Tying the Knot

David Whetstone talks to some of the people who tied the knot at Gateshead’s centre for contemporary art.

Most people know that Baltic is a place where you can see art. Fewer probably realise you can get married there.

Of course, the choice of wedding venue these days ranges far wider than church, chapel or register office.

But there are couples who couldn’t be happier that, when it came to one of life’s big decisions, they chose a former flour mill that for 20 years has been a showcase for contemporary art.

Take Heather Deacon and Robyn Creighton, for example.

The couple, now living in Heaton, Newcastle, got married at Baltic on October 20, 2019.

“It’s a place that’s important to both of us,” explains Heather.

“It’s been a bit of a focal point and it just felt the right place for us to get married.”

Both women moved to the North-East from down south because of work.

“When I first moved up here in 1998 Baltic was just empty,” says Robyn.

“It was waiting to have something done with it and then the Anish Kapoor sculpture (Taratantara) appeared on the inside and that kind of blew me away. I remember being quite mesmerised by it.

“Both Heather and I like art. We look at art a lot. We were both impressed by Baltic and Anish Kapoor before we even knew one another.”

Heather moved to the region in 2012 after commuting for several years from Sussex.

“When I got here Baltic was the first place I went to. It was just such a calming space.”

Robyn says: “I think the thing for me about Baltic is that it exhibits big things, bold things. I adore Antony Gormley. I love the scale of his work.”

The women first met at the Laing Art Gallery but when it came to deciding on a wedding venue, the sheer scale of Baltic won the day.

Well, that and the food in Six, its famous top floor restaurant. 

“We didn’t know we could actually have the ceremony there,” says Heather. 

“We are both avid foodies and the food at Six was what we wanted. We went to Baltic to talk to them about hosting the food element of the wedding but then they said, ‘You can get married here’.”

Once they had established that the ceremony could take place in the restaurant, the deal was done.

Heather recalls: “We had a registrar come to do the ceremony but then Baltic took over the handling of the food and other arrangements. 

“We stayed on the top floor but our guests did explore the building. It was a Sunday and people were there from about 11.30am to 7.30pm. We had a meal and wine and speeches but no dancing because neither of us wanted that.”

Among the 70 guests were people from as far away as Eastbourne, London and Cambridge. Others came down from Scotland.

“What’s lovely for us is that people had a really lovely time and still talk about it,” says Heather.

“There are few better buildings. It has art and spectacular views. What a great way to see the city.”

“Another thing that swung it for us was that we knew it would be dramatic whatever the weather,” says Robyn.

“We didn’t want to add pressure by making it weather dependent and even on a very stormy day we knew it would still be incredible.

“We had a bit of rain and a bit of sun but even as the light fades the view remains spectacular.”