page 1074:Layout 1 11/10/13 12:38 Page 1Wedding Breakfast + Evening ReceptionPackages from £3,999.00Evening Reception Packages from £2,499.00Our wedding package is built with you in mind, offering you a spectacular day & evening reception at excellent value.Based on a maximum of 50 guests for the daytime and 100 guests for the evening.“Our evening reception was completely stress free and absolutely perfect.”John & Astasia’s WeddingTritton Road | Lincoln | LN6 7QY | 01522 508360 | www.theshowroom.org.ukContact Conference and Events Centre Manager Andrew Lowley on andrew.lowley@theshowroom.org.uk075:Layout 1 11/10/13 12:39 Page 1Sitting proudly in the medieval splendour of Lincoln Cathedral, the White Hart Hotel is the ultimate wedding venue. Your bespoke wedding will be perfectly tailored to your every wishby our dedicated team of professionals.With our private, stylish and contemporary suites, you and your wedding party can relax and celebrate whilst enjoying food from a personally handpicked menu with wine to suit, before dancing the night away to your chosen style of entertainment.Our bedrooms, many with fantastic views of the Cathedral, are well equipped, comfortable and relaxing and our wedding suites are all prepared to make you feel extra special.With inclusive packages to suit your ideas, your dream wedding day at the White Hart Hotel could be closer than you think!076:Layout 1 11/10/13 12:40 Page 1enquiries@theoldpalace.org www.theoldpalace.org 01522 580000ocated in the historic quarterof Lincoln, The Old Palace, amagnificent Victorian-era house, is oneof the most charismatic and impressivewedding venues in Lincolnshire.The Old Palace combines the comfortand elegance of the former Palace ofLincoln’s bishops in an unparalleledsetting with stunning views of theCathedral and surrounding countryside.To see all that The Old Palace has tooffer and brides’ experiences of theirweddings at The Old Palace,please visit the website.An inspirational venue for weddings and receptionsL077:Layout 1 11/10/13 12:40 Page 178 LINCOLNSHIRETODAYPETS CORNERGLEBESPRAY BOARDING KENNELSWRAWBY DN20 8SBSet in 200 acres of farmlandDogs walked twice a daySuperb Large Kennels with RunsFamilies of Dogs catered forDay Care available 8am - 5pmKennels HeatedOPEN ALL YEAR - Bookings now taken for Christmasglebespraykennels.co.ukT: 07771 766319AHappyHolidayHomefordogsinteraction, while at Glasgow Caledonian they have a uniqueteam dedicated to assessing activity, and considerableexperience in doing this with older adults.”Dogs can certainly offer friendship and companionship tootherwise vulnerable people, and Therese Smaller from Keelbyis one of those helping to train assistance dogs for people withdisabilities through the Canine Partners charity. She trainspuppies that have been chosen or sponsored to become caninehelpers, with their tasks including picking things up, taking thewashing out of the machine, opening doors, removing socksand above all offer companionship.Therese says, ”As a puppy parent, I have to teach puppies torespond to commands, learn how to tug and touch things. Wealso take them into town to visit shops, libraries and get themused to traffic. We usually have them from about seven weeksto one year old, when they then go through a series of physicaland obedience tests to see if they can be further trained to bean assistance dog.“These dogs are very clever and help even the most complexdisabled people, including members of the Armed Forces, whohave been injured in conflicts.”For many owning a dog is simply for the fun, but for somepeople in Lincolnshire, they can prove particularly valuable fortheir quality of life.BosombuddiesFor many of us, pets offer great companionship –and for older people that can often proveparticularly valuable. In fact academics inLincolnshire are examining whether there couldactually be real health benefits from owning a dog.As the population is getting older, and obesity becomes moreof a concern, identifying and understanding the factors that cancontribute to healthy ageing is vitally important and there isgood reason to think that dog ownership might be one suchfactor.Academics from the University of Lincoln and GlasgowCaledonian University are investigating healthy activitypatterns among older people who own dogs. Previousresearch has established that dog owners are more likely to walkfor longer time periods, but until now research has focused onwalking dogs outdoors, rather than the general effort excertedthrough owning a dog, such as having to chase after them inyour home!Professor Daniel Mills from the University of Lincoln, who isleading the study, says, “This study is a great example of wherethe expertise of different teams can come together to achievesomething which neither could do on their own. At Lincoln wehave great expertise on animal welfare and human-animal078-79:Layout 1 11/10/13 12:42 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRETODAY79EQUINEAs equine specialist Brenda Gilligan, Senior Solicitor at WilkinChapman, points out, one way is to find someone to share yourhorse. She says, “This is not the same as putting him out onloan. If you loan a horse out, then you would not expect to havemuch to do with him, and you would not expect to have to payfor his keep either. With sharing, you can have more control, asyou can tailor your share terms and the horse normally remainswith you.“Sharing involves as little or as much contact with the horse asthe owner would like. However the owner should be careful notto let the sharer ‘take over’. Equally, the sharer should rememberthat, if the owner can’t be persuaded on some things, they’ll justhave to let it go. Both parties need to be prepared to be flexible.“An owner might just want someone to ride the horse twice aweek in a school, may want the sharer to do the majority of thecare and riding or anywhere in between. The important thing isfor both parties to be clear on expectations. The owner can’texpect to disturb the routine any time they choose on thegrounds that it’s ‘their horse’ – it’s now a shared horse!”What about payment? Brenda says, “You can charge paymentfor sharing, but be realistic. People often share because theycan’t afford the full cost of their own horse. The owner shouldusually expected to pay for items such as main livery costs, tackand vet bills, while the sharer could make a livery contribution.Get the agreement in writing.“A good sharer will usually become a good friend, but if it’sjust not working out, say so before arguments start. Sharingjust doesn’t suit some people, but there’s only one way to findout.”Sharing nicelyWinter’s coming on with its extraequine expenses and horse owners willbe thinking of ways to cut their bills078-79:Layout 1 11/10/13 12:42 Page 2Next >