Church halls - the MN chicken of wedding venues?

[StillCoughingandLaughing]

Obviously lockdown has limited the number of weddings, and therefore the number of wedding threads, this year, but one topic that comes up again and again is the topic of evening-only invites. I’m not trying to start another debate on whether they’re a good or bad thing - let’s face it, it’s been well covered as a discussion point. But one answer that comes up time and again from the anti-evening faction is ‘Cut your cloth accordingly - if you can’t afford a fancy venue, what’s wrong with the church hall?’

Apart from the fact that more and more people aren’t getting married in church, where are these vast, aircraft hangar type church halls that can fit every man and his dog for a sit-down meal? I went past one earlier (which got me thinking on this topic) and it was no more than a hut. Similarly, where I grew up there was a local hall people used to hire for teenage parties. You could probably get 100 teens in with a few folding chairs to sit between rounds of the Saturday Night dance and the Macarena, but for a meal with proper tables? Maximum 50 - 60 I reckon.

So what I’m wondering is, why do so many MNers suggest a church hall as the perfect way to get space on a budget? The cheap bit is obvious - but where does the space come in? Brides saying their dream venue only holds 50 for the day reception are told they’re being precious and should hire the church hall to double their numbers. Which church hall?

I can only conclude that church halls are the venue equivalent of the magical MN chicken. Just as an MN chicken will feed a family of six for a week, rather than the two meals at most a normal one would, I think the MN church hall is made of a special elastic and expands to the size of Wembley Stadium if need be. What other explanation can there be?

There is a church hall in Dulwich (London), which I think of peak MN territory, which holds masses of people... we had our wedding in it with 130 people.

Rural village (rather than church) halls, at least near me, are massive as they were awarded lottery funding a few years ago. I can think of three that could be used for a sit-down meal for more people than live in the village.

Or ‘a room above a pub’ like there are masses of huge unused space which could seat customers but is instead kept mothballed in case a frugal MNer needs a wedding venue

Around me, you can’t find a church hall for a kids birthday party, let alone an adult function

They are either in back to back use for yoga classes, or long sold off and redeveloped

YANBU. I also suspect those recommending church halls are imagining picturesque, wooden floored and high beamed barns appended to cute stone churches, requiring nothing more than a few strings of fairy lights and a chalk board with calligraphy on it to transform into the DIY wedding of dreams. Most church halls I’m familiar with have in fact been squeaky lino-floored creations with weird wires kicking about, migraine inducing strip lighting, tiny windows and the all pervading aroma of thirty years’ worth of over-steeped tea.

Well if you can’t feed 100 people in a church hall with one chicken then it’s probably best you refrain from posting about your wedding arrangements.

I think church hall is also village hall, cricket club, working men’s club, vets club etc. There are many large, function rooms that are cheap. I’ve organised many a work event in village halls and most can hold a good number of people. The ones near me, the limiting factor is often parking availability. We’ve also been to a wedding in a village hall and they managed to get everyone for a sit down meal without it feeling cramped.

I think the issue with general function rooms is that they often look like function rooms. Trying to make these rooms look nice can involve a lot of DIY and a lot of expense. I don’t think when you factor that in and finding caters, additional insurance if needed, decorating etc it’s always the easiest/cheapest option. I say this as someone who had their reception at a Best Western, so not a particularly fancy venue but I don’t think we could have done it cheaper and it not looked like one of my work events in a village hall.

At the moment you won't be able to hold a kids party (or any party) in a church or village hall, not allowed until step 4. Bookings are right down for obvious reasons.

Many are much more modern than the above descriptions and are cheap because they are run by unpaid volunteers. You do have to clean up after yourself though, or pay someone to do it.

I went to a wedding with 120 guests in a beautiful village hall but it doesn't really solve the cost problem. Unless you're planning to serve sandwiches and budget soft drinks, the cost of catering for the extra people is where it hurts.

I found plenty that would fit 100 when I was looking for mine (North - West) and had mine in a listed building that was council owned for £300 with 80 day guests.

When looking for a friend’s wedding (Welsh Borders) have found similar buildings that seat up to 100, more for evening.

You might have to cast your net wider and dial down on the beams and wooden floor aspect but they do exist.

I use church halls for work, some are fairly pokey... some are blooming huge.

Where I live, you have the choice of the church hall (actually, formerly a church itself and v nice but maybe not suitable for 100+ sitting down), the football club (not massively salubrious, but I think free to hire if you use their bar), the rugby club, and a couple of pubs have function rooms. A close by village has a village hall which is absolutely enormous and you could easily sit 150 down, plus it has other rooms. I've been to a wedding at another village hall which is beautiful, and is actually wooden beamed.
I've been to functions for 100 people in the rowing club and football club in the next town and they weren't cramped at all, so if I was in the market for a function I would def hire a venue and get a caterer rather than the very restricted hotel choice locally - or like a wedding we are going to this year, a very instagrammable wedding venue in the middle of absolute no where giving you the choice of spending £150 a night to stay in a wooden hut (no breakfast included) or driving 45 min to the nearest hotel

@MilduraS

I went to a wedding with 120 guests in a beautiful village hall but it doesn't really solve the cost problem. Unless you're planning to serve sandwiches and budget soft drinks, the cost of catering for the extra people is where it hurts.

It does mean however you can use your own caterers which opens up the budget range, as opposed to a hotel type wedding venue where it starts at £30 per head

I always took that to mean the type of community multi-use place where seniors exercise in the morning, teens might play basketball in the afternoon, then clear out so the wedding can set up.

I’ve seen suggestions of go cheaper but not many re a church hall.

I’d only host as many as I could afford as I really dislike two tier events, especially given the point of a marriage is the vows.

@StillCoughingandLaughing
where are these vast, aircraft hangar type church halls that can fit every man and his dog for a sit-down meal?

If you were cutting your cloth accordingly you wouldn't be having a sit-down meal, would you? You've be having a buffet and mingle.

Dumb thread Op: I don't know of any big church halls and then assorted people saying they either do or don't. Round here theres plenty of parish centres that will allow people to have a sit down meal of buffet food. Tonnes of places with access to a kitchen to serve up food. Just not hotel style chicken with a creamy sauce that you get in 99% of hotel weddings.

I don't think a church hall wedding usually includes a sit down meal?

On my town there is the rugby, football, cricket, bowling and town halls that can be rented for hire. Had my 40th in one back on the day. Buffet, cheap drink and a short walk home. What's not to like!

Ours is massive.
But it's been commandeered as a mass vaccination centre for now anyway!

More on topic, my friends hired a community hall for a wedding reception. It consisted of a DJ (grooms mate), paid bar and a Buffett and was a fab evening.
No sit down meal.

hurch halls and village halls often have plenty of space to hold charity fund=raising soup andsandwich lunches or afternoon teas for a large number of people, using folding table and chai r, china and cutl;ery which belong to the hall. They also have kitchens /serveries witha sink stove etc.

They can piut all the tables in a line for bring and buy sales, christmas ev ents etc.

The same hall has eb=nough space d for a [laygroup or cubscouts or keep fit class. Loads of room. for a wedding party.

I think you just haven't been inside enough of those halls.

You'd be lucky to get 30 in two of my local church halls, or the two slightly further away that I have gone to for blood donation. I would not choose any of them.

My opinion as with church weddings is that you should only consider them if one of you is religious and attends the church (or perhaps if your parents do). As for more people marrying other than in a church, the best thing any Tory MP has ever done was Gyles Brandreth's bill to have non-religious wedding venues.

dozens of halls round here.
school halls
church halls
community centres
working mens clubs etc.

I have been to a wedding in a couple of them.
Most of the weddings though were small, they had chosen a hall as it was cheap and they had a party for about 50, because they were saving money.

They vary enormously, some pretty, some ugly, some small, some large. They are not expensive to hire, but as PP pointed out, the cost is actually in the catering.

Been to plenty of parties in these type of places but none have been sit down meals. They have all been buff

Buffet type events