Not interested in a church or a registry office wedding? These alternative wedding venues might be more up your street.
Photo by Dmitry Schemelev on Unsplash.
There’s loads of reasons you might not be interested in a church or a registry office ceremony: you’re not religious, or belong to different faiths; you want somewhere less formal or more familiar. Whatever your reason for ditching the traditional wedding trappings - you might now be wondering ‘if not in a church or registry office, then where?’
When the world is your oyster, it can be daunting. So take a gander at this list of alternative venue types for inspiration and start imagining the Big Day of your dreams.
1. The Barn Wedding
With their beautiful beams and high ceilings barns provide an almost cathedral-like setting, but more rustic! They’re the perfect blank canvas that look stunning as left, or can be styled up with fairy lights or flower arrangements.
Their rural settings typically offer views across fields and often with access to other facilities such as farmhouses for accommodation or fields for guests or the Happy Couple to glamp in.
2. The Forest Wedding
Imagine walking down an aisle made by nature into a clearing in a dense forest where all of the people you love are sat surrounded by trees and birdsong, while the sun’s light pierces through the canopy in beams. Forest weddings are both spectacular and intimate. If you want to get back to nature (or just feel like Maid Marion) forests are the way forward.
3. The Castle Wedding
They’re the literal backdrop to a fairytale wedding and for good reason. Castles are the official residences of Princes and Princesses and within their walls lies centuries of history. Their size and grandeur make them perfect for jaw-dropping photography and will leave you feeling as regal as the ancestors of their owners.
National Trust Property Bodiam Castle in East Sussex provides a fairytale backdrop
4. The Beach Wedding
Ditch the heels and go ‘barefoot bride’ (or grab some fancy flip flops) as you say your I Dos on one of the UK’s idyllic sandy shores. With the wind in your hair and the sand in your toes, beach weddings offer the ultimate informal setting for a laidback day. While away the hours after your ceremony with a beach picnic or barbecue and toast your next adventure as you stare out at the horizon.
5. The Ruins Wedding
There’s something quite magical about ruins - they provide intrigue into the lost story of time. The romance of a ruin wedding is also in the dramatic views that they frame: a glimpse of a mountain through this window frame, a glance at rolling fields through that collapsed doorway.
The photography opportunities are immense - picture yourself in a flowing white or floral gown and a head crown against this backdrop (omg - beautiful!).
6. The Museum Wedding
If it’s elegance and glamour you’re looking for, a museum may be the place for you. Typically grand and voluminous in scale, museums are designed not just to show off their contents, but as landmarks to history (and historical moments like your wedding, of course). Why not go full ‘Night at the Museum’ and have an evening ceremony and give you the freedom to roam the halls in private after hours?
7. The Cinema Wedding
From 1950’s Hollywood glamour theme to the re-enactment of your favourite onscreen kiss, if film is your thing there’s no better place to tie the knot than in a classic cinema theatre.
Prepare the clapper board and showcase your own romance on the Big Screen as you say your vows. The crowd will go wild.
8. The Garden Wedding
If you know someone with a large garden, not only can you save a lot of money on venue hire, but the result is often a much more laidback, personal affair. Hiring a marquee may be in order to prevent footfall through the house, but this is infinitely cheaper than most venue fees.
Surrounded by nature, friends and family and in a familiar surrounding you’ll feel able to kick back and take in the day.
Photo by Ben Rosett on Unsplash
9. The Boat Wedding
Love the water almost as much as your other half? Then take to the sea (or river) to say I Do with some nautical nuptials. Larger boats tend not to come with the dreaded sway of smaller boats, so your guests should remain quease-free as you sail into the sunset in the first magical moments of your marriage.
10. The Field Wedding
Fancy a festival theme? Pop your wellies on, grab a lanyard and head on down to your nearest available field to pop up a Papakata and prepare to promise a lifetime of fun starting with your field-based wedding.
Haystacks, a burger van and some good music are all you will need to complete the theme.
11. The Hotel Wedding
For top-notch service and a ‘be our guest’ vibe you can’t beat a hotel wedding. Most hotels will provide a wedding planner to relieve you of the heavy lifting and help you to ease into married life providing for your every need. You’ll simply select from a range of choices et voila! You won’t even need to leave the building to start your honeymoon.
12. The Hangar Wedding
If you’re planning a larger wedding you’re going to need some space and you won’t find much more room than in an aeroplane hangar. Volume aside, hangars offer something truly special. They’re the launchpad for adventure. They symbolise exciting times ahead and harbour all the anticipation of what’s to come - the perfect starting point for the voyage of marriage.
13. The Mountain Wedding
The ultimate in outdoor weddings, mountain weddings provide the most breathtaking backdrop to say your vows. From atop your favourite peak you can look into each other’s eyes and then out to the horizon, the whole world at your feet, as you exchange rings and contemplate your future together.
(Crampons and walking sticks not usually required, but you may want to invite elders to the reception rather than the ceremony.)
14. The Park Wedding
Pack a picnic and head on down to the pond: a park wedding can make a poignant and personal statement, particularly if it’s somewhere special to you. Your nearest and dearest can enjoy the view from their blankets as you start your Big Day in the shade of your favourite tree for the ceremony before cracking open the bubbles and tucking into a sandwich or two.
15. The Vineyard Wedding
Did someone say wine? You’re not going to run out any time soon if your choice of venue actually produces it, and you’ll often get a discount on your favourite tipple if you book your wedding at a vineyard.
Their buildings vary drastically from classic beamed reception halls to contemporary glazed buildings but you can guarantee they all have stunning views over the rolling vineyards they tend to.
16. The Pub Wedding
Pubs are the social powerhouse of the community, a meeting place for one and all in good times and in bad. So where better to make your vows than somewhere steeped in the values you hope to commit to?
Whether it’s your local, or a beauty spot further afield, pub weddings are sure to make everyone feel welcome, no matter how far they’ve travelled for your Big Day.
17. The Orchard Wedding
Step away from your daily life and transport to an idyllic countryside orchard location for your wedding. Orchards often provide a blank canvas for you to make your own by erecting a marquee or decorating a nearby barn. What’s more, their tree-lined pathways provide a picturesque setting for photography.
18. The Home Wedding
What could be more personal than to hold your wedding at your own home? It needn’t be palatial: an intimate home wedding can still have a sense of ceremony and occasion, while putting you at ease in your own surroundings.
You’ll save a lot of money and have the perfect excuse to keep the invite list strict (depending on the size of your home, of course.)
19. The University Wedding
Take them back to where it all began. If your romance started at university, then where better to confirm your commitment than within its walls. After the ceremony you can tour the halls together, tripping down memory lane and reliving your most special moments.
Tip: Universities will often offer discounts for weddings of their alumni, so don’t forget to mention you went there if you choose your university.
20. The Stadium Wedding
There’s nothing wrong with multi-tasking - why not celebrate your other passion in life while you say your I Do’s. Whether it’s football, rugby, racing or other - choose your stadium and get set to hit a home run as you make your match a permanent fixture.
With a celebrant-led wedding you can get married almost anywhere. If you have a location that is special to you, I can identify any legal requirements and contact the relevant authorities to make it happen.