Unique Wedding Venue in the Lakes
Small & Intimate unique weddings in the lake district
By CAROLINE
Unique, exclusive use Wedding Venue IN THE LAKES
Since 2006, Cote How has slowly evolved from an organic B&B and Tearoom to the stunning exclusive-use wedding venue that it is today. From its modest historic roots, this wonderful farmhouse is now a charming place to get married, with a unique style. We’ve had wonderful reviews and great compliments over the years, but this one by photographer Tiree Dawson really touched my heart:
‘Caroline & Steve continually strive to make further improvements every season and they follow and even influence the latest trends. There’s always a sense of energy rather than complacency.’
Trend Setters
We often are commended for our taste and originality, and our new rebrand has inspired our latest decor. This all started in 2019 when our goal was to elevate Cote How. We know many fabulous small and unique wedding venues in the Lake District. We wanted to stand out from the crowd and offer something different.
Maintaining Cote Hows’ wonderful heritage was not easy; however, it was vital to us. We wanted to retain the history of the building whilst still keeping the venue classy, bespoke and welcoming but with a feeling of warmth and charm too. We recently went through a rebrand with the fabulous Becky Lord, who developed a look and palette that echoed all that Cote How offered. The form, colour scheme and classic lettering that Becky designed, whilst incorporating natural yet vibrant colours, were perfect for what we had in mind.
We spent months deliberating on colour schemes when the answer was in our new branding.
Not convinced by my bold moves, we had to coerce Steve into submission when painting the walls emerald green with hand-painted foxglove – it was a bold move but pure genius as it became our brand icon. Mixing the paint was challenging, but even Steve was impressed three coats later.
A Whole Team Experience
It was a team effort to update the venue. Steve was in charge of the complicated stuff, joinery in the bar, and meticulously tidying up all those half-finished details, making everything look professional.
Sophie worked super hard prepping and painting, impressing her father with her new skills, and she was also very proud of her achievements!
Caroline set about hand painting the flowers and trees, arranging the new foliage, and adding those magical finishing touches.
Then there was the rug...
Wow, this makes me giggle. We carefully narrowed our choices online and even tried to superimpose a photo of the CHOSEN rug over a picture of the Woodrow room to see it in situ over the wooden floorboards.
I ordered the BIGGEST one available to create a colourful and bold statement – Wow, it was bold!!!
We then had a week of uncertainty and, if you know me, you probably got sent numerous photos asking for an opinion – I wasn’t sure!
Maybe it was the furniture?
So, with a new seating area designed and ordered, we waited patiently for our mega furniture delivery!
Colourful velvet chairs to complement our brand’s colours were carefully placed to open up the space and offer a classic space for our wedding guests to relax pre- and post-ceremony.
So this is Woodrow. What do you think?
IN STEVE's WORDS
I spend most of my time these days on my knees. Not in a grand romantic proposal, but painting skirting boards. Such is the glamour of the venue owner.
We had a late start to winter upgrades due to lots of Christmas weddings. However, we’ve certainly made up for it since with a haze of brushstrokes, crosscut saws, jigsaws, routers, hand tools, drills and planes. Even though we’ve had the least amount of time of year to date, I think we’ve made more changes this winter than ever before.
I have to admit that having Sophie and Dan assisting with these sorts of jobs has dramatically impacted how much we can achieve.
On the horizon, we have a new greenhouse to install following the demolition of the old one by Storm Arwen. This space will give us loads of opportunities to grow more plants and flowers for the venue. We’ve taken delivery of a large pile of sleepers in the last couple of days, which over the next few weeks should get turned into a raised bed or two, to add to the three we build during the lockdown. Maybe we’ll even get some veg’ growing!
Extra help with the venue tasks is starting to pay dividends as I now have a bit more time to think about other projects. I’ll keep quiet about these for now but watch this space!
IN SOPHIE's WORDS
I enjoyed being involved in the Cote How to glow up! It was fun learning how to do everything decorating that I wouldn’t ordinarily get a chance to do. There is lots of skill and patience involved as there are lots of steps to get to the result- lots of sanding, skirting boards and doors and lots of undercoating! Steve was very patient in teaching me the process behind getting the perfect finish.
When it came to the colour scheme, we tried lots of variations of emerald green paint to get the right shade; it felt like a risk with it being such a dark colour. However, it paid off and enhanced Woodrow’s look and the bar. As Caroline has mentioned, the rug took lots of time whittling down to the favourites. When it arrived, it instantly transformed the room.
Then we were onto the furniture, overwhelmed with velvet chairs and endless decorative options. It took lots of discussion before making the big decision. When they arrived, it was exciting to see everything come together. With one of my favourite changes being the Fairfield ceremony room, I think the new chairs, foliage, and fairy lights change the feel of the room, with the chandeliers still retaining that element of sophistication. I would say that Cote How is the most unique wedding venue I have ever seen.
IN DAN's WORDS
We’ve had another busy couple of months getting the venue wedding ready to start a busy wedding season. The finishing touches went up in Fairfield just in time for Rachel and Claire’s wedding in April. Making the window decorations was a favourite part of the recent renovations. The added ivy and fairy lights above the windows create a similar atmosphere to the barn, which is now my favourite space. I also loved painting the gazebo and gate on such an amazingly sunny day; Fudge cat loved the view too!
While the wedding season starts, we impatiently wait for the wildflower seeds to grow. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed! We sow more seeds every two weeks, so the meadow flowers all summer. I’ve used my flowers in the new urn planters for the terrace look great! Although the resident deer likes them too. So we have to hide them away from her…
Then…
Dan, well he painted everything in sight, including himself. But you can read all about that in Dan’s first blog here
First wedding for Rebecca
Of course, all of these lovely renovations are continuing, but in between, we are still scrubbing up to host your beautiful weddings too!
This was Rebecca’s first wedding, so we asked the lovely Julie Robinson to take a photograph of her and Dan to mark the occasion!
In Rebecca’s words, my first few weeks at Cote How have flown by, and the weddings it’s been lovely to be a part of the re-brand. Seeing the hard work, care, and tiny thoughtful details that Steve and Caroline put into every space and room is part of what makes Cote How so special and unique.
The Woodrow room now looks elegant with sumptuous velvet chairs, splashes of bold colour and a beautiful feature carpet – the perfect place to start your special day and welcome your guests.
The barn now features even more twinkly lights, and Steve has painted the floor, making it look fresh and new. The gazebo outside has been re-painted and dressed in beautiful wisteria and ivy, making it the perfect backdrop for those all-important wedding photos.
However, my favourite of all the transformations is the Fairfield room. The windows are now dressed with beautiful sheer curtains intertwined with fairy lights and ivy. The fireplace has now become a fundamental feature with the addition of carefully placed lighting and a floral display. The new vintage wooden chairs make the space more barnesque than country houses. So now (no matter the weather!) we have the perfect ceremony room in a unique wedding venue
Here we are so far...
It’s been a lot of hard work, but we are so proud of what we have achieved and the transformation of our small exclusive use venue. Please let us know your thoughts by adding a comment to the bottom of this blog.
What is your favourite feature?
WOODROW
The main reception area and first welcome with a splash of colour and lots of comfy seating to mill around and meet and greet your guests, both pre and post wedding ceremony
FAIRFIELD
The indoor large ceremony room was given a full facelift with the aim of making it more of a garden feel with the double french doors connecting to the outdoors and less formal.
HOUSE BAR
The traditioal house bar has had new panelling and hand painted walls and we have added the lovely emerald green to the back walls and it really makes it pop.
outdoors
As usual, the gardens and outdoor spaces take a lot of maintenance and this year we have added some gorgeous acers for the driveway and a series of new planters for early spring colour.
barn bar
A fresh coat of our signature emerald green has really lifted the bar area and tones beautifully with the recycled oak bar with a pop of fairy lights and foliage across the glasses display too!
gazebo
The gazebo has had a new coat of Jade Green paint and a new look of white wisteria to complement our beautiful one that crawls over the stone walls leading to the lake
STILL ongoing...
GETTING READY ROOM
We are really excited about this wonderful addition. A getting ready haven for pre-wedding hire for selected weddings. More in next weeks blog
new greenhouse
Steve and Dan dismantled the remnants of our old greenhouse post-storm Arwen, and we have waited patiently for the new one to arrive… It came this week so watch this space for the new one to go up behind the barn where we can set about growing even more wonderful flowers for your weddings!
Never a dull moment
It’s not only the renovations that have been keeping us busy here at Cote How, but in case any of you missed it in our last blog, we have been recruiting new staff in time for the new season. So do head over to our blog page to meet Rebecca our new Weddings Manager, and Dan our new Weddings Assistant.
But with new additions, we sadly have waved goodbye to our lovely Sophie. Sophie is leaving for pastures new but excited to relocate to sunny Manchester. We will be so sad to see her go, but wish her the very best of luck!
If you’ve enjoyed this blog that’s great, please drop a comment in the box below and share with people you feel may benefit.
You might be interested in our spring team blog… A New Wedding Venue for a New Wedding Season
If you are interested in getting in touch with our fab brand designer Becky Lord here is her Website.
Becky Lord Branding and Website Design
If you’ve enjoyed this blog that’s great, please drop a comment in the box below and share with people you feel may benefit.
You might be interested in our spring team blog… A New Wedding Venue for a New Wedding Season
