Meet the Wedding Team: Ponden Mill Weddings
Ponden Mill Weddings, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 0HP
Meet Elkie and Becky, the wedding coordinator duo behind Ponden Mill Weddings.
We’ve got the tea on their wedding industry secrets, the best hacks, tips, trends, traditions and their favourite wedding music!
Becky (L) & Elkie (R) The dream team behind Ponden Mill Weddings 📸 Credit: An Elkie selfie!
Capacities & Spaces
Q: What are your maximum guest numbers for the ceremony and the wedding breakfast?
A: 100 day & 120 evening
Q: Do you offer both indoor and outdoor ceremony spaces?
A: Yes- we have a stunning outdoor area under a canopy of trees and and an indoor space steeped in history of open brick and fairy lights
Q: Do you have on-site accommodation?
A: Yes we have a few options, click here to browse and book directly with the mill owners.
1. The Cottage is available to book, sleeping 6 people. It has 2 ensuite rooms and a full downstairs area, which is great for hair and make-up, complete with a fully equipped kitchen.
2. Ponden Rosa, a vintage travel wagon sleeping 2, next to the stream with a lovely fire pit.
3. The Pointy Tent, a cool glamping pod that sleeps 2.
4. Falling Water, a stunning treehouse featured on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. With a private balcony and fire pit, it’s perfect for the wedding night.
5. There are an additional 15 riverside pitches for caravans and camper vans.
Q: Dog friendly?
A: Absolutely! 🐶
📸 Photography credits to: Monkey Mole, Beans On Toast, Rachel Joyce, John Nelson, Sam Chipman
Venue Highlights
Q: What is the one feature of your venue that couples always fall in love with?
A: The outside ceremony space just over the stream.
The Pro Tips
Q: What is your top piece of advice for couples planning their wedding?
A: Get organised early and lean on your suppliers for support - we are all here to help!
Q: What is the most 'genius' wedding planning move or cost-saver you've seen a couple pull off?
A: Always consider a last min date, it may be cheaper or it may come with additional perks. For example, you might book a Twilight wedding for the current year, but at Ponden Mill Weddings that may get you an upgrade from a mid week wedding to a Saturday!
Q: If a couple has an entertainment budget, where in your opinion is it best spent for maximum impact?
A: Something unique - people will always remember it.
Style & Trends
Q: Best aisle entrance song?
A: Everywhere- Paolo Nutini
Q: Best aisle exit song?
A: Opps I did it again, Britney Spears - for second time married couple - we loved it!!
Q: Best wedding breakfast entrance song?
A: Let’s get married - Jagged Edge
Q: Best first dance song?
A: Beyond - Leon Bridges
Q: Favourite colour scheme?
A: We love a neutral palette at the mill- it really complements the industrial look.
Q: Favourite wedding cake flavour?
A: We love a cake pop.
Q: What favours do guests actually keep?
A: Biscuits, chocolates and alcoholic shots are keepers. Guests also love to keep the drawings produced by live illustrators.
Traditions
Q: One 'Old' tradition you still love.
A: First dance- got to be done!
Q: One 'New' tradition you're currently obsessed with?
A: Grandmas as flower girls
The Ceremony
Q: Everyone working on the wedding floor loves a Celebrant Led wedding, why do you love them?
A: Because they are personal to the couple, you learn about their story together and no 2 are the same.
“As a wedding celebrant I absolutely love conducting weddings at Ponden Mill Weddings. Give me any excuse to work with Elkie and Becky and I’m there!
Elkie has grown up with family businesses in the hospitality trade and she has such a lovely energy about her, she’s just brilliant with everyone - customers and suppliers.
Becky has a degree in Events Management and she worked for me as a wedding coordinator, when I managed a busy wedding venue - I poached her from another department, because I saw she had something very special! ”
Meet the Wedding Team:The Mansion
Liam Warburton - Cheeseman, Sales & Events Manager - The Mansion, Leeds
Liam Warburton-Cheeseman (Sales & Events Manager)
The Mansion, Roundhay Park, Leeds LS8 2HH
Get to know the teams behind the dream weddings and find out all of their best wedding secrets!
Photo Credit: Barnaby Aldrick
Capacities & Spaces
Q What are your maximum guest numbers for the ceremony and the wedding breakfast?
A For ceremonies we can host up to 220; for a wedding breakfast up to 134.
Q Do you offer both indoor and outdoor ceremony spaces?
A We have some wonderful indoor ceremony spaces- our Colonnades room has a spectacular view out over Roundhay Park. We're not able to host outdoor weddings unfortunately as we are in a public park.
Q Do you have on-site accommodation?
A No, despite being surrounded by 700 acres of parkland we are just 15 minutes from central Leeds - so there a selection of hotels just a short journey away.
Q Dog friendly?
A We allow dogs for Wedding Ceremonies and drinks receptions. However dogs and loud music are not a good mix, so we ask that dogs are taken home (or to their accommodation) before the wedding meal.
Venue Highlights
Q What is the one feature of your venue that couples always fall in love with?
A The Grand Staircase and Chandelier. The Staircase provides elegance for photos, bridal entrance, first look photos and the Chandelier, especially in Winter when the nights are darker and is illuminated in the couple colour scheme, offers a stunning contrast in colour and brings modern chic to a classic Georgian property.
The Pro Tips
Q What is your top piece of advice for couples planning their wedding?
A Prioritise what you want, not what will please the most people. This applies to food, drinks, décor, music. Your wedding is a reflection of who you are as a couple, a hybrid mix of what you both like, and not an exercise in satisfying the whims of all who are in attendance. Don't settle for chicken if you'd rather have lamb; don't opt for Abba if you're more of an AC/DC
Q What is the most 'genius' wedding planning move or cost-saver you’ve seen a couple pull off?
A I don't think it is genius but just couples providing things they can make themselves. Wedding cakes for example, can be super expensive, but a lot of cake at night does not get eaten and people only do a cake because it is "traditional" and expected. Family members providing centre pieces like flowers they've grown at home. We recently had a wedding that put pictures of the couple around the venue and next to them paintings of those pictures that the couple had done. My advice to all couples, is just make it personal to you. Traditions and expectations can get very expensive, very quickly.
Q If a couple has an entertainment budget, where in your opinion is it best spent for maximum impact?
A Live music will always be the winner for me, and garden games. Things that will keep people entertained and engaged during some of the long moments that don't involve everybody. For example, during the drinks reception and photos, people want something to keep them active. I also like entertainment for the night time, not so much saxophonists as these can be hit and miss but bands, big or small. Live music brings a different level of atmosphere for me. Live drawing/painters are fantastic too as you get something that you can keep forever!
“Prioritise what you want, not what will please the most people. This applies to food, drinks, décor, music. Your wedding is a reflection of who you are as a couple, a hybrid mix of what you both like, and not an exercise in satisfying the whims of all who are in attendance. Don’t settle for chicken if you’d rather have lamb; don’t opt for Abba if you’re more of an AC/DC ”
Style & Trends
Q Best aisle entrance song?
A Song Bird - this was the music my wife walked into the room to and she went to a recording studio and sang her own entrance music. I also love "I Get to Love You" by Ruelle, our first dance music
Q Best aisle exit song?
A Signed, Sealed, Delivered is a timeless classic, but I love something more like "Come and Get Your Love"
Q Favourite colour scheme?
A I know it is traditional nowadays and done a lot but I love sage green. The tables, the dresses. I also love bolder colours for Winter weddings, like Reds and Purples.
Q Favourite wedding cake flavour?
A Salted Caramel
Q What favours do guests actually keep?
A None! Edible ones are always well received. Scratch cards confuse me, what would you do if they won a lot of money?
Traditions
Q One 'Old' tradition you still love.
A The Cake cutting- a great tradition and a fabulous photo. I love it when the couple cut and eat a piece straight away.
Q One 'New' tradition you’re currently obsessed with?
A The mid aisle drop kiss shot. I love the photo it provides, with everybody around you and not just you standing at the front. All eyes are on you, including the person who is looking at the photo.
The Ceremony
Q Everyone working on the wedding floor loves a Celebrant Led wedding, why do you love them?
A The flexibility and bespoke nature of a celebrant wedding makes it so much more personal. Sometimes a registrar led wedding feels too much like a tick box exercise and doesn't have the couple at the heart of the ceremony, whereas a celebrant led wedding does. They take the time to get to know the couple and deliver something so much more magical and memorable.
Arrange your viewing contact Liam at The Mansion, Leeds