After hours of planning and preparation, many couples feel that their wedding day was over far too quickly. An increasingly popular trend is the "weekend wedding," a concept which lengthens out the big day to give couples more time to celebrate their nuptials. It allows family and friends to be together for not just a day, but a weekend - with double the time, double the memories can be made.
There are an increasing number of venues which can be hired for a weekend wedding; St. Audries Park is a beautiful example located in the Quantock Hills, which offers sea views and 100 acres of deer park for guests to enjoy. With the rise of the weekend wedding, St. Audries Park has seen more and more couples wanting to 'take over' the venue for the whole weekend.
Why have a weekend wedding?
The night before - The first time the bride meets the guests is after she's married! With a weekend wedding, you can meet and greet all your loved ones before the big day itself. This is also a great opportunity to introduce guests who may not know each other, making the mingling process less awkward on the big day.
Go wild - Venues which offer weekend weddings are usually country houses or estates which have gardens and grounds. The luxury of exclusive hire means that you can personalise your wedding without worrying about other guests with ample room to do so. Whether it be an ice cream truck, marquee or fireworks - the options are endless. You are also less limited when it comes to fireworks and late night music because there are no members of public to annoy!
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Exclusivity - Hiring a venue for the weekend usually comes with the privilege of exclusive hire. This is something that many couples actually pay extra for when booking a stand alone wedding day. You can enjoy an entire weekend of exclusivity and privacy when choosing a weekend wedding.
Accommodation - You can often accommodate all your guests in your venue. The very concept of a weekend wedding is to have two nights for your guests to enjoy. St. Audries Park is a great example, offering accommodation for up to 90 guests. With all your guests in one place, you can create an intimate setting for your big day.
The day after - When you wake up the morning after, instead of rushing off on a honeymoon why not have another day of celebrating and opening your gifts in front of your loved ones. Make the most of having all your friends and family in the one place. Hire a bouncy castle, play some garden games and organise a BBQ in your exclusive venue. You can also wear normal clothes the day after so you can take part in all the activities! It is also worth asking your photographer to come back to take some "day after" shots for the wedding album.
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Cost efficiency - You may be thinking that a weekend wedding will come at a high cost. As a guide, a weekend wedding at St. Audries Park starts at £35,000, including accommodation for 90 guests (2 nights), exclusive hire, wedding breakfast, cake, flowers and much more. To ease the cost, there is no reason why you couldn't ask your guests to donate some money for their share of the accommodation. If 90 guests paid £100, this could take the cost down by £9000!
Thank you to St. Audries Park for supplying the above images of their beautiful venue. Read more about the venue and their weekend wedding packages.