Flash Back to Olivia & Patrick's Summer Wedding

A Gorgeous Berkeley Castle Summer Wedding

We were recently sent this brilliant video by Gorgeous Films from Olivia & Patrick's beautiful summer wedding last July. The sun shone, smiles were wide and a delightfully memorable day was had by all. 

Guests arrived via a double decker bus and enjoyed a wonderful ceremony in St Mary's church (mere metres from Berkeley Castle!). After the ceremony, the Bride & Groom went for a short drive in their Vintage Car whilst guests meandered over to the Castle Gun Terrace.

Bubbly was expertly poured, canapes were served with a smile and guests enjoyed musical jazz delights on the Terraces under the summer sun. 

One of our wonderful recommended florists, Maria at Sorori Design, decorated the Great Hall for the Wedding Breakfast to give a stunningly elegant effect, suiting the wedding day and couple perfectly. 

Olivia and Patrick's friends and family dined on a delicious three course meal which was followed by moving speeches and of course finished off with a toast!

Scrumptious cakes created by Jennie at Curtis & Co  were served in the Long Drawing Room along with macaroons to complement the serving of Tea & Coffee. In the Small Drawing Room guests relaxed on the comfy furnishings while tucking into the Cheese Tower and sipping on Port.

Whilst guests relaxed and mingled in the Drawing Rooms, the Berkeley Castle team were magically transforming the Great Hall for the evening Reception. Atmospheric lighting was bought in, tables were removed and center pieces decoratively re-positioned. With the DJ and Saxophonist setting up on their own mini stage, the dais, the scene was set. 

The Evening Wedding Reception involved much dancing and a serving of Bacon Rolls to keep guest's tummy's full and energy for dancing high. The day finished with a celebratory send off to Blossom Cottage for Olivia & Patrick full of cheers and smiles.

Many many congratulations to Olivia & Patrick, we hope you are continuing to enjoy married life (nearly a year on!). 

A massive thank you to Ian from Pear Tree Pictures for all of these truly beautiful photos.

If you're dreaming of a summer wedding, Pippa and Immy our passionate Wedding Coordinators would love to show you around the Castle and talk through your plans and ideas for your big day. Get in touch on weddings@berkeley-castle.com or visit the weddings website here. 

Countryfile films at Berkeley Castle

It's only February and we have already had so many highlights to the year- our most recent of which was a visit from the Countryfile TV crew and the wonderful Matt Baker! On Friday the 30th January, Henry Berkeley, Estate Director, Roly Brown, and Deer Park Manager, Rick Coombe had the pleasure of meeting Matt Baker and showing him around various parts of the Berkeley Castle Estate. To start the day he was invited up to the Castle roof where Roly revealed the strategic positioning of Berkeley Castle and the surrounding settings. The roof offers fantastic views across the miles of Berkeley land surrounding the Castle, one sight of which includes Whitcliff Deer Park, which Matt would later visit. 

The second stop of the day was to meet Henry Berkeley and visit the Berkeley Kennels & Stables, followed by a trip to The Salutation Inn which has recently been shortlisted for Countryfile's "Rural Pub of the Year Award". After a warming meal and a good old pint at the Sally, the team moved to Whitcliff Deer Park.
Rick Coombe, the Park Manager, invited Matt to get stuck in with the feeding of the deer and go over some basic health checks to ensure they're kept nice and healthy. Unfortunately our deer were not familiar with the cameras and therefore there was some encouragement needed from the crew & Matt for them to show their faces (see how that went during the show! 

Selected footage was used in Sunday's episode and we were delighted to hear so many lovely comments following the show- thank you to everyone who tuned in!  It was also brilliant to see Gloucester Services and all the wonderful local work they do. Here are some sneaky behind the scenes shots for you to take a look at: 

Berkeley Castle used for BBC Period Drama Wolf Hall filming

After being sworn to secrecy for many months, we are now officially allowed to talk about the fantastic filming for BBC One Period Drama "Wolf Hall" which took place here at Berkeley Castle last year. 

The Castle was taken over by the film crew for many weeks whilst they transformed rooms and worked their magic with props and lighting. A lucky few members of staff were able to catch a glimpse of Mark Rylance and Clare Foy acting out scenes, which was a real treat. 

Several rooms throughout the castle can be spotted in various Wolf Hall scenes, whilst they also utilized the beautiful Bailey Gates and Inner Bailey. Filming spots included The Great Hall, Kitchens, The Long Drawing Room and the Buttery, the history of which are all discussed when you visit Berkeley Castle and join one of the free informative and very interesting tours. 

Come along from April 1st to see if you can recognize parts of the Castle which were used for filming! Walk in the footsteps of the real historic characters... and the actors who played them! 

Berkeley Castle will be open from April 1st until April 8th with fantastic Easter activities taking place and then following this will open every Sunday- Wednesday until the end of October. 

Find out more about what's going on here: 

http://www.berkeley-castle.com/whatson.html