We love the Seafood Festival, Plymouth has an incredible annual calendar and this is one of our favourites! With the Plymouth Art Weekender, the Seafood Festival and our wonderful Wedding Collection, Plymouth is the place to be! Plymouth Seafood Festival arrives this weekend for its 5th year and is set to bring The Barbican and Sutton Harbour alive with entertainment, activities and dishes to celebrate the city’s fantastic caught seafood. Over the weekend there will be opportunities to watch inspirational regional and celebrity chefs, who will delight you with their tantalising dishes at the Cookery Theatre. An array of local food and craft stands and plenty of entertainment, activities and competitions for the entire family....

Plymouth Art Weekender, an ambitious three-day event celebrating the arts across the city, will take place between Friday 23rd – Sunday 25th September. Following a successful 2015 event, the Weekender will take over the city and promote Plymouth as a contemporary art destination that promotes participation in a wide range of exhibitions and exciting activities for all ages. Following an open call for ideas, over 90 events feature over 500 local, national and international artists including Douglas Gordon, Myriam Lefkowitz, Jock Mooney, Holly Davey, Katya Sander, Low Profile and a public art commission by the art collective, Reactor. Exhibitions, talks, music, film, workshops and performance will be staged across Plymouth, taking over galleries, houses and empty spaces connecting communities together ...

With only 4 days to go until The Wedding Collection, here are 8 more of the amazing suppliers who will be attending… WED Magazine is run by owners Rebecca and Brendan, along with a small team in the far west of Cornwall. The magazine is filled with the ideas, inspiration and advice that couples need to make planning their big day a breeze! WED Magazine strive to bring the best suppliers and well-constructed articles in one place, making it a must read for couples planning their wedding! Here at The Duke, we love partnering with WED Magazine and have worked together on a number of occasions, resulting in some fantastic spreads. We can’t wait to ...

Last week The Duke was host to one of many performances as part of Jeanie Moore’s International Concert Series. Singer, Alice Vickery performed her first solo concert and wowed the audience. We were lucky enough to sit and enjoy and were truly stunned by her voice! We caught up with Alice briefly after the show (in between her adoring fans) to find out more… How old were you when you realised that you love to sing? I was 9 years old when I started singing and acting. When I was around 15, my voice started to develop further and that was when I realised I was a better singer than actress and that was the route to ...

It’s that time again where we share our sensational suppliers who are looking forward to meeting you at the Duke Wedding Collection: Live on Sunday 25th September… The first in our lovely line up has a stunning selection of the very best designer dresses… Prudence Gowns is a luxury bridal boutique which has been running since 1982 with stores in Plymouth and Exeter. They stock a wide variety of stunning wedding gowns in every style imaginable from a range of amazing designers. As well as bridal gowns, they sell a selection of gorgeous bridesmaid dresses as well as Mother of the Bride and Groom outfits. They also have a range of accessories including veils, shoes, jewellery ...

The Beard and Moustache Championships returned to the Duke last month for the second year running! From neatly-cropped handlebar ‘taches to unkempt mutton chops and everything in between, the competition celebrated the very best in facial hair. The event was founded by Plymouth couple Clair and Mike Wellsbury-Nye, after being inspired by a similar competition in Brighton in 2014. All sizes and styles of beard and moustache were encouraged to enter and with seven categories to choose from it’s not just the biggest beard that wins! There are also categories for ladies and children’s handmade beards and spectators were also made very welcome! The wonderful ...

With just over two weeks until the Duke Wedding Collection: Live, we thought it was time to announce which of our lovely suppliers will be coming along. With over 45 of the very best in the business we thought we’d share a few each week in the build up to our big day! Keep an eye out for our upcoming blogs..! Here are the first fabulous ten… Honors Flowers are a family run florist based in Hyde Park, Plymouth. They offer gorgeous designer bouquets, with the alternative of silk arrangements if the couple would prefer. They have a unique bridal consultation room where you can discuss all of the floral arrangements for your special day! They ...

The hotly anticipated Fashion in the City event is going down a storm, with afternoon teas all over the city, a fashion foundation exhibition and a fashion pop up in the local library. Why not take a trip on the beauty bus for some free pampering, that’s right, free! The bus will be stopping off at a variety of locations in and around the city, so why not take a well-deserved break from shopping and put your feet up? The students from GHQ and City College Plymouth have been and are continuing to offer a variety of treatments from hair styling to mini manicures, what’s not to love? We might have to pop along ourselves!...

On Thursday 1st September another chapter in the history of the hotel was written as we invited past couples who were wed at the Duke to share their stories… Much like hosting a party you always have that moment of trepidation wondering if anyone will arrive… No such moment occurred as at 3.40pm couples, dressed in their finest and armed with wedding albums, walked the red carpet and climbed the grand staircase to our Hayward Room ready for an afternoon of reminiscing.The atmosphere was incredible as the room quickly became full of laughter, chatter of days-gone-by and discussions around how much the fashion and the hotel had changed. It was a privilege to share ...