Why do so many people get married at stately homes?

[diningiswest]

They're expensive, almost always a pig to get to and everything looks the same (gilding, nice gardens, mostly marquee).

And - although I accept that this isn't what most people would think - we're paying our money to the upper classes to keep them lording it over us.

I got married at a local hotel because we needed somewhere small enough, plus Mr Badknitter is more into alternative religions than Christianity.

I had mine in a stately home and honestly it was the easiest wedding ever - everything included and you just went to tastings for food/drink, were presented with decoration options, and turned up on the day with everything done. Included in the package was everyone staying at the venue too, so everyone had a nice room and could pop back whenever they liked.

My friends who have had marquee weddings have ended up spending more, had a nightmare organising everything, and a less attractive venue (imo - a marquee in a field usually).

I would highly recommend a good stately home for a wedding

I think it’s weird they are pretending to be virgins in white, though

What a strange question!

Why do some people have quiet registry office weddings and then a reception at a restaurant?

Why are some weddings outdoors with a barn dance in the evening?

Why do some people get married on Brighton Pier and then go for fish and chips afterwards?

Why do some couples get married in an Art Deco cinema followed by a reception in a village hall?

Why do some people get married in Vegas?

I have been to weddings fitting most of these descriptions (plus church, stately home and country house hotel weddings) and all of them were lovely.

Quite simply: the couple chooses what sort of wedding they want to have, and the guests decide whether they want to go or not 🤷🏼‍♀️

No really an answer, is it?

How many modern brides do you think are actually pretending that?

What an odd thing to say.

Because so many people get married at stately homes. And so it does on…

I doubt anyone has pretended this about 1950.

why do you think?

If you don't like them, get married elsewhere, no one cares.

Photos, innit.

Because they have a lot of guests to fit in and don't want to get married in a conference centre?

The best thing any Tory MP probably ever did was the law to allow non-religious premises to hold weddings (it was Gyles Brandreth). People who are of no faith or agnostic, or even those who rarely attend, being honest instead of almost faking their religion.

In your day, though, people still had wedding receptions. People who got married in a church didn't just set up a buffet and a disco by the font.

They are picturesque and offer a complete package big enough to cater for large numbers, all in the same venue and often with accommodation attached. I don't think it goes any deeper than that. Loads are no longer owned by the aristocracy either.

I was going to say, they want a registered wedding venue that's big enough to hold a lot of people and isn't a scabby old register office 😁

Is anyone thinking about the inconvenience of religion these days? Not a lot

As a fully functioning adult, you cannot understand that other people like different things to you?

Why not ask why - I'm interested in whether there's a particular reason for it that I am totally missing.

But also, are the stately homes cheaper than hotels then? Or better? Or more exclusive? Because all of the reasons that people give are just as much answered by a hotel.

Because they look nice on the photos, and there is no religious obligation. Much more honest than getting married in church simply for the sake of the photos.

And I went to a stately home wedding a couple of years ago and the food was fantastic; best I've ever had at a wedding.

Venues like this weren't an option when I got married back in the stone age, but I would certainly have considered them, if allowed. It's important that we support these amazing buildings, and none of the families can afford to run them without these events. You'd be happy for us to lose Chatsworth or Blenheim would you, OP? Because many of us certainly would not be.

Where else would you get married?

A hotel? Cost a fortune if you want to book for exclusive use.
A converted barn? It's great, but you can't find them at every corner.
Your back garden? Most people haven't got the space.
A sport hall or club? They don't offer catering facilities and are not always available for a full weekend booking.

Nothing wrong with stately homes

I've wondered this too. I think weddings at home are lovely, at your home (yoir parents' home), but I don't see why you'd borrow someone else home to pay house for the day.

Yes Pippa Middleton, isn't it lovely when you can marry in mummy's backgarden.

Gosh, can you fit 100 people in your house? I can’t in mine! And my garden’s a bit of a shit tip.

Aspirational. One day when they can pretend to a lifestyle they will never afford.

My wedding was in a church hall 🤣 but that's my point all that stately home business is pretending to be something you're not. It might be "nice" in the photos, but it seems a strange way to start a marriage, to me.