Getting Married in Oxfordshire

May and June in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds bring cow parsley and wild garlic in the lane verges, and the manor house gardens are in full leaf. The Thames Valley river meadows are in flower in early summer. Oxford is busiest in May and June, when university examinations affect hotel availability in the city, while the surrounding county is not affected.

Recommended wedding months

May, June and September

Peak season is July and August, and the shoulder months are April and October.

Oxford College Hall. The dining halls and event rooms of Oxford colleges, with fifteenth or sixteenth-century hammer-beam or vaulted halls, long tables on flagstone floors and a high table at the head. Hire is restricted to vacation periods and certain colleges, so early enquiry is needed.

Country House Estate. Oxfordshire estates combine the Cotswolds stone of the west with the Thames Valley character of the east. Properties range from Jacobean manor houses to Palladian houses with park landscapes, walled gardens and estate accommodation. Blenheim's park has lodges and smaller buildings that can be used for events.

Blenheim and Parkland Venue. Blenheim Palace, designed by Vanbrugh for the first Duke of Marlborough, takes exclusive private events through the Blenheim Estate team. Estates around Woodstock within sight of the park give a setting in which the palace is part of the horizon.

Riverside Estate. Properties on the Thames between Henley and Oxford, with private river frontage and boathouse access. Several Henley-area estates offer exclusive hire with accommodation.

Medieval Manor. Oxfordshire keeps many medieval manor houses, a legacy of the abbeys and the early college landholdings. Several are privately owned and hired exclusively for weddings. They are built of the same Cotswold limestone as the university buildings.

Oxford's city centre can be slow in the afternoon. Guests driving from London are usually advised to take the M40 and approach Cotswolds venues directly, without passing through Oxford. Guests arriving by rail are usually met by a pre-arranged car or minibus from Oxford station.

London Paddington (GWR). Direct Great Western Railway trains to Oxford, the main connection for London guests. Paddington also has direct services from Bristol Parkway, Cardiff and Reading, which suits guests from the west and South Wales.

London Marylebone (Chiltern Railways). Chiltern Railways run to Oxford and Banbury from Marylebone, which suits guests from north London and the Home Counties.

London Heathrow (LHR). Reached by road via the M40 and A40. It is the most important airport for international guests, and several Oxfordshire venues describe themselves as on the Heathrow transfer.

Wedding accommodation in Oxfordshire is split between hotels in the university city, country houses on the Cotswold edge to the west, and small hotels in the villages of the vale.

Hotels in Oxford. Hotels in central Oxford suit guests who want to see the university and college buildings during a wedding weekend.

Hotels near Bicester. Business and boutique hotels near Bicester serve guests at venues on the northern Cotswold edge.

Oxfordshire country house estates. Estates in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, roughly between Burford, Chipping Norton and Banbury, offer residential hire for a full weekend, as do several Cherwell valley properties.

Oxfordshire's food draws on the Oxford restaurant and pub scene, and on farm and kitchen garden produce from the eastern Cotswolds.

Riverside inn at Godstow. An inn on the Thames at Godstow, near Oxford, linked with Lewis Carroll, with a terrace above the river. It suits a lunch for guests based in Oxford.

Oxford covered market. A covered market in central Oxford, opened in 1774, with butchers, fishmongers, bakers and a cafe. It suits a morning visit for guests staying in the city.

Organic farm shop, Kingham. A farm shop and cafe near Kingham on an organic estate, with a spa and cooking school, which suits a half day for guests staying in west Oxfordshire.

The M40 corridor. The M40 links central London with Oxford, and Chiltern Railways run from Marylebone to Oxford. Both routes are well used by wedding guests. For venues in the west of the county, the M40 leaves for the A40 towards the Cotswold edge.

Coaches in central Oxford. The historic centre of Oxford is largely closed to through traffic, and coach access is restricted. For guests in central hotels, walking directions work better than directions by car. Park and Ride sites serve guests arriving by car.

Blenheim Palace is open to visitors. Blenheim Palace near Woodstock, a World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Winston Churchill, is open to the public in the season. A morning there followed by lunch in Woodstock suits guests with free time.

UK nationals do not need a visa to travel within the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is not in the Schengen Area, so its entry rules are separate from the EU's. Entry rules depend on the passport held. The current rules are on gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The legal marriage and the celebration are separate. Ask your venue or planner what the town hall requires for the place where you plan to marry.