Ceremony Only Venues in Essex
Recently I have had a couple of clients who wished me to locate a venue that will allow a ceremony followed by a drink reception with canapés. Neither client wanted to have a formal wedding breakfast or evening reception. One client was taking immediate family out to dinner following the drink reception and the other wanted a larger evening party a few weeks later.
The beauty of this request is I researched high and low within Essex to find a suitable venue for them which got me thinking, surely this research would be useful to brides out there conducting a similar search.
So here are my suggestions for venues that can accommodate a ceremony + drinks reception with no insistence on a wedding breakfast or evening reception. So in no particular order:
Mulberry House
Virtual Tour – http://www.mulberry-house.com/weddings/virtual_tours.html
Mulberry House is a hotel and restaurant with a purpose built event space located in Ongar, Essex. They have the cedar room which looks very similar to a chapel so creates that romantic feel for a ceremony, the space can be reduced so guests are not as ‘lost’ if your numbers are low.
The other option is the garden room which I think is beautiful and modern looking out into the garden but this will cost slightly more as you have to cover what they would earn from this room for luncheons/high tea.
You’ll get a better idea of the space from the virtual tour (link above).
Hedingham Castle
This castle is stunning and perfect for intimate ceremony only weddings. For a ceremony only option the service is at midday and carriages at 1:30pm – this is because they then have a full service wedding in the afternoon. One of my clients choose this option a couple of years ago and having the champagne and canapés in the castle grounds was an honour.
Baddow Park
This private venue is located just outside Chelmsford; I thought the backdrop of the house would be pretty for photos. They are happy to accept ceremony only bookings. There are 2 areas for the ceremony, depending if you want traditional or modern you can choose the conservatory or the dining room. You can also have photos taken in the house or outside in the gardens.
Hylands House
Hylands House in Chelmsford always reminds me of a mini “White House” as that’s exactly what it looks like. The house is stunning both exterior and interior being perfect as a backdrop for your photos. You could always leave the drinks reception by taking a walk in the park!
Kings Oak High Beach
I love the modern feel of this venue definitely modern and sexy. It’s a Victorian building but the décor looks more contemporary especially the beach club. They have plans to refurbish the bedrooms to make it a working hotel again but that won’t be until end of 2014.
The Reid Rooms
The Reid Rooms were originally built 200 years ago as stables for Marks Hall Farmhouse, now of course they have been renovated as a dedicated event venue. Their ceremony room is a separate building and is lovely, more rustic then modern but clean lines.
After the ceremony drinks can be in the courtyard or in the building. You hire the Reid Rooms on an exclusive use so there are lots of areas to take advantage of.
