"It was just a fantastic day" - Couple become the first to get married at Halifax's Piece Hall

The couple, who have been together for eight years and got engaged in 2018, were originally supposed to get married in September 2019, and this was their fourth attempt at tying the knot due to personal circumstances and then the coronavirus pandemic.

Sixty guests, including their two children Emmie, five, and Edie, 16 months, were present for the ceremony, with 120 guests attending the evening do.

"Our friends own Loafers, so we know Mark and Sarah really well, and it was just a case of asking if they had an ideas where we could get married," said Sarah, 36, who is from Halifax.

"I'd already said 'I wonder if we could get married here, it'd be absolutely fantastic' and they said you can.

"So we made enquiries. When we originally looked round it was interesting to say the least! But they said they were just doing it up so try to see past it to how it would look.

"It was absolutely amazing.

"I didn't know the room was there until we went to look, it's right on the top floor in the corner, it's called the Caygill Suite.

"There's a massive room that overlooks Beacon Hill, so the views are absolutely stunning.

"We got married in there, went down to Loafers for a few drinks with everybody and then went back upstairs for the evening do."

Sarah said it was a relief that the weather stayed dry on the day.

"That was the panic because two days before it was pouring down and really windy but it was beautiful, the weather was absolutely stunning so we couldn't have asked for anything better," she said.

The couple used to live in Queensbury and both worked in Halifax for years but have now relocated to Northumberland.

"I've said to so many people that they need to go and have a look," Sarah said about getting married at The Piece Hall.

"Everyone we've spoken to about it have said they didn't even know you could get married there.

"It's somewhere that's a little hidden gem really that not a lot of people know about.

"I'd recommend it to everyone - the staff were absolutely amazing, so attentive and couldn't do enough for you. Everything you asked for, the response was 'yes of course, not a problem'.

"It was just a fantastic day, despite me feeling very nervous about being in-front of everyone, which was a bit of an oversight on my part!

"When we pulled in, I suddenly though 'oh yeah, of course, I've got to get up to the room!'"