What do I need to know to get married at an estate?
Why would you want to get married in a grey city? In and around London there are a surprising number of historical country houses where you can enjoy a fairy tale wedding with friends and family.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy: budget-wise it will cost you more than a hall in the city, and there’s also enough to consider when it comes to rules and weather conditions. In any case, getting married at an estate is very much a possibility!
The right look and feel
Country houses come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from a centuries-old castle surrounded by a beautiful English landscape and trees to farmer Ed’s recently renovated shack along the motorway. Of course, the latter won’t promote itself as such, which is why it’s very important to research the various country houses and not only compare based on price.
After you’ve made a preliminary selection online and requested quotes from several wedding venues (for example, wedding venues north London or event venues in London), you should drive out to get a good look at these places.
Take into account the weather
A major advantage of getting married at an estate is that you’ll be out of the city for a bit. It would be a shame if it rained for the better part of the day.
Be sure to plan your wedding between May and October. The best guarantee of nice weather is in July and August. However, during the summer holidays this is not quite practical for many people. A good second option is to marry in June.
Since you don’t know ahead of time if it’s going to rain or not, you can take this into account in your action plan, for example, by making an outdoor programme and an alternative plan for indoors.
Book well in advance
Do you want to get married at the end of June in a castle or an estate? Then there’s a chance that a hundred other couples want to do that as well, which is why you should book as much ahead of time as possible.
As a general rule, you should book eight months in advance, but even more in advance is better.
Are you not sure about the venue? Or are you hesitating between various locations? Sometimes, there’s also the possibility of taking out an option on a location. Discuss the possibilities of this when you request a quote.
Enough places to stay
A fairy tale wedding loses some of its charm if half of the wedding party has to stay in a business motel along the motorway.
Luckily, there are enough country houses in and around London where you can also stay at the location itself or very close by, and do so in style. For example, at an estate in Bromley or at a castle in Surrey. Do you want a private wedding? Then choose an estate you can rent out in its entirety.