Affordable Kent venues

Finding information out about village halls is not always the easiest many don't have websites what we did when hunting was looking at villages sometimes even on google maps and working out if there was a village hall then finding out contact details.

Another option could be a farm shop/farm cafe as they may have a barn on site which is suitable - this is what we did and it worked out perfectly was under 1K to hire for 4 days and was the perfect venue - they had never held a wedding in the barn before so needed some convincing but it looked amazing and they allowed us the flexibility we wanted.

You could try sports halls or School or Scout halls? i remember looking a local cricket clubs and there were some great value options! I once worked at an angling club for an event - Bowls clubs often have halls kitted out with a bar too. Good luck - keep us posted. Will be interested to see what you find!

This may be too far into kent but thatched barn in Dover? We just had our uk party there and they are amazing! Can use your own caterers, they have a cash bar, lots of parking and a travel lodge nearby for guests and they remain open until midnight. I can't rate them enough! You can't legally marry there but they can hold ceremony's you just have to make it official before or after if you wanted everything in one place.

I'm not sure what the charges are like, but have a look at The House Meadow, Bloomsburys at Biddenden & Secret Garden at Merstham. Hallsforhire.com is pretty good for the village hall venues. Coco Wedding Venues also has some beautiful venues too. I had a wedding at Swallowtail Hill Farm once - it's pretty much as it sounds and you would need a marquee of some description, but it was so beautiful and they had the freedom. The actually had a hand-fasting under a big oak tree and did the legal bit before.

Have you heard of the lost village of Dode? http://www.dodevillage.com Excellent venue and staff, and it'd bang on £1900 too! I shot a wedding there in 2014 and totally loved it! Check it out:

http://www.clickclackphoto.co.uk/nada-ian-in-the-lost-village-of-dode

It's worth taking a look at! Mark.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I already looked at some of those suggested like the lost village at dode but for one reason or another weren't quite right despite being gorgeous! We are definitely still looking at the village halls and got some viewings in a couple of weeks for Tower House Canterbury, Brogdale Collections and Alexander Centre Faversham. Am waiting on info from the Hop Farm too. Wow, I love the look and ethos of Swallowtail Farm! I think Sussex might be the way to go now: found out about a place in East Grinstead (not too far a drive) called East Court that looks really reasonable but still quite pretty with loads of flexibility to do what you want. Will keep the thread posted!

Tower House is a lovely building set in the Westgate Gardens so great for photos but not sure about random tourists etc getting in the way. It's only been running as a venue for a few months so not sure what they can offer. When im in canterbury i walk past it on my way into town and wecalsways wondered why they didnt use it for weddings instead if the nasty registry office buikding.

There's a place called the night yard (I think) that seems to be very much an open space. KCC have a wedding mag called a Kentish ceremony that lists all the licensed venues and did just find a TOG who seemed to have used a lot of the type if venue you were looking for. Can't find it now but Rebecca someone.

Yes, you can also use the venue finder on KCC's website.

Have you considered unlicensed venues such as Farthingloe barn near Folkestone/Dover or Corpus Christi in Maidstone

I'm hiring the Night Yard near bridge, Kent for my reception. It's basically a large amount of open space and you can get married and have a reception there. They also have their own bar, indoor toilets and allow you to do pretty much what you want with the space.

They have also been really friendly around arranging things and allow you to set up from 9am the day before and are flexible on when you leave and when you need to clear up the next day.

http://www.thenightyard.com/