I am new to all this and am hoping that someone may be able to help.
My H2B and I have been engaged since June, but postponed planning the wedding until he finished his degree. He was a mature student who went back to uni for a complete career change which I was entirely behind. However it does mean we are limited with our budget.
I am really stuggling to find a venue, I have friends and family who are pitching in with things like catering and flowers but I cannot seem to find a venue that will allow our own caterers without charging an astronomical fee for this. Also they all seem to have to finish by half eleven or twelve. Most of our family and friends are coming from abroad so we would ideally like it to go on past this time. Not for a rowdy party but to dance. I may be expecting too much but I would like a venue that we can make our dream wedding.
We have looked at large cottages but whilst the upfront costs look good the extras all add up. I wondered if anyone had any recommendations of places?
We live in Wiltshire but we are able to travel anywhere really as our families will have to travel to us anyway.
Many thanks for any help you may be able to provide.
ellie
CommentAuthorRennie1989
Most places seem to kick guests out by half 11 or 12, when my auntie and uncle got married the young families went home whereas we went clubbing to carry on partying.
I can't say I can recommend places because they are very different down here then they are where you are, what I can recommend is making sure you don't book your venue on a Saturday or during the holidays because they are massively expensive (my wedding is on a Monday and half the rental price for Saturday). The peak wedding season is between May and September so you might want to consider that too.
Congratulations on the engagement and good luck with the planning :)
CommentAuthorGillianE
congratulations on your wedding and welcome to the site. Were having the same problem too, so have not really decided on anything at the moment and looking at this again in Apr when we book our wedding then we have something concrete to work with.
How about looking at local golf/rugby clubs. Working mens clubs may also allow you your own catering and the drinks will be cheap too. You could really change the interior around with these places with lots of decorations inside to hide the room decor.
My brother had their reception in a golf club and it was really cheap for the hire of the room, they were allowed to cater themselves and the outdoor space was lovely too. The beer was really cheap.
xx
CommentAuthorsarah
Have you looked into council run properties/venues? Sometimes there are options there. Sports clubs and masonic halls can be inexpensive as well. You may also want to look into venues that advertise as conference venues because sometimes they do weddings as well. For something really different you could look at spaces offered by colleges/universities - sometimes very cheap & with summer availability
good luck xx
CommentAuthorHelainaH
Have you considered a Freemason Hall? They're usually quite cheap, or sometimes even free. You can look them up and find more info on the United Grand Lodge of England website.
Why not try having a look at local village halls and places like that? When they are dressed up they can look lovely and are usually pretty cheap! x
Love: A wildly misunderstood, although highly desirable,
malfunction of the heart.
37 Pounds down, 22 pounds to go! I will be a skinny bride!
28th March 2014 will be the day I marry my best friend.
CommentAuthorKatherineR45
village halls are good, we've got ours for £335 including the bar and cleaning and we can have whatever caterers/decor etc we want x
CommentAuthorbarbie86
I would suggest a village hall, but typically, they require you to be out by midnight due to noise issues (my parents rented one for their anniversary and they were very strict on this). But, it might be worth finding out.
Otherwise, have you looked at pubs? A lot have late licenses, and they might give you exclusive use provided x amount is spent at the bar (which shouldn't be a problem at a wedding!) and some will allow you to do your own catering; likewise, try golf/cricket/sports clubs (when I was in 6th form, which, OK, is going back a few years, local sports clubs allowed us to rent the venue for free provided £500 was spent at the bar, and some of them even included a DJ as part of the deal)
You could also maybe look at farms, as some don't charge the earth, or, look at hiring land; but, once you've paid for a marquee, toilets etc this can work out very pricey. Or, do you know anyone with a decent sized garden who'd loan it to you?.. We don't have a massive garden at all (it's small-average) but can fit a marquee that's big enough for 60 people.
