TYNEDALE has gained a new wedding venue after a local function suite received its licence to hold weddings and civil partnerships.

The Tynedale Farmer Function Suite at Hexham Mart was awarded the licence earlier this summer.

And following the good news, it has now secured its first booking for a wedding in two years’ time.

Karen Ballantyne, who runs the venue alongside Mark Crowe, said: “We’re really pleased to have made our first booking – over the moon in fact!

“We have held lots of evening receptions, so have great experience with weddings.”

Karen is hoping that word of mouth will help spread the news about the new service they have on offer.

She added: “With the facilities we have here, people can see it’s a great place to get married.

“We have good parking facilities as well as the choice for couples to get married in one of two rooms, the function room or the board room.

Karen added: “Most people have their own ideas in terms of decoration and how they want it to look.

“Some of the ideas people come up with for decoration are amazing.

“I deal with that side of it, offering advice if they ask for it and making the room look exactly how they want it.

“Mark is the chef and will work with every couple to work out what they would like in terms of catering.

“Every couple is different and weddings are not a one size fits all approach.

“It’s important to find out what each individual wants and take every step to make their day that extra bit special; that’s what we try to do.”

Attending a wedding fair two years ago helped to boost the profile of the function suite and now Karen and Mark attend a wedding fair every year to showcase what their venue can offer.

Karen added: “I remember when Queen’s Hall in Hexham was the only wedding venue in the area and now there are many more.

“But this is a great step for us and hopefully people can see what we are able to offer.”