Top Ten Hertfordshire Wedding Venues
Couples planning their Hertfordshire Wedding are often asking me which venues I most recommend. What are my Top Ten Hertfordshire Wedding Venues? Which wedding venues provide the best spots for photos? What are the best venues for food and drink? Which wedding venue can we express our individuality in? What about quirky venues? Manor houses? Barns? There are just so many options available in this beautiful county, for different budgets, different tastes, and different requirements.
Top Ten Hertfordshire Wedding Venues
As a Hertfordshire Wedding Photographer, I’ve worked at many of the most popular venues in the county, so I thought it might be helpful to make a list of my Top Ten Hertfordshire Wedding Venues!
I’ve included a real cross section of my favourite venues which gives a sense of the variety of places available in Hertfordshire to hold your special day. Hopefully this post will be a useful resource for brides and grooms to be!
1. Coltsfoot Country Retreat
Number one on my list of Top Ten Hertfordshire Wedding Venues is Coltsfoot Country Retreat – which is an absolute gem! Tucked away in the sleepy village of Datchworth in Hertfordshire, I can’t recommend this lovely venue highly enough. The venue is privately owned and run, and set in the most beautiful grounds. There are several options for where you can get married at Coltsfoot. Indoor weddings have gorgeous views out over open rolling fields (inhabited currently by sheep and alpacas!). Or alternatively for an al fresco wedding, there’s the covered marquee area in the courtyard. The food at Coltsfoot is incredible (I highly recommend the lamb shank!) and the staff really cannot do enough for you. It’s the perfect setting for an intimate wedding.
2. Henry Moore Studios & Gardens
The Henry Moore Foundation is a truly unique venue and I absolutely love it! If you know of the modern art sculptor Henry Moore, you’ll be able to imagine the incredible surroundings at the Foundation in Perry Green. You can stroll around the picturesque gardens and admire the gorgeous sculptures set in the grounds of the venue. It offers great flexibility with the stunning Aisled Barn adorned with priceless Henry Moore tapestries available for ceremonies and receptions. But there’s also the option of having a tipi or marquee set up in the grounds too. I love the large reclining figure in the field just next to the barn, and the figure in the shelter which is nestled close by in woodlands. The Henry Moore Foundation are limited to holding a small number of weddings each year, so there’s an element of exclusivity to the venue too.
3. Milling Barn
If you’re looking for a stunning barn venue in Hertfordshire, I’d highly recommend Milling Barn in Throcking, near Buntingford and Royston. This beautiful 17th Century Oak Barn provides loads of flexibility for your special day. You can have a magical outdoor ceremony in the gorgeous gardens or woodland ceremonies in a natural clearing in Blunts Wood. The Dairy Barn is the option for indoor weddings, which is stunning, adorned with fairy lights and foliage. There’s an on site bridal suite for the morning preparations, and some gorgeous spots for photographs too. These include a grand old Oak Tree, fairy lit tunnel, and open rolling fields down towards the woodlands, which is the perfect spot for an epic sunset shot.
4. Offley Place
Offley Place is a fabulous 17th Century Manor House set in the village of Great Offley, near Hitchin. This stunning venue has so much to offer. There’s cozy intimate fireside lounges, spacious rooms, and the stunning conservatory, which adds a modern twist to this otherwise historic venue. I really love the conservatory at Offley, it’s a beautiful light and airy space for ceremonies and receptions. This year, Offley are also opening their stunning purpose built ballroom and function area in the expansive grounds. This promises to be a fantastic addition, allowing couples to accommodate more guests for their reception. I cannot wait to see this gorgeous space in action!
5. Essendon Country Club
The gorgeous Essendon Country Club is set in an impressive 400 acres of gorgeous grounds. The stunning Barn provides a romantic setting for your wedding celebrations, with a grand entrance from the mezzanine level. A terrace overlooking the golf courses provides some outside space for your guests to mingle on a sunny day. For your portraits, you have your pick of the gorgeous spots across the grounds with your own private Golf buggy at your disposal! This is great as it means there’s no walking in between photo locations. The lake and willow tree provide lovely spots for intimate portraits.
6. Fanhams Hall
The beautiful Fanhams Hall has something for everyone. Whether you’re after a modern setting, a more traditional feel, or an outdoor wedding, you can’t go wrong here. The gardens are my favourite thing about Fanhams Hall, there are so many different spots available for beautiful photos. There’s the tended walled gardens full of colour, the Japanese gardens, and the fields of wildflowers surrounding the venue. It’s a space that really lets you create a wedding day that’s individual to you. What’s more, there’s plenty of lovely accommodation at Fanhams Hall. You can have a lovely relaxed morning getting ready, and then fall into bed after a night of partying!
7. Hatfield House
Hatfield House has to be one of the grandest and most recognisable wedding venues in Hertfordshire. Dated to 1485 and previously owned by King Henry VIII, you get a real sense of medieval history and grandeur within it’s grounds. The medieval brickwork and timbers, and the portraiture and wall hangings add a real sense of history to the space. Flexibility is key here though. At Hatfield House you also have the choice of settings. You can have a contemporary wedding in the Riding School, or a more traditional feel to the Old Palace. This is also a perfect venue for larger wedding celebrations too, with capacity reaching up to 250-300 guests. The stunning gardens and gorgeous warmly lit interior are the perfect settings for an unforgettable wedding and amazing photos.
8. Brook Farm
I wanted to include another wild card in my list of Top Ten Hertfordshire Wedding Venues. Brook Farm in Cuffley is a fabulous lake side spot, which allows you to really make your wedding day entirely your own. Whilst venue isn’t licensed for marriages, many couples celebrate here with a blessing and epic reception party. With fairy-tale festoon lighting down an avenue of trees, and a gorgeous island set around lush green countryside, Brook Farm is the perfect spot for an al fresco festival-style wedding that really allows you to do your thing. You can choose from tipis and marquees to contain your celebrations. You also have plenty of space to use for all sorts of other touches. The sky really is the limit here! It can be a little daunting to have lots to plan, rather than booking a venue where everything is done for you. But the lovely team at Brook Farm will guide you through everything to make your day run perfectly.
9. Micklefield Hall
If you’re looking for a picture perfect countryside wedding venue, you’ll be hard pushed to find anything prettier than the settings of the lovely Micklefield Hall. Set in Sarrat Nr Rickmansworth, this lovely venue has excellent access for any guests coming from further afield. However, it’s quiet countryside setting means you can really escape and breathe in the fresh country air. This stunning venue is exclusively yours for the day. The house, grounds, water features and barn provide amazing spots for gorgeous wedding photos. Couples can get married in the Great Barn, the Garden Room or the Temple by the Pond. Weather permitting, it’s also possible to hold your blessing or drinks reception outdoors.
10. Redcoats Farmhouse
Currently number 10 in my Top Ten Hertfordshire Wedding Venues is this stunning countryside venue tucked away in the village of Little Wymondley near Hitchin. Redcoats Farmhouse has been recently refurbished and serves some seriously delicious food it it’s cosy restaurant, and also offers ceremonies in the bright conservatory overlooking picturesque gardens. Also, new for 2018, the grade 2 listed barns adjacent to the farmhouse are being renovated to bring you a stunning new barn venue! The upgraded barn will seat 120 guests and also have 30 bedrooms for overnight guests. It’s such an exciting time for Redcoats. It promises to be one of the most stunning venues in the county once completed!
I could go on to talk about many more of the stunning top wedding venues in Hertfordshire, such as Brocket Hall, Tewin Bury Farm, Hitchin Priory, The Priory Barn, Knebworth House, De Vere Theobalds Estate and St Michael’s Manor, but I will stick with my personal Top Ten Hertforshire Wedding Venues for now. I’ll update the blog again with some more posts about more specific venue types. I’ll also write articles like the best Manor Houses, Barns and more Alternative Venues in Hertfordshire, so watch this space!
If you’re planning a Hertfordshire Wedding, I would love to hear from you to discuss your plans. Please pop over to my contact page and drop me a line!