We went to visit the Montagu Arms Hotel in the New Forest, having seen it online in our search for somewhere to hold our intimate wedding in Hamshire. As soon as we visited we knew we didn’t have to look anywhere else. The character and charm of this New Forest Wedding Venue won us over. The Oakwood room was just what we needed for our small wedding and we loved that our party of 17 could all eat around one table. An added bonus was that it's a dog friendly hotel so our two spaniels were able to stay as well.
As we were a small group we gave our guests a choice for each course that they could pre order which was a great bonus. Options were either fish cake or chicken liver parfait to start, beef or sea bass for the main and lemon meringue pie or chocolate delice to follow. For the vegetarians it was the risotto to start and a goats cheese tart for the main. All the wedding food was delicious and we also had a cheese board later in the evening.
Our wedding florist was also a friend and colleague who is an award winning florist in her spare time! We showed Lucille photos of the colours we wanted to include as well as the types of flowers we wanted with roses and dahlias being a favourite. As well as arrangements for the fireplace and windows we went for small glass vases of a few stems on the table. The men also had flowers for their pockets rather than traditional buttonholes. The flowers were stunning and Lucille went above and beyond to get the flowers we wanted.
We used the hotels recommended suppliers Sarah Louise Cakes and Scott from ASR photos and were impressed with services provided by both. Sarah made a wedding cake which looked amazing, tasted fantastic and was a perfect fit for our autumn wedding theme. Scott was brilliant, knew exactly where to go to get photos without spending hours away from our guests. The final photos were beautiful and we are still struggling to pick which ones to put in an album!
The wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses were all from Ghost with the men’s suits coming from Boss. We were very fortunate that my best friend and maid of honour is an experienced make up artist and hairdresser and did a fantastic job of getting me ready.
We picked the decorations ourselves focussing on candles and flowers with an autumnal theme for our autumn wedding. Having pre ordered the menu choices for our guests we were also able to arrange personalised menus as place markers too. We picked chocolates from Hotel Chocolat for our wedding favours.
When we booked the Montagu Arms as our intimate wedding venue it seemed a long time away but the time flew. Planning the details ahead meant everything came together perfectly on the day and we could relax and enjoy our wedding. Clara and the Team are complete professionals and made sure everything went smoothly. The Bride and Bridesmaids stayed the night before the wedding and all getting ready together in one of the Courtyard rooms was ideal. Also, most of our guests stayed the night of the wedding and we all had breakfast together in the Oakwood room the following morning which was a great way to end the weekend.
Photographer - Scott asrphoto
Florist Lucille - Forest Floral Design
Cake - Sarah Louise
If you are looking for a hotel wedding venue in the New Forest, choose The Montagu Arms Hotel for a wedding day completely bespoke to you. Call 01590 612324 or contact Wedding Team online. From intimate wedding packages to exclusive hire weddings, our hotel in Beaulieu has something to offer every husband and bride-to-be.