Non-hotel wedding ceremony locations

[StrongInside]

Hi,

Any ideas for places that aren’t a hotel or Registrars’ Office to get married in the city in autumn?
We have a hotel reception booked for next year and want a small ceremony this year. Later in the year so that we might be lucky enough not to wear masks and stand 2 meters apart from everyone. All local Registrars’ Offices are oldfashioned-looking (or is the word ‘traditional’🤔) and partner doesn’t want to have the ceremony at another hotel (our hotel is booked for the year). Weather in Scotland is unpredictable so an outdoor ceremony is unlikely. We can get married anywhere like a park, middle of the street etc. (not just licensed venues), but I’m stuck for ideas.

Aside from parks, any other ideas of types of places I could look into?

Any walled gardens? Church gardens? Rooftop bar/garden? I reckon anywhere with a bit of greenery is bound to feel lovely.

Bandstand? Theres a gorgeous one near me, but you don't say what city you mean!

Or on a boat, or a local beauty spot?

In Scotland it’s the person who is licensed to conduct the wedding and not the venue. So you can marry anywhere that your celebrant agrees to - even your own house or garden.

Museums, botanical gardens, national trust.
Most will do weddings.

@bravotango Yes, they sound lovely, but autumn in Scotland could mean rain or snow so we would need to be indoors as a backup.
@TheLovleyChebbyMcGee Yeah, I didn’t want to be too specific about my location.
@I0NA Yeah, I know that, that’s the reason I said we can get married anywhere. No one’s house is big enough for a ceremony (and sitting on sofas would just be weird), gardens are all overlooked by nosey neighbours😕
@Oneeyeopen
Botanical gardens are still closed to the public and they don’t have a reopening date yet. We aren’t into museums, otherwise it would be a good shout.

Are there any art galleries? Usually they have a lot of room for people to move around and would have the facilities that you need (toilets, might have to consider seating, etc)

There are a few converted barns in various locations in Scotland where you can hold a wedding.
My friend got married at the zoo

Zoo, museum?

Maybe on-board a privately hired Tourist Rivercruiser out on one of the Scottish Lochs?I

Many are designed as suitable. In all weathers, and there's no chance of having any Gate Crashers on-board like there would be out in an open Public space!

I know someone who got married at Pitlochry Dam. The visitor centre overlooks it

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, we are too far from lochs, zoo and barns, plus we are literally looking for something that isn’t going to cost a lot to hire. We aren’t into art or museums, otherwise would have been perfect.

Any other ideas?

Can you give a clue as to location? (Can't think of many places in Scotland that doesn't have a loch within easy travelling distance!)

@OllyBJolly We are in the north and specifically looking for a place within city limits rather than travelling anywhere (partner just wants a quick ceremony and really isn’t into going anywhere out of town for it🙄🤷🏻‍♀️). I just think, we have a chance to get married anywhere, so picking a Registrars’ Office is boring, but maybe an interesting place isn’t meant to be, given my partner is unwilling to take part in the planning.

I don’t think it helps that we aren’t into museums, art or history because there is plenty of that around. I would easily get married in front of a waterfall or on the river bank, but autumn/winter+Scotland= not great for outdoor ceremonies.

My friends got married in this building in Glasgow and it was lovely! rcpsg.ac.uk/

Very historical and they were able to fry their photos taken in blytheswood square gardens which was lovely. Would there be anything like that near you?

If we had got married in Glasgow, I was leaning very strongly towards the Mitchell Library as I love reading, but it was a bit tricky logistically.

I think if you're in a northern city there would be plenty of nice buildings etc you could get married in, even a nice restaurant or town hall or something?

@mrstea301 Yeah, loads of historic buildings, including the Town Hall (well, it looks old anyway) but we prefer modern ones, at least inside, which is the main problem. A restaurant meal will be nice for after the ceremony.

If you simply want Cheap, Basic, and undercover then maybe try hiring a Meeting room in one of the budget hotel Chains.
Most large Travelodge, Premier Inn, or similar chains, will have a room equipped with a table and chairs, and can be dressed for the occasion depending on the budget and tastes of the hirers. There is often a wide choice of City or more rural locations too.

The meeting and conference rooms are normally charged by the hour or Block of, and some larger places may have the choice of more than one room and different sizes and seating capacities.

@SavannahLands Thanks, but we are looking for a non-hotel option.

Museums? Our local museum does wedding ceremonies.

Sorry...didn't read full thread. Do you need to be "into" a museum to marry there? Surely it's just whether you like the building.

Golf clubs, sports clubs? Our local football club hires out the function room too, it's very modern and looks over the pitch. We also have an athletics club with a modern, airy, mostly glass bar/function room.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the museum aspect if the building is important to you, for example, in Dundee you could get married in the v&a, which is a modern building and unusual, it doesn't really matter about it being a museum! It might be better to think about what kind of buildings you like and work it back from there? Do you have any "must have"s apart from it being a modern building within city limits that isn't a hotel?

@hellcatspangle I think we’re keeping that as an option for just a party in the coming years. We aren’t into football or other sports, so it would be weird getting married at one of these clubs.

@mrstea301 I like your thinking! No must haves that I can think of other than the ones you’ve mentioned. It doesn’t help that Scotland is so historic, with castles, museums etc. everywhere.

There's also options like barns and lodges. I live in a Scottish city and were in reach of a lot of really cool barn venues. The cowshed in Crail, kinkell byre, there's one in Perth.

Or what about oran mhor in Glasgow? Its a Converted church, or the renfrew Ferry? Or the science Centre in glasgow?

Or a distillery? St James Gate in Dublin (ok technically a brewery) has a gorgeous and modern sky bar, obvs thats not an option, but what about a place that has a rural setting so allows an outdoor ceremony, but has thd back up of an indoor venue. A fancy cocktail bar, or restaurant. Its very hard to suggest places when we don't know the city.

Another option is an air bnb. There are some gorgeous ones around,