Woolverstone Hall is one of the few venues in Suffolk where the house itself is the reason people book, and one where we are already on the recommended list.

We are on their list

Woolverstone Hall publishes a list of recommended suppliers and we are on it under catering, listed under Arabella Reeve Catering — the name this business traded under before it became Reeves Events. The venue is unusually relaxed about the rest — their own site talks about full flexibility, no corkage fees, and choosing the suppliers you want.

For a Grade I listed house that is a generous position, and it makes planning considerably easier than at venues that hold a tighter line.

The house and the grounds

A Grade I listed mansion at Woolverstone, IP9 1AZ, on the banks of the Orwell. Drawing rooms, an Orangery, and rolling grounds down to the river. Three licensed ceremony spaces plus a church on site, exclusive use, and accommodation available.

Two ways to cater it

Inside the house. Drawing rooms and the Orangery are elegant, formal spaces and they suit a seated three-course wedding breakfast served properly.

Or a marquee in the grounds. The venue describes the grounds as perfect for a marquee reception, and that is where we are at our strongest — our own ovens, refrigeration, generator, water and wash-up brought to site, sited out of sight, and everything leaving with us at the end. See marquee wedding catering.

The two are quite different jobs and it is worth deciding which one you are planning early, because it changes the shape of everything else.

The river, and the season

A house on a river in July is a different day from the same house in October. Grounds and an Orangery reward a summer wedding with a long drinks reception outside; the house itself carries a winter one comfortably.

Our barbecue menu suits the first, the sharing menus the second.

Next

We are at Mickfield, near Stowmarket, about half an hour away. See what is included and how booking works.

We have written up the other venues we know well in the same way: Henham Park, The Tudor Barn Belstead, Boxted Hall, Shimpling Park Farm and Haughley Park Barn. The rest of the county is on wedding catering in Suffolk.