A very happy new year to you.

January is always a great incentive to make plans for the year ahead, to set goals and create wish lists. Have you got anything special planned for 2023?

Here at Butley Priory, we’re using the next few weeks to get our ducks in a row for another busy year ahead before our first wedding of the year takes place in February.

Before we look ahead, we’d just like to transport you back to December to highlight what a fabulous day we had for our very first wreath making course. Hosted by Lucy from Hall Lane Flowers, our guests were treated to coffee on arrival, before they got busy creating some wonderfully unique wreaths. Whilst they were all using the same materials, we were treated to an array of different styles.

Our last wedding of 2022 for Hannah & Joel was an absolute cracker. Possibly one of the coldest and foggiest days of the year, we saw night-time temperatures of -6. With a tipi involved, we had concerns…but I’m pleased to say that with the correct heating and a lovely fire pit, it was very warm and toasty inside.

Hannah & Joel opted for a church wedding, followed by drinks & mulled cider in the Tipi. Dinner was hosted in the Great Hall with candlelight, with cake-cutting & speeches back inside the Tipi. Their final destination was to return to the Great Hall for drinks & dancing. A wonderful day enjoyed by all!

So, now onto January, and it has already proved to be a productive one. We’ve arranged to have the ground floor of the Great Hall and Drawing Room at Butley Priory sanded and re-painted, ready for the wedding season to begin. It’s already looking amazing, and we can’t wait to show you the results once it’s all finished.

To round off the year, we treated our Events team to a Christmas party night at Wherstead Park. We had such a great night, with lots of laughter – so lovely to be on the receiving end of good hospitality and a great opportunity to let our hair down after a busy year!

Christmas and New Year saw an abundance of excited, newly engaged couples. It’s the most popular time for engagements with around 40% of engagements in any one year, happening between Christmas Eve and Valentines Day. Our inbox has been overflowing with wedding enquiries and we’ve got a busy few weekends ahead filling up with viewings. On Saturday 21 January, we’ll be hosting a special Viewing Day, where the full events team will be on hand to discuss wedding plans and to show couples around the Priory, Cottage and Farmhouse.

We’d love to know what you have planned for 2023!