AIBU to ask for your help in finding a wedding venue?!

[ConkerGame]

DP and I are struggling to find a venue for our wedding next Sept/Oct. So many places are booked up already! Can the MN hive mind help us in our quest?!

We live in London so don’t want anything crazy far away to avoid people having to travel too far but also wouldn’t want central London. Ideally it would be in Surrey/Berkshire/Middlesex/Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire/Wiltshire/Somerset as these should be the easiest counties for our guests to travel to (none live east).

We are inviting 150 guests, are looking to have a sit down meal followed by dancing and want somewhere that at least immediate family and the bridal party could stay on site/very nearby.

We would also prefer a church wedding but don’t want to cart everyone for miles so ideally a pretty church would be nearby.

Our budget is £25k all in so I think venue hire, food and daytime drinks budget is around £17k. We are also only interested in a Saturday wedding (this seems to be the thing that is causing us difficulty atm but too many people would be annoyed if we put it on a week day!)

In terms of vibe, we are hoping for somewhere pretty but not too “grand”, although tbh my searching so far suggests that our budget removes us from most grand venues anyway. We would be happy with a marquee as long as the venue sorted food, drinks etc and we could stay onsite - we wouldn’t be up for just hiring a field and then having to find all suppliers separately.

Can anyone help?! Thanks very much in advance!

We went to a wedding in Stoke Poges and it was lovely.

Or how about a London wedding at The Horniman Museum?

The Big House Company has some lovely wedding venues, some in Somerset, so that might be worth a look.

My dd had her wedding in a country house in Wales 6 years ago and it was far more expensive as a package deal and food was not nearly as good. She got to choose her bouquet from a book with 5 to choose from rather than explain to a florist exactly what she wanted and a choice of 3 cakes. We chose everything ourselves down to the cheeses to go on the cheese board. The mobile caters we had were amazing and at least 3 of our guest asked for details of them and used them for their weddings after us. It really works out much much cheaper but more importantly we got to choose exactly what we wanted, all of our favourite foods. We chose all 4 courses ourselves and then they gave us price for our choices whereas the package deals you have to choose form a set menu so may not get exactly what you want. I wanted hand made Italian ice cream and got it and sampled it beforehand too, nothing was too much trouble.

Thanks @Robs20 - looks stunning!

We had our reception at the Normansfield Theatre in Teddington. At the time it didn't cost much to hire and the money goes to the Langdon Down Centre. It's a beautiful room and near the station. langdondowncentre.org.uk/facilities-available/normansfield-theatre/

Rivervale Barn

Northbrook Park?

Priston Mill www.pristonmill.co.uk/ Near Bath is beautiful.

I booked my wedding for next year back in 2017, you may struggle to get everything you want! (We wanted a long engaged as I hadn't graduated and we wanted to buy a house before people tell me how ridiculous I am..)

Thanks @Sunshinelollipops1 unfortunately the first hotel is out of budget but the second one might work!

@RezCowgirl we loved it there too but it’s fully booked for next year!

Wasing park in Aldermaston has a church and wedding venue all in one. Plus accommodation. Accessible off the m4/a4. Its also very beautiful.

Oh and you can marry in the church even if not local.

Mickleton Hills Farm in the Cotswolds (technically Gloucestershire but not far from Oxfordshire border) - it is a relatively new venue, so probably less likely to be booked up that far in advance and takes up to 150 guests. I've been and it's a lovely venue.
mickletonhillsfarm.com/

Haven't checked the full thread so apologies if already mentioned!
Syrencot is a lovely venue in Figheldean (about 20 miles north of Salisbury but close to the A303).
They have 11 rooms, can accommodate 150 guests and are licensed for the ceremony too. I loved it but it's only been finished in the last couple of months and I didn't want to book when it was still a building site! I think there is also a church in the (very pretty) village.

A friend of mine was a guest at a wedding here recently and said it was nice. Looks like there’s a church nearby as well.

www.winkworthfarm.com/

I got married at the Chewton glen in Hampshire- it’s so beautiful, budget may just work, they are honestly amazing there, lots of churches dotted about. X

lainsbarn.co.uk/

Is in Oxfordshire and has some lovely village churches near by

The Old Mill in Aldermaston, Berkshire is very pretty, full of character, not too fancy and cheaper than most venues ( well it was 15 years ago, i think the same people are still running it). Its easy to get to from the M4. No on site accommodation but there is a hotel nearby.

Rockingham Castle is very nice. Beautiful grounds if you had nice weather. We went to see that one when planning our wedding.
It's East Mids, but in Corby which is about an hour out of St Pancras by train.

Bodleian Library in Oxford?

Merriscourt? merriscourt.com/

Eynsham Hall?

To choose our venue I narrowed down the search area and wrote a list for must haves. Using this made it so much easier to see viable options and look into viewing.

Our must haves were

• not too fancy
• relaxed barn vibe (if possible)
• no port-a-loos
• no fancy food (we’re having bbq for main meal and then a pizza buffet in the evening)
• on-site accommodation for the bride/groom
• local to hotels for our guests (premier inn was 10 minutes away)
• no corkage, we aren’t wine drinkers so much rather have a selection of ciders or beer (plus some wine for those that like it). I found drink packages to be too restrictive and way overpriced
• exclusive

In the end we chose an exclusive beautiful barn venue and paid £3312 for it for a weekday. It would of been £8k+ for a Saturday!

Don't discount Sussex! Some lovely venues. One of my faves is Farbridge Barn.
A wedding planner might be a good bet, they can generally save you the money that you have to pay to them anyway, so works out the same.