Choosing a Venue

The venue you choose will ultimately dictate the sort of wedding you have, so it is well worth spending some time to consider what it really is you want.

The venues fall broadly into the following categories:

Stately home/mansion
Hotel
Church/Village Hall
Museum/Gallery
Corporate/Function room
Other (well done for being very original!)

You need to choose whether location really is everything. To me it is. My advice to you would be: try to choose somewhere that means something to you (preferably to both of you) because that matters so much more than impressive stately rooms.

We've decided to have an Autumn wedding up in the north east. There's a place in Northumberland which means so much to me and it looks beautiful on a crisp Autumn day (because obviously it's going to be one of those glorious bright and frosty days when we get married); the grey smoke from the chimneys curls through the still air and hangs over the valley and is quite simply stunning. I decided years ago that I'd love to have my wedding there.

The huge spanner in the works?

The venue - henceforth known as Venue X - is a 13th century listed building and is closed until the owners are granted planning permission.

They've been waiting since November.

English Heritage have become involved.

Bugger.

We've visited three other venues as back-ups: Eshott Hall, Longhirst Hall, and Langley Castle. The bathrooms alone at Langley are enough to make me want to have my wedding there (they have hot tubs AND saunas!!) and the regency style of Eshott would allow me to swan around like Elizabeth Bennet.

And all have spectacular views of the Northumberland countryside.

But they're not Venue X.

~x~