Ashridge House is a spectacular, award-winning wedding venue in Hertfordshire, only 30 miles from London. Once a royal residency and steeped with over 700 years of history, Ashridge House is the dream wedding venue for your special day.
As a country, Britain is famous for it's historical buildings, and none of these is more magical than a castle. For those hoping for the ultimate fairytale wedding day, then a castle wedding venue is the ideal place to get married. From tall stone turrets to Gothic architecture and banqueting halls, having a castle wedding is the perfect way to feel like royalty on your wedding day.
Most castle wedding venues in Bedfordshire will have a civil ceremony license, enabling couples to be legally wed in one of their rooms or in the grounds. If you want to marry in the castle grounds, contact the venue to make sure they have an outdoor ceremony license. If your chosen castle venue doesn’t have a civil ceremony license, then you can always enquire about holding your civil wedding ceremony at a registry office nearby or having a humanist ceremony, before hosting your wedding reception at the castle.
Often, castles have their own chapel or church on site, which is where its inhabitants would have religious services. This means that you may be able to have a religious wedding ceremony without leaving the castle grounds! If your castle wedding venue doesn't have a chapel or church, then you may be able to find one near by. When discussing your wedding with your preferred castles, be sure to find out if having a religious ceremony is possible at that specific castle in Bedfordshire.
If you need a wheelchair friendly castle wedding venue, then you will be impressed by how accessible castle venues can be. Most castles will be a tourist attraction in their local area and is therefore important that wheelchair users can be accommodated. However, the castle may have areas that are deemed unsuitable for wheelchair users. Be sure to ask your venues ahead of time if accessibility is top of your priorities list.
Castle wedding venues in Bedfordshire can be surprisingly affordable. Even huge palaces and historical monuments don’t always need an extravagant wedding budget, so it’s always worth enquiring. For those on a strict budget and need to save money on your castle wedding, then opting for a midweek package or marrying in an off-peak season is a brilliant way to cut costs.
Castles in Bedfordshire are perfect for couples who don’t want to do lots of decorating at their wedding venue. After all, they’re often sumptuously decorated in the first place. With incredible artwork, hanging tapestries, candelabra and suits of armour, castle decor is hard to replicate. However, as they’re often listed buildings, there may be restrictions as to how you can decorate. Many castles will not allow paper confetti and you may be restricted on whether you can hang decorations or bunting.
A classic fairytale wedding theme is perfect for a castle venue. Think horse-drawn carriages, ball gown wedding dresses, shimmering chandeliers and deep red roses and you have the perfect castle wedding theme.
If you’re a history lover, then a medieval wedding theme is also perfect for a castle. Castles in Bedfordshire often have recommended entertainers such a falconers and dancers that are ideal for this, and your guests will certainly enjoy a tasty medieval feast.
We also find that Christmas is an ideal time of year for your castle wedding, as castles are often richly decorated for Christmas with candles, trees and traditional touches. Take advantage and have a beautiful winter wedding in a castle!
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.
