Venues not marking the mark

Are you set on a certain style (e.g. hotel, barn, country house etc), or are there other places you might not have considered before? I would say with a date of August '24 you don't have to start totally panicking yet. You have plenty of time to look around and hopefully find somewhere that does grab you. So don't give up and settle just yet - there is still time!

I’d look at a few more! We viewed two venues that we thought would be great (based on their brochures/socials/communication) but they really weren’t what we’d expected. We viewed three more a month later, and absolutely loved one of them! They were all the same type of venue/similar prices but we found them all to be very different (in terms of outdoor space, accommodation, supplier flexibility, corkage etc.) so if you view more venues that you think are similar to the ones you’ve already seen, they might surprise you!
If you find somewhere perfect that’s out of budget, could you consider a weekday or a different month? We found that made a huge difference to the cost at some venues.

View quoted message Thanks for your message.
We have a few more places to view so fingers crossed like you said we will love 1 of them.
In regards to changing months or having a weekday wedding - we just can't. Being a Teacher I can only get married at certain times of the year. I wouldn't want to get married mid week during half term as we wouldn't have our nearest and dearest there especially those coming from abroad plus the summer is my longest holiday just easier.

Totally get you on not liking venues and understand you wanting to do it when you can have the time to telax with all your friends and family is it that the venues arent decorated compared to the pics you have seen or there not you x💗

View quoted message So our wedding is rather large as my family on both sides is alot.
My Fiancé wants to have a wkend wedding which I'm okay with. Starting on Friday and leaving sunday.
Trying to find places like that has been easy manly manor house and stately homes however the numbers are so small. Like 80-120
When we have looked around some of the places. They say they can accommodate for example 300+ People only for us to be told its only 150.
Then I have really struggled with the fact that I'm Being dictated to about the food we eat at the wedding. My family heritage is caribbean and my fiance is Irish and Welsh so we want a mix and match and were shocked when we were told it had to be standard catering of the venues choice.
Some of the venues photos from the brochure and socials have been so different. Many of the venues need major work doing to them, mainly decorating and things.
We just can't seem to find a middle ground

View quoted message Thats such a hard think i hate the fact you cant have your own food and wedding venues shouldnt need decorating xx💗

Hey Estina, Have you looked into Hilton London Tower Bridge? I'm Jamaican/Grenadian and the food at the venue has flavour and the rooms are stunning. I didn't book in the end as I'm only having a small ceremony of 50 guests so went with somewhere smaller and intimate but would definitely recommend them. Hilton Syon Park is another good one for your guest numbers and for food. Also Royal Mahal Tooting another option.

I'd say always email first to get a quote and then also look on Trip Advisor to read the reviews and see more photos. I only visited two venues in person as with my job i'm just too busy but thankfully i've found my dream venue! So try and do as much as you can on your PC before even heading out to the venues to save time Good luck in your searching x

View quoted message Awww thanks for the suggestions but we clearly are setting ourselves up for a challenge. We don't want a London wedding.
It's just not for us.
However I appreciate you.

View quoted message

No worries and ok! Really hope something comes your way x

View quoted message Thank you so much 💓

Good luck with the next viewings, I hope you find somewhere! I looked through the council websites for licensed venues (each council has a list available) and I found lots more that way, that hadn’t come up in the venue finders or via Google searches - it might be worth a look if you need more options in the area where you want to get married.
We have external caterers, that we chose and worked with to create a menu. It worked out more affordable and gave us a lot more choice! On Coco Venues you can filter for ‘allows external catering’ under features.