Help I can't find a venue!! (Kent)

Rianos in Maidstone is lovely! http://www.rianos.co.uk/maidstone-weddings.asp

It was the first venue we looked at and we fell in love with it - only decided against it because we didn't want to go with a venue where we are tied to their catering as there was a specific caterer we wanted. The owner is really friendly and there's a Travelodge and Premier Inn within walking distance.

You can either hire just a room, or the whole building, and I'm sure when we looked it would have fit in with a £5000 budget.

Have you looked at cooling castle barn? It's on the outskirts of Rochester. I'm getting married there next christmas......

Danson house and boathouse in bexleyheath or Hall place. Both are beautiful and good prices

the turkey mill

the hop farm

cooling castle

the command house in the dockyard

the roffen, the king George and the King Charles are all good prices even if they are hotels

the lost village of dode

there are loads more but that should give you a start x

Thanks! Trying to find something a bit special on a budget and we dont always agree!

We would definitely prefer a venue that does both the ceremony and reception

Hi, my venue is Kent Life Museum at Aylesford, lovely and quirky. Package for all food and drink (inc evening food) is £92pp. Venue hire is extra but having looked at lots of venues in the same area (including some mentioned in replies here) it is very reasonable. It has a Premier Inn right next door/walking distance. Good luck!

Nurstead Court in Meopham we looked at; indoor ceremony in old house and reception in marquee outside. Within that budget if i remember correctly

Thanks all

Has anyone looked at used the barn in tunbridge wells? Venue looks nice just not sure on the food but pictures are hard to judge by

We had a booking with The Barn and dismissed it before we even step foot in there unfortunately. The postcode took us to the train station nearby, so we struggled to find it which wouldn't be good for guests. And then when we got there they don't have a car park - just a private road which is open to anyone to park. Whilst the owner said he could reserve some of the road, it still wasn't enough for us and we didn't like the idea of our guests parking there.

The venue was nice inside, for a smaller ceremony. But again the back room the bride has to walk through so she's hidden before making her entrance wasn't the nicest, just a dishwashing room essentially i didn't want a new dress to walk across! Upstairs for reception meal was nice though, not an open plan layout as it has a square section in the middle to see down to the ground floor. And outside there's the train tracks right next door which could get noisy.

All my own opinion, the owner seemed very comfortable and knows what he is doing, it just wasn't for me.

The Plough at Leigh is another venue we looked at (but it's reception only), a country pub barn; that was nice. There's the option to hire the entire premises still within the range.

I am using Oakwood House in Maidstone. They were fab as I didn't want a formal wedding type reception and most other venues were charging for packages with things I didn't really want. They have menus starting from about £12 a head for a buffet. We are having a hot buffet at £16.50 per head 100 guests comes in at £1650 then room hire for their room is £1500 (may be more by the time you get married but not by a lot I shouldn't think). They let you do your own decorations or will do them for you at an extra cost. Our disco is £350. They have a variety of rooms. We will be the only wedding that night which I liked. They have 40 bedrooms that they offer discount for wedding guests and they start about £75. However Maidstone town centre is really close and there are loads of cheaper hotels there, travel Inn and Travel Lodge included.

Oakwood House really let us pick and chose what we wanted to our budget. It is not really a proper Hotel more of a conference venue with rooms but really nice, they have good gardens too. I have to say the approach is a bit strange through a school playing field but once you get to the hotel you wouldn't know. I think our day is coming in at just of the £5000 with drinks etc.

Definitely look at Cooling Castle Barn. They have brilliant packages, great prices and amazing service. I know they are having an open day on Sep 7th - might be worth popping along?

Only problem with them is the waiting list!!

Hiya!

Not sure whether you have chosen a venue yet - but The Alexandra Suite in Swanley is under new management and is really reasonably priced! Packages are from £1999 - £4800 I think.

They're on Facebook aswell

xx

Cooling castle barn has been mentioned a lot and we were going to book with them before deciding abroad. I strongly recommend going there on their open day as that is when they open their new calendar and if you are after a weekend in summer you have to fight for it as they have a waiting list lol. Others to consider are

thatched barn farthingloe Dover (might be just out of your drive range but it's our party venue and its lovely!)

quex barn birchington

mount ephraim

kent life