help please...which venue to pick??

Hi there Jelly

Well you have visited two fab venues there. I too looked at Quorn Country Hotel when I was venue searching! Hothorpe Hall looks stunning too and out of the 2 I would go for the exclusive use of the Hall. It may be a little further away and more expensive but don't forget that it will be exclusively yours for the entire day/night. No bumping into other non wedding guests nor potentially another bride. I think it would be worth the extra and the travelling distance. I've never been to Hothorpe Hall but have their site bookmarked in my favourites. It depends really - are you getting married in a church near you then travelling? Or at the venue? I don't think that an hours travel is too much. I have a friend who is getting married in Brum but having a reception etc in Evesham which is 45 mins away! Just have contingency plan for alternative routes etc should there be any delays on the road that could hold you and your guests up.

If you've already set your heart on venue 1 then you won't deep down want venue 2 even though it is a super venue! Sorry I can't be more helpful its just a case of you making a decision on your preference and whether that £2k is money worth spending!

x

I agree with videogal - I think exclusive use is worth that bit extra. And an hour away isn't that far really, especially not for a wedding.

Even though it may be a bit more expensive, if it's in budget then I'd go for the one with the 'wow factor'. You're not going to look back a year after the wedding and think "I wish we'd gone for the cheaper one"!

What does your heart say? If they were both the same price, would you have a dilemma?

If you can afford the extra £2000 and feel happy paying it then an hours drive away is nothing, I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor.

I think from just reading your post you have your heart set on the first one! Our venue is about 40mins from our house, and a lot further for others but we will have exclusive use which was important to me!

I agree with Moya59 as she said from reading your post your heart is et on the first one. Its your big day, im sure people will travel an hour you have exclusive use of the hall..go for it if you've fallen in love with it xxx

As long as its within your budget, go for the venue you really want. People expect to travel to weddings so don't let that be an issue for you. You wouldn't want to be at one venue on your wedding day wishing you were somewhere else.

Hey everyone and thanks for the replies!

I think you are all right, and that I have really fallen for Hothorpe, however the practical side of me keeps thinking about what we could do with that two grand we'd save! To complicate matters further, H2B actually likes the two pretty much equally so I''ll feel a bit guilty if I push for the more expensive one when he's happy either way.

Having said that, we have decided to follow all of your wonderful advice and stop worrying about the distance - basically if anyone can't be bothered to travel an hour for our wedding then we don't want to pay for their dinner anyway! We're having a civil ceremony so it's not like there's any travelling between venues either.

Oh well, looks like we'll be taking a serious look at the budget to see exactly how much difference that two grand would make. Hothorpe release the date we've reserved after their wedding showcase on sunday, so only six days till we have to make the decision, aaargh!

Thanks again ladies, will let you know what happens!x

HI Novice Bride - just wondered, as an ex-employee, would you recommend QCH as a good wedding venue? I'm not sure how much it's changed since you were there - it doesn't have the marquee anymore as far as i know - but a perspective from someone who really knows the place would be a huge help! I know a couple of people who've been to weddings there recently and thought they were brilliant, so I'm starting to think maybe I should follow my head a bit more (and spend that extra 2k on a nicer honeymoon!)

Mostly we've been wondering what the grounds are like for the photos, as possibly our favourite thing about Hothorpe is the setting. From what I can see on the website they do look nice, but as it was chucking it down with rain when we went to look round we didn't get to look, so any opinions would be really useful! Thanks

It does sound like you prefer Hothorpe Hall, and as previously said you may never be truely happy if you settle for second best, so if the extra 2k is still within your budget then go for it!! x