Carlton Towers is a Grade I listed hotel and wedding venue in Carlton, five miles outside Selby in Yorkshire. It's been in the hands of the current owners, the Fitzalan-Howard family, since 1301, whose main seat is Arundel Castle in Sussex. In the following 700 years, the house and estate has played host to kings of Jerusalem crusaders and knights who fell at Bannockburn, before being built in its present Gothic Revival form in the mid 1870s. It was converted into both a hotel and home for Lord and Lady Fitzalan-Howard in 1990, who still live there today.
Centuries of history and grandeur result in the ideal backdrop for your big day. With so many facts to the house and its 250 acres of surrounding gardens, there’s almost no type of wedding that can’t be hosted at Carlton, ranging from an intimate gathering of closed loved ones to lavish hundred-person-strong evening parties. The house’s experienced wedding team is always on hand to plan, discuss and refine any aspect of the big day.
Each of the ceremony and reception rooms remains virtually untouched from the house’s heyday. The Venetian gallery is the perfect blend of Jacobean and early 20th century styling, with exquisitely detailed gold wallpaper adoring every wall and an enormous royal crest sitting above the fireplace, installed while Princess Mary called Carlton home. Drinks and the wedding breakfast are then served in the Picture Gallery, whose floor to ceiling windows allow light to pour in and illuminate the range of portraits and tapestry on the walls. Tucked away from proceedings is the Beaumont Bar, a private retreat decorated in a distinctly Edwardian way.
Couples can choose from three packages (Candlelit, Elegance and Intimate), each of which varies in guest numbers, types of food and time of day. The Elegance Package, for example, includes a welcome glass of fizz, canapes and three-course meal, as well as champagne for the toast. You'll also have everything you need decor wise, plus a DJ, dance floor and even a complementary suite for the night.