Whacky weddings: where to get wed with a difference
With Valentine’s Day now safely behind us we have to assume that we’ve got droves of couples gagging to tie the knot in the not too distant future. The stately homes, cutesy castles and fancy hotels are probably booked up into the next 
millennium.
However unless you’re looking for a religious ceremony, who wants to get married in a venue heaving with medieval ghosts, rotting furniture, or in the case of the fancy hotels “function suites” kitted out with hideous patterned carpet, bland walls, insipid lighting and an atmosphere as welcoming as a supermarket’s parking lot?
But surely…
No way. If you want to be a bit daring in the UK right now and are going purely for a civil ceremony, there are many more adventurous options to choose from.
Right now there are more than 4,000 venues licensed for civil weddings and partnerships in the UK and by no means are they all as pedestrian as you might imagine. To get an up-to-date selection of what there actually is, go to http://www.civilvenuesuk.com, or key “licensed wedding venues” into your favourite search engine.
So what are the alternatives?
At my last count (for the fourth of my books on weddings) I found the following categories of licensed civil wedding/partnership venues in the UK:
- Hotels
- Restaurants
- Leisure Centres
- Community Centres
- Country Mansions
- Historic Buildings
- Castles
- Pavilions
- Universities
- Schools
- Museums
- Islands
- Barns
- Oasthouses
- Pumping Stations
- Mills
- Mines
- Quarries
- Racecourses
- Football Clubs
- Cricket Clubs
- Golf Clubs
- Breweries
- Film and TV Studios
- Botanical Gardens
- Theme Parks
- Zoos
- Theatres and Cinemas
- The London Eye
- Tower Bridge
- Blackpool Tower
- Airports
- Railway Stations
- Trains
- Ships
- Submarines
- …etc.
And what really is “off the wall” and worth considering?
How about Blackpool Tower? Naturally the Tower is licensed for civil weddings and its ballroom can be, quite simply, a stunning indoor venue capable of hosting quite a large group.
Next is Brighton on England’s south coast, which offers a number of interesting and unusual licensed wedding venues like the Brighton Sea Centre (I’ve been there – it’s modern, amazing, and all indoors) … Brighton Pavilion … something of a folly created by a Prince of Wales and now a treasured – and beautifully conserved – piece of English history … Brighton Pier (have also been there, many, many times when my son was little – he loved it and of course most of it is under cover) … and Brighton Racecourse, which is delightful but tends only to operate in early autumn or late spring.
The London Eye – yes, you can get married on that great big cartwheel by the bank of the River Thames, at a height of 135 metres above London, to be precise. Bearing in mind that the individual capsules do not take all that many travellers, probably you’d be wise to avoid inviting more than a small number of guests. But a variety of civil wedding and partnership packages are available if this is what you’d like to do … snacks, champagne and all.
Tower Bridge is another location licensed for weddings and capable of hosting receptions … and what a piece of English history! It probably isn’t suitable for large gatherings but for smaller groups, it’s worth considering.
OK, that’s vaguely interesting. But how about something completely different?
Into flying (via an aircraft?) Try Kemble Airfield, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire.
For bingo lovers you can do a civil wedding or partnership at the Beacon Bingo Hall in Barnet, Herts.
Now, should alcoholic drinks play a role in your lives, you could tie the knot at places like The Plassey Brewery, Eyton,
Wrexham (Wales), or Barnsgate Manor Vineyard, Crowborough.
And for sporting types the choice is wide, wide open. How about the Pavilion, Headingley, Stadium St Michael’s Lane Leeds? (As well as numerous football clubs around the country.)
Fancy sharing some eye-to-eye contact with wild animals? Various zoos around the UK have wedding ceremony facilities and I’m told that London Zoo, in particular, is a wonderful place to get wed.
And if getting married in a windmill is something you fancy, here’s your chance …
There are lots more interesting choices as wedding venues in the UK and if you want to know more, drop me a line at suze@suzanstmaur.com and I’ll share that information with you.
In the meantime though, if you fancy something a wee bit different and want to get hitched abroad, you might find this of interest despite it being reported in the dreaded Daily Mail!!
About SuzanStMaurBusiness, marketing and nonfiction writer, 20+ times published author, Owner and Coach at “HowToWriteBetter.net”
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20 Responses to Whacky weddings: where to get wed with a difference
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Some of those pictures – way up high and down in the depths of the ocean – make the idea of a zoo location positively tame by comparison
!
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
Caves and mines are intriguing, too – see below!
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
Some of those pictures – way up high and down in the depths of the ocean – make the idea of a zoo location positively tame by comparison
!
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
Caves and mines are intriguing, too – see below!
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
thanks Suze, this cant be timed better, as my daughter is getting marreid this summer and we are still trying to find the right venue and to arrange a nice wedding without costing us arm and leg each
great blog with lots of great ideas and details.. might drop you a line for more advices…
I’ve written 4 books about weddings, Suhad, with a fifth one coming out in July called “The A to Z of Wedding Wisdom” – others are about wedding speeches for women, eco-friendly weddings and winter weddings. Let me know which might be of interest to you.
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
Suhad,
We used Suze’s advice to have an eco friendly wedding, she really knows her wedding stuff!
Suze, what a great list, I love the thought of getting married in a mine – would the bridesmaids wear canary outfits
oh, all the fun you could have with a goldrush wedding themed in a mine!
thanks Suze, this cant be timed better, as my daughter is getting marreid this summer and we are still trying to find the right venue and to arrange a nice wedding without costing us arm and leg each
great blog with lots of great ideas and details.. might drop you a line for more advices…
I’ve written 4 books about weddings, Suhad, with a fifth one coming out in July called “The A to Z of Wedding Wisdom” – others are about wedding speeches for women, eco-friendly weddings and winter weddings. Let me know which might be of interest to you.
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
Suhad,
We used Suze’s advice to have an eco friendly wedding, she really knows her wedding stuff!
Suze, what a great list, I love the thought of getting married in a mine – would the bridesmaids wear canary outfits
oh, all the fun you could have with a goldrush wedding themed in a mine!
Actually there’s another interesting option I forgot to mention in my post – not everyone’s taste, but certainly unusual – caves and mines.
There are a few to choose from mostly in Wales and the extreme south-west of England. One in particular is Llechwedd Slate Caverns, Blaenau Ffestiniog Gwynedd. Here’s a quote from their website:
“Different underground venues at Llechwedd Slate Caverns have been licensed for weddings but so far everyone has chosen the shoreline of the dramatic underground lake, which tourists normally see at the end of their tour through ten son et lumiere sequences, each in a different chamber.”
“Like the tourists, wedding couples and their guests first have to descend into the Deep Mine on Britain’s steepest passenger railway, which has a gradient of 1 in 1.8.”
Have a look here … it really is fascinating:
http://www.llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk/weddings.html
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
Actually there’s another interesting option I forgot to mention in my post – not everyone’s taste, but certainly unusual – caves and mines.
There are a few to choose from mostly in Wales and the extreme south-west of England. One in particular is Llechwedd Slate Caverns, Blaenau Ffestiniog Gwynedd. Here’s a quote from their website:
“Different underground venues at Llechwedd Slate Caverns have been licensed for weddings but so far everyone has chosen the shoreline of the dramatic underground lake, which tourists normally see at the end of their tour through ten son et lumiere sequences, each in a different chamber.”
“Like the tourists, wedding couples and their guests first have to descend into the Deep Mine on Britain’s steepest passenger railway, which has a gradient of 1 in 1.8.”
Have a look here … it really is fascinating:
http://www.llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk/weddings.html
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
there is an ice castle in Finland (only in the winter months obviously) that is rather popular with weddings. Bit chilly for my tastes personally.
I think there is an “ice hotel” in Sweden, and also one in Quebec (Canada.) Bit chilly for me too….!
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
there is an ice castle in Finland (only in the winter months obviously) that is rather popular with weddings. Bit chilly for my tastes personally.
I think there is an “ice hotel” in Sweden, and also one in Quebec (Canada.) Bit chilly for me too….!
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
There’s some great choices in Brighton – the Pavilion would be lovely, or the Pier.
Oopsy, don’t know how that happened…
I’m glad we didn’t have the option of underground way back though – Ryan would have loved that, and I am claustrophobic….
There’s some great choices in Brighton – the Pavilion would be lovely, or the Pier.
Oopsy, don’t know how that happened…
I’m glad we didn’t have the option of underground way back though – Ryan would have loved that, and I am claustrophobic….