Country life
The wedding business
Leanda de Lisle
Anew year calls for new ventures. It struck me that, instead of lending our house and grounds for nothing as we have done in the past, we might actually charge somebody something this year. Not chari- ties, obviously. I need to earn days off pur- gatory. However, a wedding party might bring me a reward in this life — a weekend in Prague for example. Weddings are the new growth area in the country house business.
Since the Marriage Act of 1995 it has been possible to buy a licence to enable you to hold civil weddings in your home. At least two of our neighbours have done so and found their houses much in demand. A country house is more romantic than a reg- ister office on the high street and renting one is cheaper than flying your friends and relations off to a hotel in the Caribbean. However, their houses are about eight times bigger than this one so I needed to find out whether size matters to the prospective bride when it comes to venues — and if not what does.
There are times when I desperately need a shoulder ' The Historic Houses Association pointed me in the direction of Norman Hudson, the man behind the famous Hudson's Directory (a new edition of which is appearing any minute). It is a rather beautiful book, full of pictures of our prettiest private houses, grandest palaces and most ancient castles. It's also a very useful book when you are wondering what to do with your guests in the summer, indicating, as it does, which houses are open to the public and when. But it does more than that. In the future I see it becoming a useful source of refer- ence to those interested in country house history.
Twenty-five years ago there were no country house venues for corporate hospi- tality, but it's commonplace now. People who aren't interested in opening their houses to the public may have one room they feel able to let to a business interested in entertaining a few select clients. Others just open their gardens. If you can do both you might have room for weddings. I thought we fell into this category, but Nor- man Hudson could tell me more.
Norman Hudson has been giving country house owners advice for years but he told me he has no set of rules. Owners differ too widely in circumstances and tempera- ment. All he could do was give me a few facts and suggestions to mull over. If we had a suitable room for a civil-wedding cer- emony we could apply for a licence. The words suitable and civil are, apparently, closely linked. You can't use a private chapel, a room hung with a picture of an archbishop, or even a library containing religious books.
The licence would cost us about £900 and, whether we chose to get involved in the catering or not, we should bear in mind that people drink at weddings. This con- jured up all sorts of dreadful images, but I continued listening to Mr Hudson as he warned of getting sucked into the wedding mill. I could find we never had the house to ourselves at weekends, and if we didn't mind that adolescents may. Apparently they can fall out of love with their home if they find it being turned into a function area. Dread words, indeed, for the country house owner.
You might as well sell up now if your teenagers have fallen out of love with their home. It takes years to convince a child that a white elephant is to be cherished. Toddlers like small houses because they like to live as close to their parents as pos- sible. Older children, on the other hand, appreciate a little space as well as a little history. By the time they are in their teens they should have the same unreasoning passion for their home as their parents. That way the older generation can be sure the next will be prepared to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to hang on to the pile of bricks they made their life.
The house is not my life, but I do love it. Today there is a thin layer of snow on the ground, but the house is full of the scent of hyacinths. It makes me yearn for June afternoons in the garden. It may be a new year and a time for new ventures, but if you want a summer wedding in the country don't look here. Our peace and quiet is worth any number of weekends in Prague.
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