A luxurious heritage wedding venue in Northumberland – Langley Castle – has created what may be the UK’s first ‘man crêche’ at a wedding fair or open day, to give future grooms no reason to duck out of a day that could shape the wedding of a couple’s dreams.
Langley Castle, a glorious and photogenic castle dating from 1350 and located in 10 acres of grounds at Langley-on-Tyne in Northumberland, has thoughtfully picked the largely sport-free day of Sunday January 26, 2020, for its wedding open day. The day will allow couples who got engaged over the Christmas and New Year 2019 break, to start making plans early, so to aid and abet that, Langley is creating its own men’s zone, to make chaps feel at ease.
As well as the usual fizz and canapés, tours of the castle and its facilities, and chats with expert and inspiring wedding suppliers, Langley will be running a male crèche, where girls and their mums can leave their fiancés and dads.
This man cave will serve a great purpose, as well as being a drop-off zone, as men will be able to enjoy local craft ales and elements of the Langley Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea, which they could build into their big day. Meanwhile, their other halves can take their time browsing and talking dresses, flowers and other things generally of little interest to blokes.
Additionally, what sport is taking place, such as the action from the third day of the fourth test match in the South Africa v England series, will be shown on a screen in Langley’s contemporary glass Pavilion, so no male FOMO will be in play. Langley has considerately picked a day with no premier league football games currently scheduled, so Toon Army supporters need not cry off!
And there is glorious news for any chap who’s protecting his wallet. Langley has created a ‘win a wedding’ competition, which will allow one lucky winner to win a wedding for up to 30 guests, with wedding breakfast, décor and photography thrown in, plus a night in the Langley bridal suite. The terms of this can be found at the website.
Langley also has a tip for any girl wishing to propose in a Leap Year. Independent research has shown 15% of people would definitely say ‘yes’ if proposed to at Langley. This helps stack the odds in the proposer’s favour, so heading to the open day with an unsuspecting partner could result in a marvellous response to a ‘would you do me the honour?’ question, if you are prepared to propose on a day other than February 29.
Executive General Manager of Langley Castle, Margaret Livingstone-Evans, says: “By creating a man cave and crèche, we are helping girls get their men-folk down to the wedding open day, to start making their wedding plans without being bored by the little details that women find fascinating. We will also be offering 10% off the cost of any wedding booked on the day, if a deposit is paid within seven days, so real decisions can be made and money saved.
“January 26 also happens to be Australia Day, so aptly corks will be flying, even if that’s from fizz bottles rather than hats. It’s also National Spouses Day in the USA, so a very fitting day for a wedding open day. The message to future brides is to head to Langley, let your other half fall in love with the manly romance of being a knight in shining armour during a castle tour and then allow him to chill out over some nibbles and ales, whilst you start to pull your plans together.”
More details can be found at the Langley Castle website, which has its own wedding section. Langley is a ‘Best for Romance’ award-winning hotel that was also the North East Hotel of the Year in 2018.
