Good to Knows

Fanhams Hall Wedding Good to Knows
How many people can we have at our wedding?

We can accommodate up to 120 guests for your wedding breakfast in the Great Hall, and up to 130 in the Lakeside Pavilion.
For your evening reception, we can accommodate up to 200 for your evening reception on both sides of Fanhams Hall.

We also have some smaller spaces including the Oak Room which can accommodate more intimate weddings.

When we hold a date in your wedding diary, how long do we have before we need to pay our deposit?

After you have decided to hold a date in our diary, we will email you all of the paperwork including our terms and conditions and a breakdown of your wedding costs. We ask that the paperwork is signed and returned to us along with your venue hire deposit within 10 days.

Will we be able to sample the menu before our wedding day?

Yes, of course! Included within your package is a complimentary tasting invite for two people. You are welcome to invite extra guests to your tasting at a charge of £55 per person with drinks being paid for additionally.

You will get to choose and enjoy two starters, a sorbet course, two main dishes and two desserts, along with our chef's choice of canapes.

Following your tasting we will ask you to choose one option for all of your guests to enjoy on the day (dietary requirements permitting).

Do you have menus for people with requirements or vegetarian/ vegan options?

Absolutely! We have a selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes to choose from, alternatively you are welcome to chat to our chefs about menu ideas you may have of your own.

As long as we know about guests who have a dietary requirement in advance of your wedding we will ensure they are catered for too.

Will our wedding be the only one taking place at Fanhams Hall on our wedding day?

Occasionally we do host two weddings on the same day. Everything is kept completely separate, you will have your own bar areas, ceremony rooms, reception space and toilets; and we make sure we co-ordinate with you so your timings are staggered so there is no cross over. You will also have your own dedicated event manager and waiting team who will be looking after just you and your guests.

We do offer the option to hire Fanhams Hall exclusively, please just ask the wedding team for more information.

Can we get married outside at Fanhams Hall? And what happens if it rains?

Each side of the venue has an option to host your civil ceremony outside in our beautiful grounds.

If you have booked the Lakeside Pavilion you are welcome to use our Japanese Tea House; and if you have booked the Great Hall you can choose between the Japanese Tea House or the Gazebo Lawn for your outdoor ceremony.

An indoor wet weather option will also always be booked inside the venue in case of rain and the registry office on the day will make the final decision.

How do we book our civil ceremony?

The Hertford Registry Office are the licensed registrars for our venue and they can be contacted on 01992 555590 or 01992 555591

How many bedrooms do you have at Fanhams Hall?

We have 77 bedrooms which are available for your guests to book on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis so do encourage your guests to book early.

To book a room, we will require 100% payment from your guest at the time of booking. 

Once you have confirmed your wedding date with us, the overnight wedding suite for you two will be booked for you complimentary (dependent on your package). 

If you are looking to dine with us the night prior please contact the wedding team who can discuss your options with you. 

What time can our guests check into their bedrooms on our wedding day?

All bedrooms will be available for check in from 2pm on your wedding day or the day of booking. Whilst we will try as best we can to have some rooms ready slightly earlier this isn't something we can guarantee and will depend on our availability. 

We can provide a complimentary changing room for guests to get ready in earlier on your wedding day and their luggage can be left at reception until they can fully check in.

Check out is at 11am.

Can I stay the night before and get ready at Fanhams Hall on the morning of my big day?

Of course! You are more than welcome to book bedrooms for the night before (depending on availability). We can then provide you with a  changing room on the morning of your wedding for you and your family to use together for an additional cost. Should you wish to have breakfast this can be served continental style for an additional cost to you and your guests in the changing room whilst you are busy having your hair and make up done! 

Can we use our own wedding suppliers?

We have a list of lovely recommended suppliers who have been working with us at Fanhams Hall for many years and know the wedding spaces and what works within them really well.

You are also more than welcome to use your own choice of suppliers but we do ask that if they require any power that they provide us with their PAT testing certificate for that item and all suppliers must send over their business public liability insurance certificate to your wedding coordinator ahead of your date with us. 

For our Festoon lighting, we only allow 2 company's to install this- please speak to your wedding coordinator if you are interested in having this!  

Do you provide any stationary?

On the day we will provide simple directional signs for your guests within the venue so they know where to head throughout the day! 

All of the other wedding day stationery that you might want to provide such as name cards and menus will need to be supplied by yourselves. Your function manager will be able to set these up for you on the day. 

Do we need to provide our suppliers with any refreshments?

Most suppliers will require some sort of food and drink refreshments to be provided to them as part of their contract with you. If this is something that is required please do let us know so our chefs can arrange for them to be fed whilst your guests are enjoying your wedding breakfast.

Supplier meals are charged at £25 per person and this is for a main course only. 

What time can our suppliers start setting up on our wedding day?

Anytime from 8am on your wedding day if your wedding is taking place in the Long Gallery and Great Hall side of the hotel, and from 10.30am if your wedding is taking place on the Lakeside Pavilion side (as our normal hotel breakfast takes place in this space beforehand).

What time can we party until?

Most of our wedding's finish at midnight but feel free to keep the party going for as long as possible....we’re happy to extend your day until 1am for an additional £500 (Friday and Saturday's only). 

If you decide not to extend your party, after midnight the music will finish and the bar will become a residents bar only so any guests that are staying with us will be able to drink in the bar area until their ready for bed. No cash transactions will be possible and will be charged back to the guest’s bedroom. 

Can you cut up our wedding cake for us so our guests can enjoy it in the evening?

Absolutely! We find that lots of couples like some of their wedding cake to be cut up and served alongside their evening food. 

Do you allow confetti?

A wedding isn't complete without confetti...we would love your guests to sprinkle as much biodegradable confetti as they wish outside in our grounds! 

Do you allow fireworks, sky lanterns or sparklers?

Unfortunately we are unable to permit fireworks and sky lanterns as our neighbours are very close!

But we love it when couples choose to have a sparkler send off in our grounds at the end of the evening.

What if it rains on our wedding day?

According to legend, rain on a wedding day is a sign of good luck! We have a golf buggy available to take you round the gardens so you don't have to worry about your outfits getting wet, we also have plenty of indoor photo opportunities to choose from! Most wedding photographers are also very creative and can sometimes take the best shots with dramatic rain clouds in the air.

Should we take out wedding insurance?

Yes- we recommend all couples take out wedding insurance to cover for any unexpected eventuality that might occur.

Do you have any restrictions on us lighting candles?

In order to keep all of our guests and our precious buildings safe we operate a strict no naked flame/ candle policy throughout our hotel. We would however love for you to bring in as many battery operated candles as you so wish and we can also advise you of some of the lovely places wedding suppliers can hang strings of fairy lights which can look magical as the evening draws in.

Do you offer corkage or allow external catering?

All of the food and drink are provided by Fanhams Hall; but if there is something particular that you would like then please do let us know as our team of chefs are very creative and love to work with couples on new ideas! 

Corkage isn't permitted but our bar team are always on hand to look into sourcing particular drinks for couples. They are also great at creating special wedding day cocktails too!

Miniature alcoholic favours are unfortunately not permitted.

Can we drop off our wedding items (favours, name cards, table plans etc.) the day before?

You can, everything will need to be clearly labelled with your names and wedding date. These items can all be left in our wedding store room at your own risk and we would advise that all valuable items are kept with you.

On the day of your wedding we will happily set up your place cards, menus, table numbers, favours and any small decorations but any flowers, centre piece displays or larger installations will need to be set up by your chosen supplier. 

What external food do you allow?

We allow wedding cake, wedding cupcakes and/or cheese tower (if you do have a cheese tower we do not permit external accompaniments such as crackers, grapes or chutney but we can provide these for you) We also allow a sweet cart, chocolate fountain and a candyfloss machine. You can also have a dessert buffet to include sweets, mini cupcakes, cake pops, cookies etc. This must be supplied by a reputable and certified company please!

How long will our evening food be out for and can my guests take it home?

Your evening food will be left out for your guests to enjoy for a total of 2 hours. We can’t allow any food to be taken off site but we are sure there won’t be any left over anyway!

Can our dog be a part of our wedding day?

We have one dog friendly bedroom here at Fanhams Hall (bookable as a ‘cool room’ in our external wing of bedrooms). There is a £40 additional fee for deeper cleaning of this room.

We do allow dogs to enjoy the grounds too but please do keep them on a lead at all times. We welcome dogs inside but unfortunately they aren’t allowed anywhere that has food being served for food hygiene reasons.

If you would like them to be a part of your ceremony, please speak to our wedding team!

Who will look after us from Fanhams Hall on our actual day?

Your wedding co-ordinator will hold your hand and help plan everything with you right up until the day of your wedding; at this point once everything has been carefully planned out you will be handed across to one of our function managers who will be right by your side throughout the whole of your wedding day! 

We will arrange a pre wedding meeting where you will meet your function manager and go through everything that has been planned so far.

On the day your function manager will be making sure your timings run smoothly and everyone is the right places at the right time. You may wish to hire a toastmaster to do any formal announcements and provide a main point of contact for your guests.