Nunsmere Hall sits on a tongue of land almost entirely encircled by its own lake, tucked into the trees on the edge of Delamere Forest at Oakmere, a few miles west of Northwich. The house was built around 1900 for Sir Aubrey Brocklebank, chairman of the Brocklebank shipping line, and his wife Lady Grace, and the estate’s own telling has Sir Aubrey shaping the water himself once his ships had merged into Cunard. Whatever the precise truth of that, the effect is undeniable: a Grade II listed Edwardian manor with water on three sides, mature woodland behind it, and 60 acres of private grounds between the two.
Step inside and it is all oak panelling, ornate plaster ceilings and the deep, unhurried calm of a house built for long weekends. There are 36 individually designed en-suite bedrooms, most of them looking out over the lake or the forest, so a good part of your wedding party can simply stay put and wander down to breakfast. The kitchen has real pedigree — the restaurant here has twice been named County Restaurant of the Year by The Good Food Guide — and the Captain’s Bar is the sort of room where the last dozen guests end up long after the music has stopped. Cheshire Tourism named Nunsmere its Wedding Venue of the Year for 2026, and it is not hard to see why.
Outside, wisteria-clad walkways link the manicured lawns to the Italian sunken gardens, which can seat as many as 350 for an outdoor ceremony with the lake glinting beyond. Weddings are taken on an exclusive-use basis, which means yours is the only celebration on the property that day and the grounds, the bar and the terraces are all yours. It is a genuinely romantic setting, and one that photographs beautifully in every season — autumn mist over the water is worth booking for on its own.
Where the band plays
The obvious home for live music is the lakeside marquee, a permanent, fully heated structure with a starlit ceiling, bespoke mood lighting, its own bar and a proper dancefloor. It will take up to 400 guests, so even a large band with a brass section has room to set up without eating into the seating plan, and a marquee is a forgiving space acoustically — nothing bounces, and the volume feels generous rather than loud. For smaller weddings the Crystal Suite, with its carved ceiling and wall of original windows over the grounds, holds 120 for a ceremony and 80 for dinner, while the Brocklebank takes up to 100 and opens straight onto the patio.
How the day flows
Most couples make use of the whole estate rather than one room: vows in the Italian gardens or the Crystal Suite, drinks spilling out onto the lawns with the lake as a backdrop, dinner under the marquee canopy and then the tables cleared for dancing. Because the marquee already has the bar and the dancefloor in it, there is no awkward migration halfway through the evening — the room simply changes character as the light goes. Load-in is straightforward, with parking and level access close to the marquee, and it is always worth agreeing your finish time and checking whether any sound limit applies when you confirm the booking, so your band can plan their sets around it.
Bands available in Cheshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Cheshire.
- Cheshire Wedding Bands
- Cheshire Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in Cheshire
- Wedding DJs in Cheshire
- Corporate Entertainment in Cheshire
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.