Real Weddings: Calvin and Hanna

Oct 24, 2025 | Real Weddings

Welcome to our Real Wedding Blog!

We’ve spoken to our couples to find out their top tips, advice and favourite moments of their wedding at Cockliffe Country House in Nottingham. If you’re getting married with us, or simply looking for some wedding day inspiration for your own wedding plans, read on to find out more.

Calvin and Hanna

Wedding Date – 16th November 2024

‘A Relaxed Autumn Wedding with a Black Tie Dress Code’

This beautiful Nottinghamshire wedding at Cockliffe Country House was the perfect blend of warmth, laughter and personal touches. The couple celebrated their November wedding surrounded by close family and friends, enjoying a heartfelt ceremony, stunning woodland photos, and a delicious wedding breakfast. With fairy lights twinkling through the evening and incredible food and service, it was a relaxed, intimate celebration that perfectly reflected the couple’s personalities — a truly unforgettable autumn wedding in Nottinghamshire. Read on to find out more…

What was your inspiration for your special day?

We knew that we wanted to get our venue sorted as soon as possible because that would lead to decisions about style of dress, bridesmaids colours and dresses, and what the men would wear. As soon as we saw Cockliffe we knew it was perfect for us. We’d always said we had wanted a bar in the main room with entertainment so people weren’t necessarily going from bar to dancing to bar again and it meant everybody could be together. But, the best thing about Cockliffe is that there was a choice so people could relax in the separate bar if they wanted to have a chat away from the dancing.

Food was pretty high on our list of priorities and all the reviews had said the food at Cockliffe was brilliant. We can confirm – it is! We didn’t have lots of people coming (70) and some of the other venues we had looked at seemed huge so we wanted a venue that felt intimate, relaxed and high-quality.

What was the best part of your day?

There was no best part. It was brilliant from the night before when I got there with my mum and bridesmaids right through to the breakfast on the Sunday. The staff at Cockliffe were incredible and I don’t think they could have done anymore for us.

Some of the highlights though: Getting ready in the morning with my mum and girls – my make up artist (Ali) and hair stylist (Helen) were amazing – so organized and chilled, which helped make us feel relaxed.

The fact we got to have the box and bubbles in November and we got to stand outside and have our drinks and photos in the fabulous grounds! 3 days later it snowed! The ceremony itself was so lovely and Christina singing us down the aisle was beautiful. When we finished the ceremony we got taken into the separate bar to have a glass of fizz and some nibbles and that was really special.

For our photos, our photographer (Jess) took us down to the woods and we have some great photos from then. Abbie kept checking in with us during the day – checked that the room for the wedding breakfast was all ok and then again for the evening. But ultimately just having all the people you love in one place for a huge party was the best feeling! The guests made our wedding! Oh and the little surprise midnight pizza in our room was a bonus…

Why did you choose Cockliffe Country House?

Cockliffe is a great location for us as we only live 10 minutes away so all visits and catch ups were really easy. The house is beautiful and the fact it had rooms for guests was ideal. We bought a package so it was a set price for food and drink and then we could add additional packages on so we added an extra drink for everyone. The fact everything was included made it much easier to budget. But we should say, everyone we met who worked at Cockliffe was so lovely and professional from the open days, the show round, the tasting evening to the actual wedding weekend.

How did you decide which menu was right for your day?

We came to a tasting evening about 8 months before the wedding. We opted for the Tier 2 menu because we wanted the lamb, but to be honest all the food was incredible.

What was the hardest part of your wedding planning?

Probably deciding on table plans… however, we were incredibly lucky to have brilliant suppliers who were really responsive and professional so the wedding planning process was made so much easier.

What were your favourite parts of the venue?

My favourite part is when you pull up from the drive and pull round to first see the house, as soon as I saw that I got a little feeling that it was perfect for us. When we first looked around Cockliffe there wasn’t a cover between the rooms but that little addition is so nice with all the fairy lights. We had our top table in front of the bi-fold doors and because we got married in November it got dark as we were having speeches so you could see the fairy lights come out in the courtyard, which made it really sparkly and special.

If you have any advice for new marrying couples, what would it be?

Do your research. Follow as many suppliers as possible on socials. I followed our suppliers and then looked at who else followed them and who they followed. If you can get suppliers that know the venue then that really helps. Listen to their advice and suggestions – they know their industry so well. Get your suppliers sorted as soon as possible so you know the key things are done. Food and music were important to us so we sorted our music almost the same week that we booked the venue. Enjoy it – we made a point that whenever we did something for the wedding we made it into a little event so we’d go for a little breakfast when we bought the rings, a little coffee when we sorted the suits. The planning was as fun as the day.