Finding the perfect wedding venue location can be the most daunting aspect of wedding planning. This is especially true if you want something to wow your guests and project your personality to the world.
We’ve all attended our fair share of weddings in churches and country clubs. But how about getting married in a sun-dappled greenhouse? In a Tudor dining hall? In a vineyard? On an island? Onboard a Concorde? If you're looking for something truly special, our guide is here to inspire you. Whether your style is unbridled opulence or rustic elegance, these unique locations and venues will be sure to impress.
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Farnham Castle
What could be more romantic than tying the knot in an ancient castle dating back to 1180? Recently renovated, this beautiful slice of history can accommodate both religious and civil ceremonies.
You can choose to say your vows in the sunny Lantern Hall, the ancient Norman Chapel or the intimate, wood-panelled Bishop’s Chapel.
Then head to the Great Hall for a luxurious reception complete with a bespoke menu made with local, seasonal ingredients. After the ceremony, Farnham Castle can sleep up to 60 of your guests in gorgeous bedrooms with views over rolling lawns and wooded spaces.
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Gorse Hill
Could it get any more English than Gorse Hill? A hidden gem nestled in 17 acres of Surrey countryside, this stunning white-painted manor house was built in 1912.
Not to worry, though: the house has been recently renovated to the very highest of modern standards, and offers a comfortable and stylish wedding venue.
Wedding parties will have the mansion to themselves between midday and midnight, so you can succumb to fantasies of owning a stately home.
Your ceremony will take place in front of wide bay windows overlooking the gardens, you’ll enjoy a drinks reception on the sun-bathed terrace (weather permitting, of course), and finish with a locally-sourced menu in the elegant restaurant.
And when the party’s over, you and your guests can settle in for a well-earned rest in one of the 50 chic bedrooms, including a honeymoon suite.
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RHS Garden Wisley
If you really want a wedding to remember, The Glasshouse at Wisley is bound to set mouths gaping.
Imagine the scene: the glasshouse glittering in the sunshine, the palm leaves swaying in the breeze, and your friends green with envy as you waltz up the aisle of this lushest of wedding venues.
Whether you tie the knot in the Waterlily Pavilion, the Garden Room or the Wisteria Walk, your wedding day is bound to be a botanical beauty.
Situated in 240 acres of beautiful gardens – perfect for wedding photos – the venue provides exquisite catering and has the capacity for up to 150 guests.
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Botleys Mansion
This Palladian mansion may be set in the remote and rolling hills of Surrey, but it’s actually just 30 minutes from London. Could it get any more convenient?
Just arriving at Botleys is quite the experience, with its sweeping driveway, stone staircase, crystal chandeliers and walls bedecked with rich glints of gold leaf. Grand, it may be, but the Botleys team works hard to ensure that getting married there is totally stress-free.
You’ll be assigned your own dedicated in-house wedding planner, and have access to special online wedding planning software. The house will be reserved for your exclusive use on the day (and night) of your wedding, and the remote location means that fireworks and live music are totally acceptable.
You’ll have a choice of three receptions for your ceremony, but in my opinion, The Atrium is the only option. A glass-roofed space with a grand staircase and sparkling chandeliers, it’s a spectacular spot for a ceremony.
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Cain Manor
Fancy something a touch more rustic? Have the barn-storming wedding of your dreams at Cain Manor. Wend your way through private woodland to arrive at this grand Tudor house, complete with old oak floors and beamed ceilings.
In summer, you can hold the ceremony in the gazebo overlooking manicured lawns, wild-flower meadows and mossy forests. In winter, celebrate inside in front of a roaring fire.
The real standout is the barn-style Music Room, a rustic paradise with a high-beamed roof and diamond-paned windows – the perfect location for a wedding breakfast banquet.
The venue has onsite accommodation for your guests as well as a tennis court and pool, ideal for pre- and post-wedding relaxation.
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Pennyhill Park Hotel and Spa
With a Michelin-starred restaurant, 124 bedrooms, and an award-winning spa, this beautiful mansion has everything you need for a wedding to remember.
The hotel offers a range of different ceremony and reception rooms, perfect for both extravagant and intimate services. If it’s summer, opt for the tranquil Terrace Pavilion with its stunning parkland backdrop.
Your guests can be seated on elevated grass areas overlooking the Pavillion, ensuring perfect photo opportunities. After your ceremony, you can take photos in the 123-acres of sumptuous grounds, and in the evening, you can choose from a seated supper, a wedding-buffet or a feast of fine dining.
There’s even an in house Saxophonist to play smooth jazz while you eat.
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Hampton Court Palace
For centuries, this towering red-brick palace was home to the kings and queens of England. Now you can hire it as your very own wedding venue – and it’s hard to imagine a more majestic or historical spot in which to tie the knot.
The palace offers a few different spaces for ceremonies - my personal favourite is the Little Banqueting House, an adorable mini-mansion opposite the Sunken Garden. The walls and ceilings are lavishly decorated with 18th-century paintings and murals, and because of its riverside location, you can opt to arrive by boat!
Whichever venue you choose, any couple marrying at Hampton Court Palace will benefit from the personal attention of the experienced events team and access to a range of first-class suppliers.
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Denbies Wine Estate
Could there be a better wedding venue for a wine-loving couple? Denbies is the UK’s largest vineyard - its 265 acres of vines command spectacular views over Box Hill and the North Downs.
As you can imagine, it’s a great spot for unique wedding photos, with the opportunity to pose in the atmospheric cellar or onboard the vineyard train. There’s a choice of ceremony spaces – inside and outside, traditional and modern – with the capacity to hold anywhere from 80 to 400 guests.
After you’ve tied the knot, you can enjoy a menu of locally-sourced goodies and, of course, some of the vineyard’s delectable wines.
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Kew Royal Botanic Gardens
Kew Gardens is home to over 50,000 living plants, a botanical paradise dotted with Victorian glasshouses and Alpine rock gardens – all within easy reach of London.
With its abundance of nature and sunlit conservatories, it makes the perfect venue for a quirky wedding. Couples looking for a grand ceremony should choose the enchanting 19th century Nash Conservatory, which boasts dramatic floor to ceiling windows.
After the ceremony, you can take a tour of the gardens before settling down for dinner in Temperate House, the world’s largest glasshouse – home to 10,000 species of plant. It’s an iconic venue, perfect for a nature-loving couple.
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Brooklands Museum
A wedding hosted at Brooklands Museum will be anything but boring. The birthplace of British motorsport, aviation, and home of the Concorde, it’s a truly unique and unexpected venue.
Daredevil couples can actually get married aboard the Concorde, walking down the aisle while the wedding guests watch from on-board seats. After tying the knot you can take a guided tour, explore the 4D theatre or try the Concorde Experience.
Truly adventurous newlyweds will take a racing car for a spin on Britain’s oldest remaining motor racing track. As you’d expect, Brooklands is the perfect location for some truly unique wedding photos – pics under the wing of Concorde, anyone?
But this venue isn’t all bangs and whistles – it also offers the assistance of experienced wedding coordinators, a choice of tasty menus and all the champagne and canapés you could wish for.
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Pembroke Lodge
This wisteria-hung Georgian Mansion is situated at the highest point of Richmond Park, with panoramic views over the Thames Valley.
Richmond Park is one of London’s most beloved open spaces, home to about 650 freely roaming deer. It also makes a pretty snazzy wedding venue, with an experienced on-site wedding team and a choice of two beautiful suites for the ceremony.
Pembroke Lodge’s team of chef excel at preparing tasty modern British cuisine, there’s plenty of room to dance beneath starlit ceilings, and at the end of the night, you and your guests can retire to one of the three great hotels within half a mile of the Lodge.
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De Vere Horsley Towers
This lakeside 19th-century mansion is like something out of a fairytale, boasting a secret chapel, tiled cloisters and an atmospheric Great Hall where you can eat a candlelit wedding breakfast.
The house is tucked away within 70 acres of rolling parkland and manicured lawns – the perfect backdrop for your wedding photos!
You’ll have Horsley Towers for your exclusive use for the day of your wedding, and at the end of the night, you can take advantage of the 180 stylish hotel bedrooms.
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Ravens Ait Island
This two-acre island on the River Thames would make a spectacularly memorable wedding venue – especially because it’ll be exclusively yours for the entire day.
It’s probably the closest most of us will get to party on our own private island. Tie the knot in one of two light-filled suites overlooking the river, seating between 120 and 250 guests.
Then dance the night away in a luxurious marquee complete with a fairy light canopy, before watching the sunset over the water from the wooden decking.
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DeVere Wotton House
Voted the best Country Wedding Venue 2016 in the UK Wedding Awards, this 17th-century mansion has undergone a £6m renovation to blend its unique historic charm with the demands of the modern day wedding.
A wedding here can host up to 140 guests, with venues including the beautiful Old Library and the Grade II listed Italian gardens. Outdoors is where this venue really shines, specialising in alfresco feasts strung with fairy lights and natural foliage.
The food is also brilliant – think overflowing picnic baskets, homemade cakes, pastel-toned macaroons and canapés sprinkled with edible flowers. With 13 acres of gorgeous gardens, temples, waterfalls, bridges and babbling brooks, you’ll never be short of a photo opportunity.
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Edward more than 3 years ago