There’s no getting around it – weddings can be expensive.
Once you’ve added up the dress, venue, food, flowers, photographer, and everything else that goes into the big day, that dream wedding budget can disappear surprisingly quickly.
The good news is that spending less on your venue doesn’t have to mean settling for somewhere you don’t love.
There are some beautiful wedding venues across the West Midlands with options for smaller budgets, from a medieval manor house in Coventry to a Victorian country house surrounded by nine acres of grounds.
Here are five worth adding to your wedding venue shortlist.
Cheylesmore Manor House, Coventry – from £287
Cheylesmore Manor House, Image: Ian Rob / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0
Getting married in a building with almost 800 years of history sounds as though it should come with a fairly hefty price tag.
Not at Cheylesmore Manor House.
The Coventry venue dates back to 1237 and was once part of a royal residence, with links to Queen Isabella and Edward, the Black Prince.
There are three ceremony rooms to choose from depending on the size of your wedding. The intimate Library Room fits the couple and up to eight guests, while the Queen Isabella Room accommodates up to 20 people. The larger Black Prince Room accommodates up to 50.
For those planning something small, the Manor Experience starts from £287 and includes use of the Library Room, registrars, the ceremony and two legal certificates.
It could be a lovely choice if you want to keep the guest list – and the budget – small while still saying “I do” somewhere with a real sense of occasion.
Wolverhampton City Archives – from £220
Wolverhampton City Archive, Image: Brianboru100 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Another historic wedding setting for considerably less than you might expect is Wolverhampton City Archives.
Housed inside the Grade II-listed former Molineux Hotel, the venue has two rooms available for ceremonies.
The Oak Room is the smallest and costs £220, with room for the couple and up to 10 guests.
For a bigger celebration, there’s the beautifully decorated Rococo Room. It accommodates the couple and up to 45 guests and costs £583.
Formal gardens outside are also available for post-ceremony photographs.
And if you happen to have a Wolves fan in the relationship, there’s another bonus – the building overlooks Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Molineux Stadium.
Ceremonies are only available on selected Fridays and Saturdays, however, so you’ll need to be flexible with your date.
Moxhull Hall, Sutton Coldfield – venue hire from £1,500
If a country house wedding is firmly on your wish list, don’t assume it automatically has to be out of budget.
Moxhull Hall is a Victorian manor house surrounded by nine acres of gardens in Sutton Coldfield.
Choose your wedding date carefully, and venue hire starts from £1,500 on selected Monday-to-Thursday dates in January, February, and November.
That gives you exclusive use of the hall and grounds, along with complimentary accommodation in the Luxury Suite.
Ceremonies can take place inside the Oak Hall with up to 120 guests. Between March and October, there’s also the choice of heading outside to say your vows in the Secret Garden.
The ceremony, food, and drink are additional costs, so this isn’t a £1,500 all-inclusive wedding. But if you’ve always pictured a country house setting, choosing an off-season weekday could make it much more achievable.
Royal Court Hotel, Coventry – from £1,500
Royal Court Hotel, Image: Ian S / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0
Small and intimate isn’t everyone’s idea of the perfect wedding.
If your guest list keeps getting longer, the Royal Court Hotel in Coventry could be worth a look.
The Grade II-listed country house dates back to 1894 and sits within its own grounds, giving you that traditional country house backdrop for the day.
Weddings are currently advertised from £1,500, and the hotel can cater for celebrations ranging from around 30 guests right up to 500.
It’s licensed for civil ceremonies too, so you can hold the ceremony and celebrations in the same place rather than moving everyone between venues.
Just remember that £1,500 is a starting price. The final cost will depend on your date, guest numbers, and the package you choose, so it’s worth asking for a full quote before falling in love with a particular option.
The Dodford Inn, Bromsgrove – twilight weddings from £5,500
The Dodford Inn Image: Chris Whippet / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0
£5,500 might look considerably more expensive than some of the other prices on our list, but there’s a major difference – this one includes much more of the wedding.
The Dodford Inn is set among six acres of Worcestershire countryside and offers a twilight wedding package for 40 guests from £5,500 on selected weekdays during January, February, November and December.
The package includes exclusive use of the venue, your ceremony, a drink after the ceremony, evening food, a resident DJ, decorations and overnight accommodation for up to six people.
A twilight wedding skips some traditional daytime elements and starts the celebrations later, which can be a clever way to cut overall costs.
And with countryside and woodland surrounding the venue, you certainly aren’t sacrificing the wedding-photo opportunities.
A beautiful wedding doesn’t need an enormous budget
The biggest lesson from these venues? Be flexible.
A Saturday in the middle of summer is always going to be in demand. If you’re happy with a weekday, winter date or smaller guest list, suddenly there are far more options available.
It’s also important to look beyond the headline figure.
One venue might charge £300 for the ceremony but leave you needing somewhere else for the reception. Another might cost several thousand pounds but include your ceremony, food, entertainment, and accommodation.
Work out what’s included, get a full quote and compare the total cost rather than simply choosing whichever venue has the lowest starting price.
And the same thinking can apply to your wedding dress.
At Birmingham Bridal Outlet, you can find brand-new designer wedding dresses at greatly reduced prices, with gowns starting from £595 and discounts of up to 70% off original retail prices.
Because they’re ready-to-wear, you can find the one, take it home the same day and tick another very important job off your wedding planning list.
After all, keeping an eye on the budget doesn’t mean your wedding – or your dress – has to look like you did.
