New dawn for Wedding Venue of the Year

By Chris Austin 

At the beginning of the year, Iscoyd Park hosted a truly unique bridal open day.

The grounds of this Georgian stately home and wedding venue near Whitchurch were lit up by a spectacular pyrotechnic display, the centrepiece of which was a massive flaming phoenix.

“The phoenix was meant to represent a new dawn for the house,” explains Phil Godsal, who co-owns and runs Iscoyd Park with his wife Susie.

“We spent many years gradually restoring parts which had remained unused for decades and the final room to be completed was the library (pictured below), which was finished at the beginning of the year.”

One month later the team at Iscoyd Park heard the news that the venue had been announced as the national winner of Wedding Venue of the Year in the Bridebook Wedding Awards 2017.

If this heralded the beginning of a new dawn for Iscoyd Park, the future looks rosy indeed.

The calendar for wedding bookings is thick with ink for the next two years but sometimes an independently judged award can remind a business that not only is it on the right track, but also that it is one of the very best at what it does in the country.

“Bridebook.co.uk is a highly thought-of directory of suppliers of some of the most high-profile names in the wedding industry,” continues Phil. “To have been named as the national winner is all the more gratifying because the judging system is a two-stage process, with the public voting us onto the shortlist and then the judges picking the overall winner.

“Just to have won the award in the regional category would have been a major feather in our cap so to have won the national competition is something we are enormously proud of.”

But Iscoyd Park is more than a wedding venue; it is also available for high-end corporate and private hire events, and has acted as a setting for photo shoots, films and fashion shows. Corporate and other guests are treated to all the benefits available to wedding parties - the same luxury accommodation, the same a la carte food, and the exclusive use of the house and the estate.

It is fast moving towards a seven-days-a-week enterprise, and to that end the Godsals are embarking on their next commercial project: to bring the catering in house (it was previously contracted out to the acclaimed Fine Dining Company near Chester) and are currently scouring the country for a top-quality chef to head up the brand new kitchens.

Susie, herself a trained chef, explains: “The Fine Dining Company have been wonderful and I can’t think of a wedding passing without reference from the bridal party about the amazing food.

“But we’ve installed a brand new kitchen with the intention of taking on a chef of the very highest standard on a full-time basis. We then feel we will have all the elements on site for any corporate or private hire party to leave them feeling they’ve visited somewhere quite special.

“We will be able to offer the complete package, all within the confines of the estate which is something we’ve been striving to achieve for a while. It is all very exciting.”

If we go back 10 years ago the situation was very different. Back in 2008 the Godsal family had a crucial decision to make with regards to Iscoyd, their much loved ancestral home. Parts of it had been unused for decades and its future as a family home was uncertain.

The Godsals concluded that without an ambitious and large-scale restoration operation this Grade II Georgian house would most likely have been lost to them.

Phil, a former art dealer in London, and Susie were recently married and the couple, were encouraged by Phil’s father Philip, a respected land agent and heritage expert, and the rest of the family to modernise it and run it as a high-end wedding and private hire venue.

The word ‘family’ is pivotal to the evolution of Iscoyd Park. It has been in the same family since 1857 when it was bought by a Godsal, a horse-drawn carriage tycoon. Phil and Susie are the current family in charge, with their children, Poppy, Hector or Cecily growing up and showing similar enthusiasm and love for the property.

All of which has a huge bearing on how they want to operate their business.

“We wanted to create a warm, welcoming and charismatic family home, the very antithesis of a wedding conveyor belt,” Susie continues.

“The only way this could be achieved was through significant financial investment. No corners were cut and no expense spared in ensuring a successful restoration.

“We employed a leading conservation architect, Clare Craven, to draw up the plans to transform a wing of the house into a series of rooms which would be suitable as reception spaces, and bring the property into the 21^st century.

“We have been incredibly lucky to have a specialist team of builders, Applejacks, who have put so much effort and skill into helping us realise our vision.”

First of all, a number of reception rooms were installed - a series of light and airy spaces combining classical and contemporary elements, very much a trait of Iscoyd’s interiors.

The bedrooms were created by acclaimed interior designer Suzy Hoodless, who has been described as “Britain’s brightest tastemaker” and whose clients include several high-profile individuals as well as various hotels and other well known properties.

Bit by bit the house was transformed, with the penultimate project completed a year ago: the restoration of a whole wing of bedroom suites which had last been used 40 years ago.

As Susie explains: “The rooms are set in a wing which for centuries housed generations of Godsal children, with various nurseries, playrooms and bedrooms laid out over two floors.

“We wanted to create a legacy, a look and a feel which will be every bit as attractive in decades to come as it is now - time will tell, but we would like to think we have been successful.”

They certainly have, if the comments of the Daily Telegraph’s head of travel are anything to go by. After staying at the house with his family he wrote that Iscoyd Park offers “a style and sense of individuality that would put most five-star hotels to shame”. 

For a wedding and private hire venue to run as successfully as Iscoyd does it needs more than fine accommodation and attractive interiors. And to win national awards, considerably more.

So what did catch the eyes of the Bridebook judges? It’s in the details, Phil suggests.

“While we are lucky enough to have a lovely Georgian house and landscaped gardens for guests to feel is theirs, for us it’s about the little details that we believe make the biggest difference for a wedding party’s experience,” he says.

“We are constantly seeking to add to our supply list to enhance the whole experience beyond what might be expected.

“For instance, we have introduced a delicious own-brand Champagne, made by Jacques Copinet as well as an own-brand chocolate, made by the award-winning chocolatier, Forever Cacao. Later this year we will be launching Iscoyd Park own-brand honey, produced by bees in hives on the estate.

“Guests can benefit from an acclaimed reiki master to help nervous brides to de-stress before their big day, and we also offer an on-site creche and beauty spa.

“But above all there is in an amazing team who work here and who put their heart and soul into every event and making this the place it is. Jen and Charlie are absolutely superb wedding managers, but there is also a fabulous team of housekeepers, gardeners and office staff without whose efforts Iscoyd would not function as it does.”

Iscoyd Park now hosts almost 100 weddings each year, and is a founder member of Canvas & Stone, a country house collective set up to offer the very best in corporate and private events.

Phil and Susie have performed wonders at Iscoyd and no one who has seen what they have achieved while bringing up a young family could begrudge them the accolades and awards which have been coming their way.

No pressure on their kids then!

 Pictured: Phil Godsal, Susie Godsal, Jen Paskell, Ann Powell and Charlie Tyler-Creed at Iscoyd Park