Hotel offers Welsh wedding package thanks to help from the Council

Brides and grooms-to-be now have the chance to say ‘ydw’ on their special day.

St Asaph’s Oriel Country Hotel & Spa now offers a complete Welsh wedding package to help couples celebrate in their preferred language.

The hotel, which hosts between 65 and 100 weddings a year, was given support on developing its Welsh language offer through the Council’s free Welsh in Business project, run in conjunction with Iaith Cyf.

The hotel’s package includes a Welsh harpist, disco and menu as well as slate heart-shaped table centres and a Welsh speaking master of ceremonies. 

Michelle Seddon, wedding director at the hotel, has more than 30 years’ experience in hospitality.

She said: “With our new Cariad package, the menu is based around Welsh dishes, we offer a master of ceremony in Welsh and we have a number of Welsh speaking banqueting staff.

“It offers couples the chance to come here and have a full Welsh language experience. We are very proud to offer that experience. It is about keeping Welsh culture as part of the ceremony.

“A lot of families have traditional values that can sometimes get lost in modern society.”

The package is already proving to be popular with bookings secured throughout this year and into 2018 and it compliments bilingual civil ceremonies already available at the hotel.

The Oriel dates back to 1780, originally having been a private country home and current owners the Seddon family bought the hotel in 1998.

Welsh in Business was a pilot project run in Prestatyn, St Asaph and Llangollen as part of the Council’s work on developing the local economy through its Economic and Community Ambition Programme.

Free support included workshops to provide skills and encouragement to promote the use of the Welsh language, as well as practical help such as translating menus.

Mike Horrocks, Denbighshire's Economic & Business Development Team & Programme Manager, said: “It is great to see the Oriel embrace the Welsh language in this way and offer couples the chance to celebrate their special day in Welsh.

“Welsh in Business builds on the economic strengths provided by Denbighshire’s strong Welsh identity and culture to actively promote use of the Welsh.

“Welsh has been shown to strengthen a company’s brand image and reinforce the local origin of goods.”

Siwan Tomos is director of education and training services at language policy and planning agency Iaith Cyf.

She said: “Research shows using Welsh at work can increase the appeal of businesses for Welsh speakers, Welsh learners and tourists – the overall aim is to improve trade for business and have a positive impact on their bottom line.

“The Oriel has been very keen to develop the use of Welsh and have been full of innovative ideas.”

Mrs Seddon added: “We thought the scheme was a great idea. Welsh is a culture with lots of history and we need to look after it. The programme has helped us enhance the Welsh language offer at the hotel.”