Weird & wonderful wedding venues

GUEST POST BY REBECCA MOORE

When planning the dream wedding, most of our minds head towards a country house or the big hotel; however there are a number of wedding venues that will create more of an impact and give your big day the extra sparkle it deserves as well as providing inspiration to set your big day apart from others taking place during wedding season.

Tree house
Add some childhood charm to your wedding with a rustic treehouse venue! Hidden away in an enchanted forest of native English oak and silver birch, a tree top wedding is a perfect setting for an intimate wedding. Perfect for a Peter Pan groom, or for those who divulge in ‘Eco-Chic’, there are many diverse ways that treehouse weddings can be tailored to your taste with accessories such as lanterns and swinging seats.

Gothic Castle
Breath-taking gothic beauty is something that modern hotel weddings cannot compare too. Impressive chandeliers, roaring log fires and sweeping staircases make sure beautiful memories and photos alike. Many come with stunning gardens and tranquil lakes for your guests to enjoy throughout the day and keep them talking for years to come. 

Lighthouse
Those with a passion for anything nautical should most definitely consider celebrating your nuptials in a seaside lighthouse. Due to the size of the rooms, Lighthouse weddings are very intimate affairs. The smell, character and noise of the sea provides a very raw and romantic type of beauty that is often hard to capture.

Inner City Warehouse
The ideal hipster wedding venue; the stark splendour and urban setting of inner city warehouses offer a unique ‘wow’ factor that only the uber trendy could appreciate. If you aren’t quite au fait with a mix & match furniture style, concrete floors and exposed brick – this option may not be for you, but there’s nothing to say that with vases fresh flowers and candles, this type of venue couldn’t meet even the most girly of brides standards.

City Skyscraper
The iconic The Shard building in London hosts wedding ceremonies on the 39th floor, providing stunning views of the City. A classy and elegant venue perfect for any professional couple - Its gets even better for champagne and canapés, as these are held in the glass dome, giving you the sparkling London lights as the sun goes down.

Home wedding
Home weddings are becoming increasingly popular now and if you have room for your guests at your home, it can add an extra personal touch to your wedding day. You may want to hire a marquee, or perhaps your home has an orangery or veranda to provide the perfect setting; wherever you decide to hold your vows, factor in some gardening and home improvement time too! 

Whisky Vault
Not just for the boys, this sophisticated setting has a certain ‘mature’ air to it and will give a traditional Scottish feel to your day. For those brides that aren’t after a super feminine day, this could be the perfect setting.

Tent
It seems that Marquees are out and tents are in. Very much in, in fact. From modern stretch tents, charming pole tents to enormous frame tents – there is something to cater for every desire. Most tents come with a theme that can be catered to suit your style and colour palette; Arabian nights, Cinco De Mayo and Vintage Tea Parties are all looks that can be created with ease.

3 simple ways to cut wedding costs

It's easy for costs to quickly stack up when you're planning your wedding and you may find yourself having to pay for things that you hadn't originally budgeted for. Weddings are generally quite expensive, but there are a few things to keep in mind if you have to lower your expenditure.

Here are 3 simple ways you can cut the cost of your wedding:

1. Buy a second hand dress

Wedding dresses are expensive business. When I first started looking for my dress, I couldn't quite comprehend spending £1,000+ on a dress that I'd wear once, for one day. Why not consider buying a previously worn wedding dress? There's so many second hand wedding dress shops online and even on the high street (like this one) where you'll find designer gowns for a fraction of the original price. Most retailers will only re-sell dresses if they are in new condition and have been dry cleaned anyway, so no one will ever know on the day, and you'll have saved a fortune.

2. Bridesmaids?

If you're paying for your bridesmaids' dresses, shoes, accessories yourself, you could find yourself spending more on them that you thought you would. If you aren't too bothered about them all wearing that dress, I think it's acceptable to ask your bridesmaids (nicely) to choose and buy their own dress. If you're going for a certain look, give them an idea or style to look for. Mismatched bridesmaids are the new thing! Or, go solo... Save yourself more money (and time and hassle) by not having bridesmaids altogether. Some would say they are an old tradition and don't contribute anything that your best friends wouldn't on your wedding day anyway!

3. DIY & help from friends

DIY is an obvious way to save money and the list is endless what you can do. One of the easiest things you can do yourself is make your wedding stationary. There's loads of kits around to help get you started in stores like Hobby Craft. Get you friends over and make a couple of fun evenings of it. You never know, you might catch the DIY bug and go on to do more crafty things for your big day.