Saturday, the twelfth of September
Nadia and Elias
We are marrying at Thornbury Hall, in the Ledbury valley, and we would love you to spend the day with us.
The invitation
One long afternoon, one very late evening
After nine years, two cities and one stubborn allotment, we are gathering everyone we love into a glasshouse in the Ledbury valley. There is no processional order to learn and nothing formal to prepare — arrive in good time, bring a coat for the evening, and stay for the last song.
Everything you need for the day is on this page. If something is still unclear, there is a question box at the bottom of the reply form and we read every one.
- The date
- Saturday 12 September 2026 A single-day celebration. No events the day before.
- Arrive by
- 1:30 pm The ceremony begins promptly at 2:00 pm.
- The place
- Thornbury Hall The Long Orangery and the Stone Hall, Ledbury valley.
- Dress
- Garden formal Long dresses or lounge suits. Flat shoes for the lawn.
Order of the day
How Saturday runs
Times are the ones the venue works to, so the only one that really matters is the first. Everything after the ceremony drifts a little, and that is the idea.
-
1:30 pm
Arrival and welcome drinks
Come through the west gate and follow the gravel path down. There will be someone to point you onwards, and something cold to hold while you wait.
Rose Terrace -
2:00 pm
The ceremony
Under glass, seated, and about thirty minutes long. The doors close at five to two, so please be in your seat before then — latecomers are asked to wait in the terrace doorway.
The Long Orangery -
2:45 pm
Canapés and photographs
An hour and a half of standing about in the best possible way. We are taking group photographs quickly and only two of them, so you will not be rounded up for long.
South Lawn -
4:30 pm
Wedding breakfast
A seated three-course dinner. The table plan goes up in the entrance hall at four o'clock — find your name there rather than at the door.
The Stone Hall -
6:30 pm
Speeches
Three of them, mercifully short, over dessert and coffee.
The Stone Hall -
7:45 pm
Cake, then the first dance
The hall is turned round while we cut the cake. The band plays two sets with a break at half past nine.
The Stone Hall -
8:00 pm
Evening guests
If your invitation is for the evening, this is your hour. Bar, band, and a late table of cheese and bread at ten.
The Stone Hall and terrace -
11:30 pm
Last orders
The bar closes at half past eleven and the music stops at midnight.
Stone Hall bar -
12:00 am
Carriages
The final shuttle leaves from the west gate five minutes past midnight. Taxis need booking in advance — the valley has very few of them late on.
West gate
The venue
Thornbury Hall
A working kitchen garden with a nineteenth-century glasshouse attached to it. The ceremony is under that glass — warm in the afternoon, cool by nine — and dinner is in the stone barn across the courtyard. Between the two is a lawn that is genuinely a lawn, mown but not flat.
If it rains
Nothing changes. Both rooms are indoors and the courtyard between them is covered. Drinks simply move from the lawn into the orangery, which holds everyone comfortably.
Getting around the site
There is step-free access to the orangery, the Stone Hall and the accessible washroom via the east courtyard entrance, on a firm surface. The gravel path from the west gate is the longer, looser route. Tell us on your reply if you would like a seat reserved at the end of a row or near the doors.
Parking
Free, on the east field, signed from the lane. It is grass, so a wet week means sensible shoes for the last fifty metres.
Smoking
On the rose terrace only, where there are ashtrays. Not in the courtyard — the glasshouse vents draw straight through it.
Getting there & staying
The valley is beautiful and badly served by taxis
Which is the one practical thing worth planning. We are running a shuttle in both directions and we would rather you used it than drove.
By train
Ledbury Halt is the nearest station, on the valley line, and the journey out from the city takes a little over an hour with one change.
From the station it is a twelve-minute drive. Do not rely on finding a cab on the rank — take the shuttle instead, which meets two specific trains.
Shuttle times
A twenty-four seat coach, free, no need to book. It picks up outside the station and at the Marlow Arms.
- 12:40 pmStation, then Marlow Arms
- 1:00 pmStation, then Marlow Arms
- 10:30 pmReturn, west gate
- 11:15 pmReturn, west gate
- 12:05 amFinal return, west gate
By car
The lane is signed from the valley road and the east field is open from noon. Parking is free and unattended.
You may leave a car overnight — it must be collected before ten on Sunday morning, when the field is needed. The gate is unlocked from seven.
Somewhere to sleep
Three places within a short drive. Quote AUDEN26 when you book at any of them for the rate we have held until the end of June.
-
The Marlow Arms
Nine rooms above a good pub in the next village, and the second shuttle stop. The obvious choice if you would like a short breakfast walk and no driving at all.
-
Hollet Farm Rooms
A converted stable block on the ridge, four rooms, quiet to the point of silence. Best for a two-night stay if you are making a weekend of it.
-
The Orchard Inn
Simpler and cheaper, fifteen minutes out on the far side of the valley. Family rooms with an extra bed, and a garden for children in the morning.
What to wear & good to know
Garden formal, with a coat
Long dresses, lounge suits, anything you feel like wearing to a September garden. We are not precious about it — but the notes below are the ones guests always ask about afterwards, so here they are first.
-
Shoes and the lawn
You will spend an hour and a half standing on grass between the ceremony and dinner. Stiletto heels sink; block heels and flats do not.
The walk from the car field is roughly fifty metres of mown grass.
-
The evening turns cold
The orangery loses its heat quickly once the sun drops behind the ridge, and the terrace is open to the valley. A wrap, a jacket or a proper coat — you will want it by nine.
-
An unplugged ceremony
Please keep phones and cameras away for the thirty minutes under glass. We have one photographer and they need a clear aisle. Afterwards, photograph everything.
We will share the gallery with everyone who replies with an email address.
-
Children
Very welcome. There is a quiet room off the Stone Hall with a sofa and a travel cot, and an earlier plate of food at four for anyone small. Say how many are coming on your reply so the kitchen can plan.
-
Gifts
Truly not expected — you are travelling to a valley for us, which is plenty. If you would like to mark the day, we are putting anything given towards a fortnight in Kerala rather than a list of things for a flat that is already full.
“The glasshouse was built to keep things alive through the winter. It has been doing it for a hundred and forty years, which seemed like a reasonable thing to stand inside and make a promise.”Nadia & Elias
Questions
Asked before, answered here
May I bring a partner or a plus one?
Your invitation names everyone we have a seat for, including children, so please use those names when you reply. The Stone Hall is full at ninety for dinner. If circumstances have changed since the invitation went out — a new partner, or someone who cannot travel alone — write it in the message box and we will look honestly at whether we can move things around.
What time should I actually arrive?
Between half past one and a quarter to two. That leaves time to park, walk down and take a drink before you sit. The orangery doors close at 1:55 pm and the registrar starts on the hour, so anyone arriving after that will be asked to wait in the terrace doorway until the ceremony has finished.
I have told you about a dietary requirement before — do I need to say it again?
Yes, please. The kitchen works from this form and nothing else, so whatever you write in the dietary box is what reaches them. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free plates are all on the menu as standard; anything else, describe it plainly and the chef will call it in. Changes after the twentieth of August are very difficult, so tell us early if something shifts.
Is the site suitable if I cannot manage gravel or steps?
It is. Use the east courtyard entrance rather than the west gate: it is firm underfoot and level all the way to the orangery, the Stone Hall and the accessible washroom. Cars can pull up at that entrance to drop someone off before going round to the field. Mention it on your reply and we will hold a seat at the end of a row, near the doors.
Can I leave my car at the venue overnight?
Yes, and we would much rather you did than drove tired. The east field is unlocked from seven on Sunday morning and everything must be away by ten, when it is needed again. The field is unattended, so take anything valuable with you.
What happens to the drinks reception if the weather is bad?
It moves indoors into the orangery, which seats and stands everyone without difficulty, and the courtyard crossing to dinner is covered. No part of the day is outdoors by necessity — the lawn is a bonus, not the plan. September in the valley is usually kind and occasionally not.
Is there an evening-only invitation, and what does it include?
Some invitations are for the evening from eight o'clock. That is the band's first set, the bar, the cake, and a late table of cheese and bread at ten. Your invitation says clearly which you have; if you are reading it and still unsure, ask us in the message box rather than guessing.
When do you need my reply, and what if I answer late?
By the thirtieth of June 2026. Final numbers, the table plan and the kitchen order all go in during the first week of July, and after that we are paying for seats whether or not they are filled. If you already know you cannot come, telling us now is genuinely more useful than telling us in June.
Reply
Will you be there?
One reply per named guest, please — it keeps the table plan honest. Everything here goes straight to us.
- Closing date
- 30 June 2026. Menu and dietary changes can still be made up to 20 August.
- If you cannot come
- Say so here anyway. It takes a minute and it helps us more than you would think.
- Booking code
- Quote AUDEN26 at the Marlow Arms, Hollet Farm Rooms or the Orchard Inn.