Theatre Wedding Ceremony room licensed for wedding ceremonies
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Craig y Nos Castle Wedding Venue, Wedding Ceremonies in South Wales
- This is the Wedding Ceremony Room Page. To see other function rooms go to the Function Rooms Index.
From the champagne breakfast to the ceremony itself, the speeches and tossing of the bouquet, your wedding day is saturated in moments that become memories.
A wonderful setting for your wedding ceremony only enhances the memory.
A theatre's as good a place as any for magic
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As a recent improvement to our service, we can now provide
white chair covers and bows in the theatre for your Wedding Ceremony.
Bring your own sashes, hire in from a supplier, or hire from our own growing
selection of sashes & bows. The white chairs in the theatre cannot be used in other rooms.
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Our theatre wedding room is fully licensed for all weddings and civil ceremonies. Styled on Wagner’s Opera House in Bayreuth, Bavaria with decor fit for elite gatherings, the theatre is licensed for 132 guests for Weddings.
Aisle length (if planning ribbons, runners or other aisle decor): Length = 31 feet, width = 57 inches.
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Don't forget I'm just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her
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Our auditorium can be tailored to your ceremony. The floor now remains in its sloping (see picture) 'raked' position to slope down towards the stage with the stage raised asnd accessed by a 3 steps. It used to be raised flat for ballroom dancing, however due to slippage in the winching mechanism, we now keep the floor in its current raked position as in 'a theatre'.
This seating arrangement allows the ceremony, and you, the happy couple, to be witnessed by all your wedding guests, enabling you to fully share your wedding ceremony with all your loved ones.
This seating arrangement allows the ceremony, and you, the happy couple, to be witnessed by all your wedding guests, enabling you to fully share your wedding ceremony with all your loved ones.
The ceiling has a glass atrium roof which lets in lots of light. This may be covered with a blackout cloth to prevent sun-damage to the Grade One theatre's wall paintings and gold leaf paintwork. It can be removed for your wedding on request.
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Ceremony Chair Choices
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- Chairs covered or uncovered and Chair Moving -
The Chairs in the theatre can optionally be covered with white chair covers at £1.25/ chair or £1.50 with bows. Some of our wedding packages include the white chair covers but not the bows. You may prefer the chairs ‘uncovered’. The uncovered chair is a blue seated, silver painted light wooden ‘Cheltenham Gilt’ dining chair, as per the pictures on this page showing the ‘blue’ seated, ‘silver’ painted chairs.
The theatre no longer holds the red seated gold painted chairs (shown in 'older' pictures on this page). If you require uncovered red seated gold painted chairs, there is a charge of £2.50 a chair for swapping chairs from other rooms to the theatre and back again – see more on theatre auditorium chair swapping here.
- Thrones -
Some love the Gold Thrones and some do not. If you do not want the Thrones, they can be moved to the back of the Stage out of sight. However while some Couples do opt for 'no thrones' because they look a bit bright in real life, they do come out in wedding photographs much better than they do in real life.
- Auditorium Floor & Carpet Colour Choice -
We used to offer the Auditorium Floor either raised flat with the stage, so you do not have to go up the stairs to the Registrar / Wedding Signatures table, or left in its sloping or 'raked' position, which allows a better view of the Stage for audience members at the back of the theatre. See examples of flat and raked on this page and on our Theatre Slideshow Page.
However we are now keeping the floor in the raked (sloping down to the stage) position for all weddings as over-use of the 129 yr old hand-winching machanism has been causing the floor to move out of alignment.
New Blue Carpet runner shows Theatre Floor Flat. Some pictures with the red carpet runner shows the floor raked. Note the current red carpet is faded, and the new blue carpet looks smarter. A new red carpet may be sourced in due course but colours do fade due to sunlight through the lantern roof, often within a year. Give your wedding planner your personal choice of red or blue carpet runner and your choice of flat or sloping (raked) floor; this can be pre-booked with the wedding team at your Event Finalise Meeting, which takes place a month before your wedding day.
2. You have two choices of chair style, uncovered, silver painted, with blue felt seat pads, or with white chair covers on.
3. You have two choices of lighting - subdued, candlelit (using electric candles) with lantern roof covered, or brightly lit, with lantern roof uncovered.
Tailor the theatre to your colour scheme and style. See different theatre colour themes starting here.
- Backdrop Curtain on Stage -
Most people like the historic connection with Adelina Patti, the lady on a chariot on the theatre curtain. However some Couples feel they would prefer a plainer background.
If your colour theme is blue, the blue theatre curtains can be drawn down over the picture of Adelina Patti on her chariot, providing a dark rich blue background.
Another option is to have a Supplier (often a DJ) provide a moveable white pleated screen similar to that on the rear wall of the theatre, that can be placed on the stage behind the Wedding Table where you sign the Register.
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"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players:
they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts"
- William Shakespeare
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The Theatre is one of only 8 Grade One listed Opera Houses in the UK, one of only two in private ownership.
No other wedding venue in Wales has its own opera house where you can dazzle your audience from your very own stage!
No other wedding venue in Wales has its own opera house where you can dazzle your audience from your very own stage!
Built by an opera singer, the theatre features wonderful acoustic qualities. Whether you’ve hired a Welsh Choir, a harpist, or have pre-recorded some DVD's to play your favourite songs on your own music system, you can be sure everyone in the auditorium will clearly hear you say your wedding vows and enjoy your choice of music.
The theatre has superb acoustics, so all your guests will hear you and the registrar!
The theatre has superb acoustics, so all your guests will hear you and the registrar!
The original 125 year old curtain depicts Madame Patti on a Chariot in Rossini's last Italian Opera, Semiramide.
Flanked by Corinthian columns the walls are adorned with the names of Patti's favourite composers, including Rossini, Verdi and Wagner.
The ceremony room also features a one hundred and twenty five year old theatre curtain, decorated with Madame Patti on a chariot from Rossini’s last Italian opera, Semiramide. Perfectly portraying the character of the room, the curtain provides a unique backdrop to your wedding.
Contact us to discuss your personal requirements or call today on 01639 731167 or 01639 730725, or use the chat service on this site.
Capacity: 150 (limit for Wedding Licence: 150)
History
Craig y Nos Castle's theatre was built by opera star Madame Adelina Patti, for private performances to European Royalty. Patti was the 'Madonna' of her day, earning £11 million a year in today's money - the highest paid opera star of her time and the most famous (yet she is little known today).
When translated into English ‘Craig Y Nos’ becomes ‘Rock of the Night’. The castle started life as a Victorian-Gothic country house, built between 1841 and 1843 by Captain Rice Davies Powell. It was converted into a 'Castle' by Adelina Patti who added numerous extensions including several turrets (to make it more castle-like), the clock tower, and her own mini opera house to practice singing in.
Overlooking the River Tawe and the picturesque Fforest Fawr, the Castle of today offers panoramic views over the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its first owner, Captain Powell and his family, lived here for several decades. His daughter, Sarah, inherited the estate in 1864 as the last remaining Powell. She lived here for 11 years with her husband, but after his death in 1875 the estate was sold to a Mr. Morgan and family.
In 1878 the castle changed hands again, this time being purchased by Spanish soprano singer, Adelina Patti. The prima donna turned Craig y Nos into her own private estate. She embarked on a major building project at the castle (spending around £11m in today's money) which saw the creation of new North and South wings, conservatory, glass covered winter gardens (latter since relocated - Patti's former winter gardens are now the 'Patti Pavilion' in Swansea), and the Adelina Patti Theatre.
The Grade I listed opera house is licensed for Wedding Ceremonies.
Wine & Dine Offer
Wine & Dine &
stay overnight for £149
Wine & Dine &
stay overnight for £149
Includes:
B&B in an en-suite for one night for two (worth £150 on a weekend night, or £140 mid-week)
Two Course Evening Meal & a free glass of champagne each (worth £60 or more, for two)
Free one hour History Tour of the Castle for two, on the morning of departure (worth £20, for two)
Wedding Planning Meeting & Viewing
40 acres of Country Park & Lakes etc., for walks (we are dog friendly too)
Wedding Planning Meeting & Viewing
40 acres of Country Park & Lakes etc., for walks (we are dog friendly too)
Photos below are by Jenkins Photography
Enjoy a Homely Welcome and Friendly Service at Craig y Nos Castle