Maesteg Wedding Theme ideas, or Wedding Decor and Wedding Gift Ideas, based on Maesteg's history, style and culture.

Link your wedding theme, wedding decor and wedding favours to the history, style and sense of place in Maesteg.

Your wedding theme may be linked to your own past, to key moments in your relationship with each other, your favourite colours, your personal tastes, or you may incorporate some elements of your home area within Maesteg into your wedding day 'story book'.

When considering wedding decor you may already have plenty of your own ideas for your wedding. Or maybe you are still looking for inspiration?

Reflect the story of Maesteg in your decor, to connect your personal history in your home city's roots, and your family's location in Maesteg. You may get some ideas from the quick history of Maesteg below, its buildings, street names, or local transport routes etc.


Interesting Facts About Maesteg you may not know and could use in your wedding theme/ decor/ story:

1. Maesteg population: 20,685. It means "Fair Field" in English and lies at the northern end of Llynfi Valley. The Llynfi valley was once a valley of peaceful farms and an area "famous for its game coverts, its woods and sparkling streams".

2. Maesteg grew with the opening of the iron works in 1820-30. The first ironworks opened at Maesteg Uchaf Farm, near the site of the present-day town centre, in 1826. A second ironworks, the Llynfi Ironworks, opened in 1839 at Nantycrynwydd Farm - the area is now a Tesco's and car park. Between 1821 and 1841 the population multiplied from 400 to 4,000.

3. The poet William Wordsworth was one of the investors in the Llynfi ironworks, as was Dr. John Bowring - who introduced the florin, a two shilling piece that became the forerunner of our present decimal system, specifically the ten pence piece today.

4. Export markets for the iron included Italy and Turkey and USA. The ironworks closed when steel production replaced iron. Steel production could not be replicated in Maesteg, so coal mining replaced iron production in the Llynfi valley.

5. Coal mining took over as the main industry in the area. Thanks to coal mining Maesteg's population increased from 10,000 in 1891 to 30,000 in 1921. Between 1890-1925 the valley was renowned worldwide as a producer of Admiralty-grade steam coal, high quality coking coal and the best house coal in South Wales.

6. The recession of 1928-38 saw a reduction in the demand for coal and exports of coal ceased. The population almost halved as workers sought employment elsewhere, in London and the Midlands. There was large scale unemployment.

7. Maesteg is now a dormitory town for neighbouring Port Talbot, and for Bridgend and Cardiff. The last coal pit closed in 1985. Fortunately more jobs were created in Bridgend and Port Talbot, so Maesteg and the Llynfi Valley was able to maintain its population at 20,000, as a mainly residential area, served by three railway stations in Maesteg.

8. Wards in Maesteg: Maesteg West, Maesteg East, Nantyffyllon and Caerau.

9. Maesteg has a reputation for music and choirs with eight choirs:

• (i) Maesteg and District Male Voice Choir,
  

• (ii) the Gleemen Male voice Choir,
  

• (iii) the Old Parish Choir,
  

• (iv) Llynfi Valley Ladies Choir,
  

• (v) the Harmony Ladies Choir,
  

• (vi) the Noteworthy mixed choir,
  

• (vii) the Take Note contemporary vocal group and finally,
  

• (viii) Maesteg Children's Choir.
  

10. Maesteg was the first place where the Welsh National Anthem Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau was performed.

11. The earliest settlement was over 2000 years ago in the Llynfi Valley, at the Bwlwarcau Iron Age Hillfort near Llangynwyd. This is two miles south of Maesteg Town centre while additional settlements futher around Maesteg go back 4,000 years.

• Time from Maesteg to Craig y Nos Castle Wedding Venue: 49 minutes
  

• Distance from Maesteg to Craig y Nos Castle Wedding Reception Venue: 29 miles
  

Maesteg’s history is quite recent if you discount earlier settlements in the area. The Llynfi valley was mainly farms until it became noted for iron production then coal mining, neither of which lend themselves to wedding theme ideas. So what could you use that is historically significant?

1. Dr. John Bowring was an interesting Maesteg Man. His story could be replicated in your local history of the town, should you wish to feature Maesteg in your wedding.  He was the forerunner of the decimal system and introduced the Florin (two shillings).

Could you locate some old florins and give them away as wedding favours, perhaps?  A florin, or two shillings, was worth a tenth of a pound or 24 pence before 1971. Much like the shilling, florins continued to circulate after decimalisation, used as 10p coins. They were only withdrawn in 1993 following the introduction of the smaller-sized 10p coin. Maybe you can still locate some old Florins in a presentation case from the Royal Mint.

2. Table names could be tied in to the ward names – as there are only four wards this would not allow for a very large number of wedding guests.

3. If you wish to name your wedding tables after Maesteg, you have greater potential with the choirs, of which there are eight. Assuming eight round tables of ten guests on each and a separate head table of a similar number, this would allow for a wedding of 88 – 90 wedding guests, including the head table.

4. Alternatively do something with all the neighbouring larger towns: Newport, Port Talbot, Cardiff, etc, from where most of your wedding guests may indeed be coming anyway.

(1) The opera house for your wedding ceremony, where you will be the star of the show, on stage, before all your guests

See our Special Wedding Packages

See what's included in our Special Wedding Package when you have 50 guests staying overnight. If you cannot get 50 guests staying but can invite 125 or more to your wedding breakfast, see instead our Members Club Wedding Package.

(2) Welcome drinks in the Nicoloni Room, our main reception lounge (or outside in gardens if weather is fine)

(3) Your wedding breakfast in our 120 seater conservatory with fabulous views overlooking the Brecon Beacons National Park

Arrange a viewing of the castle

To arrange a viewing and stay overnight for two nights at half price, (£150 B&B), check our viewing breaks B&B offer.

Or if you fancy just coming on a day trip, book a viewing here.

(4) Evening wedding party and late night disco in our evening function room and music room, with resident's bar.

Are you looking for a local venue in or near to Maesteg, or a 'destination wedding venue'?

You will not have thought of this, for you won't even have realised it yet - at least, not until reading this.

You will have one deciding factor above all others when choosing your wedding venue.

This is:

Will you 'go local', choosing a wedding venue in or near to Maesteg,
or can you go further afield for a more special and unique wedding day?

Initially you will consider many different wedding venues: some local to your area, some further away. You  may even search for historic buildings and castles in far flung locations.

But when you come to your short-list, you'll consider not just your own preferences, but your guests' willingness to travel to your chosen wedding venue.

You may have some guests who live some distance away from Maesteg, who will need to travel to your wedding anyway, so it won't matter to them so much where you get married. You may have more guests on your wedding invitations list who live local to you. These include your friends and neighbours and acquaintances and even work colleagues in and around Maesteg, for whom it would be more convenient to choose a local wedding venue.

When you draw up your short-list of wedding venues, you'll be asking yourself - 'local or non-local'? This is a key decision you will make, even though you may not have realised it - until now.

You'll ask yourself, do you want a local wedding venue near Maesteg where all your guests can get to easily - even though you may not find your ideal venue locally?

Inviting a smaller number of guests to your wedding breakfast can sometimes save you money as you're saving on the main meal. This allows you to invite a load more to the evening party.

Provided most of the evening guests are local, you will get lots of extras coming to the evening party. This won't happen if you choose a venue further away ('evening-only' guests won't travel far).

Or would you prefer a more intimate wedding venue, a 'destination wedding venue', where your closest friends and relatives come to your wedding, and where you invite everyone for the whole day?

When you choose a venue further afield, you'll need somewhere all your guests can stay overnight together. Craig y Nos Castle offers accommodation for up to 84 guests. You'll not want your guests traveling between two different locations (for the wedding and for B&B). It is better to have everyone stay at the wedding venue. Having your guests stay over means everyone will party with you late into the night as they have no worries about getting home.

Unlike with a local wedding, when you travel to Craig y Nos, you will not suffer the problem of some guests shooting off early to get home. This can be a problem with local weddings nearer Maesteg as 'local' means the wedding party dwindles around 11-12 pm, bringing about an earlier finish to the day than you want.

A destination wedding venue such as Craig y Nos Castle in the Brecon Beacons best suits a wedding where you have the same number of guests invited to the wedding breakfast as to the evening do. It will not suit weddings where you want fewer guests for the day part and more for the evening do.

The decision whether to 'go local' or to go to a more interesting, unique and very special destination will be the first one you make, when drawing up your short-list of venues to visit. Going local means you may have to compromise on the quality and type of wedding venue, but if you are willing to travel, you have no need to compromise on the venue at all.

B&B Offers for Maesteg Wedding Couples:

To give you an incentive to 'sample' and see Craig y Nos Castle, we offer wedding couples a discounted B&B offer. You can stay overnight for two nights at half price and make a nice B&B break of it. You can even invite relatives to have a look too, and choose a family room if you wish.

So why not combine your hunt for a wonderful wedding venue with a relaxing B&B break somewhere new and scenic!

Craig y Nos Castle is a popular destination wedding venue for couples all over the UK. It combines the attraction of getting married in a real castle, where you can become the princess of your own fairytale castle for the day, with experiencing a historic building (yours exclusively for the day) in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The mountain scenery of the Brecon Beacons National Park guarantees you stunning photo opportunities both inside and outside the castle. The Grade One Listed Opera House makes a fantastic setting for your wedding ceremony. You get exclusive use of the whole castle ground floor ceremony room and function rooms for you and your wedding guests when you invite 125 or more guests to your wedding breakfast.

Craig y Nos Castle is a truly magical and unique castle wedding venue that Brides and Grooms can now readily afford.

We have an offer on late availability weddings -
See last minute weddings offers

To arrange a viewing of the venue click below: