A Very Vintage Affair

In spring 1963 Holdsworth House Hotel in Halifax, West Yorkshire, opened its doors to the public for the very first time. Having remained hidden away as a private residence for over 380 years, the plush hotel and restaurant proved an instant hit. Fifty glorious years later it remains as fashionable as ever and one of the county’s top wedding venues.

Whilst some things are best left in the 1960s – paisley shirts, peasant tops, bell bottoms and vinyl fabrics – other bits are far too good not to get a second airing or so say designers such as Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Victoria Beckham whose retro fashions were a big hit at New York Fashion Week. The trio have all reinterpreted elegant 60s dresses in their spring 2013 collections and it’s not taken the High Street long to follow suit. Mod dresses in silks, chiffons and lace are everywhere.

After seeing a recent spate of retro weddings and party outfits, we teamed up with one of the UK’s youngest vintage entrepreneurs for A Vintage Wedding fashion shoot at the historic hotel to show wedding guests how to perfect the vintage look.

23-year-old Megan Wilson, who owns Purple Rabbit Vintage Shop in Halifax’s magnificent Georgian Piece Hall, says original dresses are flying out of her shop. “We are seeing 60s fashion make a big comeback and lots of women are being creative and hunting out original dresses from that era. They can often pick up a one-off piece for a fraction of the cost of a designer dress today,” says Megan.
 
Holdsworth House’s owner co-owner Gail Moss is the daughter of the late Freddie and Rita Pearson who opened the hotel in 1963. Gail says, “I have so many of my mother’s original dresses that she wore whilst hosting key figures at the hotel in the 1960s - like The Beatles, The Maharaja of Baroda and Jayne Mansfield. It’s wonderful to see so many of the styles reproduced today, but you can’t beat some of the originals for their quality of finish and fabrics. It’s amazing to see these vintage dresses have now come full circle.”

Of course Halifax has long since played its part in the fashion industry. One of Britain’s top fashion designers in the 60s, Jean Muir, was a regular visitor to Holdsworth House when she was in the area buying cloth.

At Holdsworth House, we're seeing a rise in vintage themed weddings with not only the bride and groom going retro, but guests, the décor and the food as well. Wedding coordinator at Holdsworth House Claire Nicholl says, ”The popularity of vintage style afternoon tea in particular has grown in recent years. We have hosted some beautiful vintage afternoon tea weddings that use an eclectic mix of old bone china crockery, swathes of bunting and the most stunning retro flower designs. Many of our brides love to make their own stationery and table gifts too to match the vintage theme such as homemade jams or handcrafted keepsakes. It’s a theme that that goes down a storm with guests and allows the brides to get creative as well as keeping costs low.”

 Megan Wilson’s Purple Rabbit shop specialises in vintage fashion and accessories from the 1930s to the 1960s – some of which will be on display at Holdsworth House’s A Vintage Wedding Open Day on Sunday 19th May 12noon – 4pm. Tickets are free from http://yorkshireweddings.eventbrite.co.uk

SUMMER WEDDING: Light pink chiffon early 1960s cocktail dress with rose bud and off the shoulder detail, £85.

MINI COUTURE: Turquoise and silver patterned late 1960s mod mini dress, £55. Mod pink and green mini dress with Peter Pan collar, £45; turquoise earrings £8.

AQUA GREEN SERENE: Aqua green silk shift dress with platted edging detail, £55. Turquoise plastic bracelet, £8. Simple 60's turquoise button earrings, £8. Feather hat, £16.

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD: Teal green lace overlay dress with green satin lining, £65; oversize 60s pearls, £15.






For press and media enquiries for Holdsworth House please contact Liz Howe at liz@heymarketing.co.uk 07538 238936.

Michelin Guide Recommended

We're starting 2013 with a flourish! Holdsworth House has joined the elite ranks of the UK's top hotels and restaurants by making it into the 2013 Michelin Guide.

Halifax’s top hotel is now the only property from the area to make it into the prestigious 2013 Michelin Guide, which lists the top 1700 hotels and restaurants in the UK.

Independently assessed by Michelin inspectors, appearance in the guide is by invitation only following recommendations to Michelin by previous guests.

General Manager Shane Williams said: ‘To be recommended by Michelin is a real achievement for any hotel, so we’re thrilled the hard work of our chef, restaurant team and hotel staff has been recognised and we’re excited to tell the brides and grooms whose weddings we’re hosting in 2013.’

Top 3 Ways to Propose

Christmas and Valentine's are wonderful times of the year to drop down on one knee and propose to your loved one. Everyone's already in good spirits and many families are together to celebrate the season. So why not add your special news to the party atmosphere and ask you partner to marry you?


The Best Way to Propose

Whilst it will be a special moment in your life, there's no need to get your knickers in a twist. Just show you've put in a bit of thought and effort - that will mean more than anything.

Luckily Holdsworth House has done a lot of the homework for you. As somewhere used to lots of love and romance, we've put our 50 years of weddings, engagements and hospitality together and come up with some romantic proposal breaks.

Our special proposal breaks incorporate plenty of magical moments sure to make any potential bride or groom giddy with goosebumps.  All you have to do is remember the ring and pick the right moment to ask the big question.

We'll happily work with you to fulfill any special requests or ideas you have.

Ideas for marriage proposal

Holdsworth House has three packages to choose from. Pre-booking is essential so we can help get everything set up for you.



The Ultimate Proposal £349 per couple
* Available any night of the week, subject to availability
* Arrive at 2pm and check into your Suite
* Afternoon tea with homemade goodies served at 3pm in the lounge
* Professional makeup application for your partner, with our beauty therapist
* At 7pm make your way outdoors to the private, historic, candlelit Gazebo
* Champagne served by your own personal waiter
* Candlelit 3-course a la carte dinner
* If you have an engagement ring, why not tie it with ribbon around the champagne bottle or we can serve it with your dessert under a silver tray
* Coffee served in the hotel lounge
* Full cooked breakfast in your room the next day served with chocolate dipped strawberries, bucks fizz and a red rose
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Up Close & Personal Proposal £249 per couple
* Available any night of the week subject to availability
* Check in from 2pm to your suite
* Spend the afternoon at leisure
* At 7pm make your way to your private dining room in the house, set with a warming fire and candles
* A bottle of Champagne will be served by your own waiting staff
* Enjoy a 3 course a la carte dinner
* If you have an engagement ring, why not tie it with ribbon around the champagne bottle or we can serve it with your dessert under a silver tray.
* Full cooked breakfast in your room the next day with a red rose on the tray

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An Audience with… Proposal £199
If you like the idea of other restaurant diners (or your family) sharing your good news, then why not opt for this more public way of announcing your engagement?
* Available any night of the week subject to availability
* Check in from 2pm to your luxurious double room
* Spend the afternoon at leisure
* Dine in the restaurant with a bottle of Champagne, we’ll reserve you a prime position table
* 3 course a la carte dinner
* If you have an engagement ring, why not tie it with ribbon around the champagne bottle or we can serve it with your dessert under a silver tray. You tell us when and how you want to pop the question and, if you want, we can line up our restaurant team for a round of applause!
* Full cooked breakfast in the restaurant the next day


To book a proposal package, please contact us on 01422 240024. We can avoid sending out any postal details to help keep your secret. Just call us to discuss them.

Nothing So British As Afternoon Tea

"If your are cold, tea will warm you;
If you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are exhausted,it will calm you."

Here's a man who liked his tea. We're sure 19th Century Prime Minister William Gladstone, who quoted the above, would have given his approval of the afternoon tea served at Holdsworth House. For 50 years the historic hotel in Halifax has been serving up traditional afternoon tea on a collection of silver tiered cake stands. 

Afternoon tea is one of those things that never really goes out of fashion, but more recently the platters are an increasingly regular sighting and have even made it onto the wedding menus of many Yorkshire brides.

Not to be confused with cream tea, afternoon tea is a filling selection of sandwiches, elegantly cut into slender fingers, homemade cakes, pastries and fancies and the best homemade scones, jam and clotted cream that you can muster up.

Introduced in Britain in the 1840s afternoon tea was the meal that bridged the gap between lunch and dinner, which might not be eaten until 8pm onwards. It became popular amongst society ladies especially, as a way of gathering socially and entertaining guests.

Since 1963 Holdsworth House has been rocking the afternoon world with its stunning version, using an eclectic collection of vintage crockery to add a wonderful charm and elegance to this grand affair. Everything is home baked and created with precision and attention to detail - just as the Victorians would have wanted.

Today you don't need to don a dinner jacket or gloves. Smart casual is the attire of choice.

We have a choice of two afternoon teas - the traditional afternoon tea and the new 3 Kings Christmas Afternoon Tea with some delicious seasonal spices and fruits hitting all the right notes.

If you're wondering about what to buy friends and relations for Christmas, then afternoon tea really is the classy gift to give this year. At Holdsworth House tea for two is from £25.50.

You can buy the afternoon tea for two experience as a gift voucher. Valid for 1 year from the date of purchase.

How Mo Can You Go? Movember

These have to be the coolest participants of Movember this year. John The Gardener (above left) and Mick the Mo Man (below left) have signed up to the world-wide moustache growing challenge Movember.

How Mo can you go? John can definitely go all the way looking at his one day's worth of stubble, and we've not even started yet.

Of course Movember is all about raising money for and awareness of prostate cancer. You can find out more about Movember by watching this film. This fun way of raising awareness of the killer disease should bring a smile to everyone's face and has its own etiquette and rules:

• Team members must be referred to as Mo Bros
• Moustache growing can only begin the 1st of Movember
• All team members must start with a clean shaven face
• No upper lip shaving for the entire month
• There is to be no joining of the mo to the sideburns (that’s considered a beard)
• There’s to be no joining of the handlebars to the chin (that’s considered a goatee)

The team needs sponsorship and you can give online with a debit or credit card or paypal here on our Mo Space web page. We've teamed up with the Lucky7 Movember network; Lucky7 create custom-made baseball caps favoured by Jamie Oliver and is an official sponsor and hatter to Movember. So you'll spot our chefs in their exclusive designer caps, with weekly photos being posted on the Mo Space site. There's no prize for the biggest moustache, or the smallest - just encourage our boys in this brilliant effort.