My fave wedding venues outside of London
10 awesome wedding venues outside of London // Hands up if you know about the wedding venue with an underground nightclub? Or the one with a 400 year old oak tree you can say your vows under? Perhaps you’ve seen the awe inspiring redwoods lining the path to a certain Sussex wedding venue? They’re all pretty amazing wedding venues from around the UK, and there’s more! Discover 10 of the UK’s coolest wedding venues right here, with this list of awesome locations for super cool couples to say ‘I do’!
Sparkford Hall, Somerset
A country mansion with creepers and greenery covering the walls… boasting an underground nightclub and with a reputation for embracing the daring, different and decadent!
Sparkford Hall exists to surprise and delight everyone who enters its doors… it’s a brilliant place, full of character and absolutely perfect for any wedding where the party is set to be EPIC!
Time was, all wedding venues were halls of one kind or another. And you knew what you were getting. But now… some of them have underground nightclubs so you can squirrel away your coolest wedding guests for an all-nighter and the party of a lifetime!
A wonderful venue in daytime too, Sparkford Hall isn’t your typical wedding venue – although a reception under canvas means you can style your day to your hearts content with pretty pinks or vibrant colours – the choice is yours!
The house and grounds are yours on an exclusive use basis for the weekend, for your wedding day – or even for the week! You’ll share parkland, gardens and paddocks with Shetland ponies, chickens, sheep and wildlife, with the grade II listed house becoming your perfect wedding venue. Choose from the library, main hall or barn for your ceremony – they’re roomy enough for 25 – 300 guests!
But the best is yet to come… once your vows are said, the meal is eaten, and guests are happily nuzzling the last of their wine, it’s time to introduce your guests to Sparkford Hall’s underground nightclub. It’s one of Sparkford’s major attractions and secures the venue a high place in our list of the coolest venues out there! Check out this festival wedding at Sparkford Hall in the summertime, which is blissfully full of colour and fun – and shows what an all-rounder of a wedding venue this really is!
Official website for Sparkford Hall: https://www.sparkfordhall.co.uk
Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
A wonderfully gritty and northern warehouse space with dark walls where inventive lighting will make the space pop! Hope Mill is a charity supporting performance arts in the local community. It’s a unique wedding venue in the north west, and in high demand (currently fully booked for the next two years of weddings!). The building itself has history: it’s a stunning Grade II listed industrial mill, a complete blank canvas and with space for up to 200 guests.
Perhaps your definition of cool is a little more edgy… and this Manchester wedding venue is the coolest city space of all. I mean – wow. The atmosphere in this place is electric.
This is one of our fave northern wedding venues and perfect for weddings where food and fun are a priority! Mel and Nick made Hope Mill Theatre amazing, focusing 100% on their guests and using the space as the subtlest, most incredible backdrop for their unique wedding in Manchester. LOVE it.
Official website for Hope Mill: https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk
Axnoller Estate, Dorset
A unique and luxurious ‘blank canvas’ wedding venue, Axnoller isn’t a hotel or a DIY venue, but somewhere perfectly in between. A glance at the website shows the huge space you’ll have available. You can marry indoors or outside, and your reception will take place in Axnoller’s huge wedding barn – a fabulous space in itself.
Stay all weekend with 24 guests in Axnoller’s two luxurious houses, each sleeping 12 and with luxuries like swimming pools and hot tubs – a wonderful luxury for your favourite humans to enjoy.
Surrounded by fields and with beautiful views all around, Axnoller is an amazing party space. Gorgeous couple Aysha and Neil were married here (on a rainy day, but beaming with smiles from beginning to end!) – and loved the place. There’s an option to marry outside, and the industrial luxe party barn makes a cracking location for your wedding breakfast.
Official website for Axnoller: https://www.axnollerevents.co.uk
Ash Barton Estate, Devon
With a nature-loving, boho vibe, Ash Barton is the perfect venue for an eco friendly wedding. Say your vows by the huge oak tree, then party ’til dawn with no corkage… and no curfew!
Ash Barton is an amazing venue for creative couples. The vibe is rustic and cool, with the most romantic spot to get married under an enormous oak tree in the gardens. Gorgeous Léonie and Leo were the first couple to ever be married in the gazebo by the oak tree.
Ash Barton is well known in Devon for its laid back vibe and relaxed wedding receptions. It’s a blank canvas for you to style and colour as much as you wish – perfect for vibrant styling but also wonderful if you’re planning on simple foliage and candlelight, or a softer and more modern colour palette.
As one of Devon’s exclusive use wedding venues – meaning it can be yours for the whole weekend – Ash Barton is a wedding bloggers’ favourite. Léonie and Leo’s rainbow bright Ash Barton wedding featured on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings!
Official website for Ash Barton: https://www.ashbarton.com
The Chilli Barn, Yorkshire
A proper forward-thinking wedding venue, the Chilli Barn’s plant-based dining sets it ahead of the pack as one of our favourite venues. With food at the forefront of everything, this is a foodie couple’s dream wedding venue!
The vibe is relaxed, farmhouse courtyard style, with magical lighting and bunting pretty much all you need to decorate the place for a fabulous summer wedding.
The venue is in a converted family farmhouse, set out over a collection of rooms. If you’re lucky with the weather this is a dreamy space for outdoor dining too!
Becky & Andy married here and had the loveliest walk to a local beauty spot for some of the coolest wedding photos I’ve seen. Take a look at their Chilli Barn wedding! (and can you spot the flying pigs?!)
Check out Daisy & Dan’s joyful alternative wedding at the Chilli Barn here!
Official website for The Chilli Barn: http://thecheerfulchilli.co.uk
Walcot Hall, Shropshire
Eclectic furnishings, curiosities and talking points – and a vibrant, joyful, uniquely turquoise ballroom where you can have your ceremony and reception!
There’s something really characterful and fun about Walcot Hall, with its unmistakeable turquoise ballroom making it one of England’s coolest wedding venues. The vibe is a brilliantly fun clash of historic stately home and fun, quirky style – perfect for couples with personality and a cheeky sense of humour!
Walcot’s character shines at Soph & Jack’s wedding – from the mad Merc overrun with action figures to the rocking horse, flamingo and hidden treasures in the gardens. A little peek at some of Walcot’s highlights will have you falling right in love with the place!
Then there’s Hannah & Alex’s fabulous Walcot Hall wedding day with classic DMs for a walk in the grounds; amazing rainbow confetti; gloriously messy winter florals and the groom riding a lion… as you do!
Official website for Walcot Hall: https://walcothall.com
Patricks Barn at Chiddinglye, Sussex
It’s the redwoods which make Patrick’s Barn an incredible place to get wed. They line the pathway, adding a sense of history and timelessness to the venue’s woodland boho vibes.
A fabulous outdoor wedding location in Sussex, with that incredible redwood-lined path to take your guests’ breath away – for nature lovers or outdoorsy types, this is as cool as wedding venues get.
Say your vows under Chiddinglye’s 400 year old oak tree, mingle on the terrace and enjoy the beautiful rhododendrons as you head to the 17th century timber-framed barn for your rustic wedding reception.
Fascinatingly, from the website you’ll see Chiddinglye is also available for film shoots. Their website tells us “Previous shoots include ‘O Fat White Woman’, 1971, ‘The Alan Clark Diaries’ 2004, and a fashion shoot for the French singer Nolwenn Leroy in 2010”. Not quite your mainstream Downton Abbey film set… but ultimately cooler, n’est-ce pas?
Official website for Chiddinglye Farm & Patrick’s Barn: http://www.chiddinglye.co.uk/weddings_parties.html
Oxleaze Barn, Cotswolds
An organic farm with a genuine focus on sustainability – and a blank canvas wedding barn at the centre of it all.
Oxleaze is perfectly placed in the Cotswolds and has a romantic, modern and airy vibe to it. You get exclusive use of the barn and courtyard gardens, which are landscaped and beautifully lit for a magical vibe as evening falls.
Hopping onto the ‘sustainable weddings’ bandwagon for a moment, eco-friendly couples will be thrilled to know that Oxleaze’s heating and hot water is generated by their biomass boiler. The Mann family have owned Oxleaze since 1949 and are committed to sustainable and ethical farming. And who doesn’t love an eco friendly wedding venue?!
See Oxleaze at its absolute best decked out with fabulously colourful pom poms, tassels and florals for Georgie & Lewis’s vibrant, quirky and unique summer wedding
Official website for Oxleaze Barn: http://www.oxleazebarn.co.uk
Hestercombe Gardens, Devon
A cool wedding venue with tons of history, a breathtaking orangery for your ceremony and ancient-feeling hall (with whitewashed walls) for your wedding breakfast. And not that we want to bang on about boilers too much, but Hestercombe ticks our sustainability boxes AGAIN with its biomass boiler heating the house and gardens, with help from their sustainably managed woodlands. Win!
Hestercombe combines history with a dash of formality and a whole world of beautiful escapes – from the landscaped gardens to the fabulous orangery, Hestercombe will wow you and win your hearts!
Hestercombe’s most strikingly beautiful space is the orangery: a wonderful setting for an elegant wedding ceremony, with beautiful light and stunning garden views. For a timeless and beautiful reception, the Bampfylde Hall dates from 1680 and has the bumpy white walls to prove it – light, huge, and atmospheric all wrapped up in a bundle of ‘wow’.
Come the evening, guests will fall in love with Hestercombe’s covered courtyard space – think fairy lights and festoons, twinkling the night away to the sounds of a sultry saxophonist or awesome wedding band and this is wedding venue heaven!
Official website for Hestercombe: https://www.hestercombe.com
Clevedon Hall, Somerset
Grandeur, glamour and talking toilets… exclusive, posh, charming and a foodie paradise with a Michelin-trained chef!
Recently refurbished Clevedon Hall has an air of characterful grandeur – an exclusive, posh, welcoming and charming wedding venue for cool couples. The food is the star, with Clevedon’s Michelin trained chef creating a wedding breakfast to delight your guests!
Clevedon’s guest bedrooms are all individually styled – each with, we understand, talking toilets and heated seats. As wedding venues go, that’s as cool as it is unique – and definitely a talking point for your guests the morning after!
The handcrafted gazebo in the garden at Clevedon is a lovely spot to say your ‘i do’s’ with terraced seating for 150 ceremony guests. There are glorious gardens and even (I quote) “room to land your helicopter”. (Did I mention it was posh?)
Official website for Clevedon Hall: https://clevedonhall.co.uk
And that is your lot for now folks! Well done if you made it to the end of my top ten wedding venues outside of London! I’ve obviously shot at many more venues and I could do this type of list 5 times over…but these are faves for a reason. They are stunning and the staff that run them are ace too. You’d be in totally safe hands if you booked any one of them…and if you do make sure you holler at your homeslice (ME) too! 😀
PS If you think these are all very well but we are looking for an awesome London venue then – worry not – just LOOK HERE!