An enchanting country estate in Bridgnorth, Shropshire. Davenport House is available exclusively for you on your special day. Complete with luxury accommodation and onsite cottages for your special guests.
Being an exclusive use wedding venue, our spectacular castle is fully yours for the day, along with the undivided attention of our staff – all ensuring that everything goes perfectly as planned on your wedding day, all within a beautiful venue.
This Georgian Country House Wedding venue in Ironbridge, overlooks the River Severn and Dale End Park. Licensed for ceremonies inside and out. With beautiful gardens perfect for your wedding photography, our venue offers you the complete package.
New Shropshire Barn wedding Venue for 2022 thats not been over commercialised. Offering charming original features set in the north Shropshire countryside. Please visit the website for further info and prices. Now taking viewings!
19th Century Country House Wedding Venue, Lilleshall Hall is the former home & hunting lodge of the Duke of Sutherland. Steeped in rich history, surrounded by stunning gardens of which make a great backdrop for your wedding photography.
Your fairy-tale begins at the foot of the Wrekin set in beautiful Shropshire countryside. A starting point for wonderful memories with romantic gardens and lake makes a stunning backdrop for your special day.
Celebrate in style, with all the flexibility and freedom which this family run venue has to offer for your own magical day in this peaceful location. Couples are welcome to tailor and decorate from start to finish in their own wedding design.
Whether you are looking for a civil ceremony, civil partnership or a church wedding, The Hundred House can offer you an intimate wedding day that will be remembered for years to come.
With all the uncertainty surrounding weddings due to the covid-19 pandemic shutting down venues, we have space available later this year as well as 2021. For information on availability please get in touch.
How is a venue licensed for civil ceremonies? Find out why civil ceremony licensed venues are so popular.
If you want a ceremony in Shropshire that's legally binding without getting married in a church, and you’re getting married in England or Wales, then a civil ceremony is the best match for you. You can either get married in a register office, or you can have a civil ceremony at an approved wedding venue. To be an approved civil ceremony venue, wedding venues need to apply for a civil ceremony license.
Most wedding venues in Shropshire will have a civil ceremony license, however some don't, so you will want to ensure that your chosen venue does before booking them. The alternative is marrying in a humanist or spiritual ceremony, which will allow you to marry in any venue (or in an unlicensed part of an otherwise licensed venue, such as a garden or private beach), but will need to be followed by a legal civil ceremony in a register office at another date.
Take a look at our FAQ below for everything you need to know about your civil ceremony licensed wedding venue.
Not just traditional wedding venues have civil ceremony licenses. Some more unique venues including safari parks, tree houses and beach venues have this license. If they’re on our civil ceremony venue list, then you can legally marry there. However, don’t assume that more traditional venues always have a civil ceremony license. It costs wedding venues money to apply for a license, so some just host humanist or spiritual ceremonies, or simply host wedding receptions rather than ceremonies.
When a venue in Shropshire applies for a civil ceremony license it needs to be assessed by the local council. This includes whether or not they’re in a safe and reasonable state for members of the public, and if they meet fire safety regulations. If you're wanting to have your wedding in a private home or in gardens, you will be unable to do this. The venue needs to be open to the public regularly. If you’re hoping to marry on private land, in a back garden or a large home that isn’t available to the public, you’ll need to hold your legal ceremony in a register office instead.
If you want to tie the knot in an outdoor wedding ceremony, then your wedding venue will need a separate civil ceremony license for this. Due to the law, if you get married outside it still needs to be under a fixed permanent structure. Don’t presume that any permanent fixture in a wedding venue’s garden will be automatically covered by a civil ceremony license. Venues need to purchase licenses for separate structures. If you want to know if you can get married in a garden, search our ‘Outdoor wedding ceremony’ filter or simply enquire with your chosen wedding venue in Shropshire.
The law does not consider marquees to be permanent structures, even ones that are up all year round. If you want to hold your wedding in a marquee, it's best to get married in a nearby church or licensed venue indoors before the reception. One way to get around this is to have your ceremony over the threshold of a doorway. This way, your guests can be seated in the marquee while you are technically indoors.
A civil wedding ceremony has certain legal requirements. You must have two witnesses over the age of 18, and you will need to exchange contractual words of marriage. What you say during your ceremony can be changed to a certain degree. Ask your registrar about what needs to be included and work around that to make your own words and promises.
You can't have your civil ceremony in a religious building in Shropshire, such as a church. It applies the same way round - you can't have a religious aspect to your civil ceremony. Therefore, unfortunately you are not allowed to have a religious reading during your civil ceremony.
If you wish to get married in Scotland, there's many more venues that you can do this is. This is because in Scotland, humanist ceremonies are legally binding and in a humanist ceremony there's a lot more flexibility on what you and your partner can say. Unlike civil ceremonies, humanist weddings do not require specific wording, or for the ceremony to be under a permanent structure. You can also include religious elements in your humanist ceremony. If you’re a bride in Scotland, ask your wedding venue about what kind of ceremony would work best for you.
Elaine has over 8 years of experience working with wedding venues, and advises many of the top hotel and venue brands on their wedding marketing. She has a deep understanding of statistics that can accurately predict the online populaity of a particular venue and she is happy to share that knowledge with wedding couples and venues.
