UK Wedding Venues

Hiya! Does anyone have any venue suggestions for a small civil wedding ceremony? We're basically looking for something outdoors or in an old barn, garden,cottage or country home, etc...basically just someplace nice for small, simple ceremony that will take place later this summer or early autumn. Not many frills to be had! We thought going away to a tropical island would be nice...but it seems that getting married in the UK will be least complicated for immigration purposes.

I've been looking around the web and it's making me feel slightly overwhelmed...eek. SO any suggestions would be greatly appreciated  

Thank you kindly!

Getting married in this country is slightly different as far as places you can get married. That is going to be channging, but as far as I know, the law is still there. A wedding can only take place in a Register Office or any other premises approved for marriage by a local authority. In other words, you can't just go down to the beach, or do it in a hot air balloon, or choose the car park you met in.

When I was doing a little surface scratching to see if I could find this law defined, I came across a website that pretty much covers it all, including offering place suggestions. Check this out:
Getting married in the UK? What the law currently says...

There are quite a few hotels, B&B's and the like that are able to be sites for civil weddings.  We held our reception at a place called Whitsand Bay in Cornwall.  When doing research on places we found quite a few.  You can do it all up or just have a couple of witnesses.  

There are quite a few places along the coast that you could go to.....I'll do some research and get back to you.

Thanks very much to both of you for your info! I'm checking that website now, LisaE and will welcome any more info you find, vnicepeeps!  

If you're getting married in Kent, you can have a "Kentish Wedding Ceremony" and there are outdoor buildings like rose arbours that are licensed for marriages.  It's the closest to an outdoor wedding you can get in England until 2005 when they revamp things.

In the US, the person performing the ceremony is licensed, and that's why you can get married almost anywhere.  Heck - I'M licensed to perform marriages in the State of Florida!  But in the UK, it's the place that's licensed, not the person.  That's changing in 2005.

www.hitched.co.uk has a great venues list, with reviews and everything.  Also has a lot of other wonderful tips and links - as well as a great forum for getting other people's input.  Keep in mind that some of the registry offices in this country are in such wonderful, historic buildings that they're almost as nice as a church for aethetic purposes.

Good luck!  Need any more help, just ask - just got married in March and did TONNES of research!  

Hi,
   I'm new to the site but thought I might be able to help. Whatever site you choose for your wedding it will have to be an approved building (atleast when I married a year ago it did.)   The best idea might be to check some small inns that have a nice setting to see if they are liscenced to do civil ceremonies, England does not to my knowledge have approved (outdoor sights)   I believe there is also a list of approved venues you can get of the internet somewhere.
   We ended up having our wedding at the Registrar's office up north, but the room used to be an old courtyard, so it had the look of an atrium, dark wood etc, very nice. Also, beware if you have the ceremony at one of these places, they will charge about 3 times as much for a registrar to do the ceremony.   Hope this helps, sorry to make my comment so looong...

There's always Washington Old Hall in Washington Tyne & Wear. I know its a long way but it's named after George Washington ( his ancestral home I think)

Jennydee,

We're getting married in Kent in a civil ceremony.   We've narrowed it down to Philpotts Manor and Tonbridge Castle...in fact we have to make the decision by tomorrow.  Both places cater to smaller weddings (we're going to have 25 ppl (including us) at the wedding).

Both Philpotts Manor and Tonbridge Castle are lovely and very intimate...perfect for the smaller ceremony.

-Sandy

There's a book you can get from good bookshops called 'Nobles Wedding Venues Guide' that lists a lot of places that have a civil marriage licence.

Thanks *so* much for all of your suggestions!! I knew it was the right place to ask- You guys have a wealth of knowledge  

Congratulations, Peedal! How are you enjoying married life?  

I've been checking out all of the websites you all mentioned- the  Kentish Ceremonies sound great- AND I pick up a copy of the Noble's Wedding Venue book (ordered it in at work- gosh, I love working in a bookshop! hehe) and it's amazing! We have our work cut out for us on picking one place, I think...

Best of luck as you're finalising your plans, runner1!

Thanks again, all  

Thanks *so* much for all of your suggestions!! I knew it was the right place to ask- You guys have a wealth of knowledge  

Congratulations, Peedal! How are you enjoying married life?  

I'm LOVING it!!  Of course, having the best husband in the world helps.  (He's still counting weekly anniversaries!  Today it's 9 weeks...
)

Good luck - and we're all here to help!  

Well, we've decided on Tonbridge Castle for the wedding and Keith is looking for a nice restaurant where we can book a private room and have a nice reception dinner!

Don't wait too long, Jennydee (says I who is getting married end of Aug and am now just deciding on the venue!).  Seriously, I was finding that so many places are booked up.  We're having our wedding on a Friday (Aug. 29!!!) because Saturdays were booked up everywhere.  Seems that late summer/early fall is a pretty popular time to get married in the UK.

Good luck with all your plans!!!