Wedding Venues - hotels are more popular than ever... | UKbride

Wedding Venues - hotels are more popular than ever...

Wedding Venues - hotels are more popular than ever...

Hotels and stately homes are enjoying unprecedented popularity with couples choosing to marry. Civil ceremonies now account for 75% of all UK weddings

Civil ceremonies have overtaken religious ceremonies to now account for over three quarters of weddings in the UK.

Last year saw Anglican church attendance fall to 765,000, with just 1.4% of the population now attending church on Sunday morning.

UKbride reports that hotels are now the most popular venue choice for those looking to marry in the UK. The trend has been boosted by money saving ‘off-peak’ mid-week or out of season wedding deals.

“Only a quarter of brides are opting to include religious content or buildings in their wedding day,” says the wedding planning website’s Tilly Wilkinson. “Hotels account for most weddings, followed by registration offices.”

“Brides tell us they prefer the convenience of having both ceremony and reception venue in one location. Hotels provide a reception venue and catering too, and they are increasingly promoting themselves as ‘one stop’ shops for a couple’s wedding day, with many venues recommending photographers, entertainment and so on too.”

Stately homes and castles are couples’ next preferred options. About 10% of couples opt for more rustic weddings in marquees. These are typically set up in the grounds of the family home, or the grounds of hotels or stately homes.

The wedding reception accounts for around a third of a bride’s total wedding budget, and with 301,254 marriages taking place last year, the total market for wedding receptions is worth around £1.5m each year.

“The fall in popularity of religious ceremonies means an increasingly competitive market for civil wedding ceremony venues, so it’s a bride’s market as far as choice is concerned and there are some good deals to be had for astute brides willing to shop around.”

“Our newly redesigned wedding venue pages have identified the need to provide a richer impression of what wedding reception options are available to brides. They provide a venue tour feature, photos and the ability to search by different venue types.”

UKbride’s new wedding venue pages will help you to search for your wedding venue, see high quality pictures of venues near you, and arrange a venue tour – see www.ukbride.co.uk/wedding-venues

UKbride's new Wedding Venue Listing Page