The Wedding Atlas · United Kingdom
Getting Married in the United Kingdom
From Highland castles and lochside estates to Cornish cliffs, honey-coloured Cotswold villages and the country houses within reach of London, the United Kingdom offers a wedding setting for almost every taste. London adds livery halls, private clubs and grand hotels in the capital itself. Choose the landscape that draws you, and let the venue follow.
Part of the United Kingdom destination guide.
Where to marry
Explore the United Kingdom
Explore our growing collection of wedding destination guides across the United Kingdom, from the English countryside and coast to the Scottish Highlands.
In and around the Cotswolds
The Cotswolds cross several counties. The Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire guides cover their own part of the hills and what lies beyond them.
Photo: Caswell House Cotswolds
Honey-coloured limestone villages, walled gardens and country estates.
Photo: Caswell House
Photo: Clearwell Castle Gloucestershire
Cheltenham, the Cotswold limestone and the Forest of Dean.
Photo: Clearwell Castle
Photo: Blenheim Palace Oxfordshire
Oxford colleges, Blenheim Palace and the Thames Valley.
Photo: Blenheim PalaceLondon and the country houses nearby
Photo: Shangri-La The Shard, London London
A capital city of livery halls, royal parks and riverside venues.
Photo: Shangri-La The Shard, London
Photo: De Vere Horsley Estate Surrey
The Surrey Hills and country house estates inside the M25.
Photo: De Vere Horsley Estate
Photo: Hatfield House Hertfordshire
Country houses and parkland estates in the county north of London.
Photo: Hatfield HouseThe coast and its gardens
Cornwall and Kent are both coastal counties with a garden tradition: sub-tropical valley gardens in Cornwall, and the Garden of England in Kent.
Lochs, lakes and dales
Not sure which destination suits you? .
On the map
Where the guides are
Each marker is one guide. Tap a marker to read a line about it and open the guide.
Choosing where to marry
Which part of the United Kingdom suits you
A countryside house party or a city celebration
A country house wedding is usually a weekend at one address, with the house hired exclusively and the guests staying on site. Surrey has a large number of listed country houses of this kind, and in the Cotswolds a private estate gives the most privacy, with accommodation in the main house and its cottages. A city asks for a different kind of choice. London is a city of rooms, most of them built for an occasion, and a hotel with a ballroom can hold the reception and house the party.
The coast, a castle or a country estate
If the sea is part of the picture, the best Cornish estates have private coastal access, with their own coves, boathouses and cliff-walk ceremony spots. If you imagine a castle, the choice is as much about hire as about history: several of Kent's medieval castles can be hired exclusively, and in the Scottish Highlands the most sought-after castles book far ahead. A country estate sits between the two. In Yorkshire the better ones combine a Georgian or Victorian house with formal gardens and estate grounds, and exclusive hire for the weekend is standard.
An intimate gathering or a larger wedding weekend
A smaller party suits a smaller house. Manor houses of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries are available for exclusive hire in the Cotswolds, and Surrey has smaller manors and historic farmhouses along the North Downs. A larger weekend needs a place built to host it, and the Lake District is set up for that, with hospitality around the national park that supports guest groups of all sizes.
How much the journey and the stay matter
If most of your guests live near London, a short journey changes the day. In Hertfordshire transfers are short, fewer guests need a room for the night and a weekday date is workable, and guests from London can often travel to Kent on the day. Further away, the stay becomes part of the wedding. Cornwall is a long way from London by road or rail, so guests commit to the journey and usually stay for the weekend, and Highland venues often arrange transfers over long road distances and host stays of several nights. Where a venue has few rooms, a nearby town can be the base: many couples marrying in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds house their guests in Cheltenham, a short drive from most estate venues.
Planning
Wedding costs and planning by destination
Each guide sets out how to get there, and most also cover where guests stay. The links below are grouped by the destination they describe.
London
London has international airports, Eurostar connections and an extensive transport network.
Surrey
Surrey lies south-west of London, close to both Heathrow and Gatwick.
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire lies immediately north of Greater London and keeps a rural character.
- From The 5 Star EditHatfield House: Where Elizabeth I Held Her First Council
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire holds the western Cotswolds and extends beyond them.
- From The 5 Star EditBriery Hill House: One Wedding at a Time in West Gloucestershire
Yorkshire
Harrogate, a Georgian spa town, is the base for many weddings in the county.
- From The 5 Star EditRudby Hall, North Yorkshire: A House for the Wedding Party
Questions couples ask
Before you decide
Where can I marry in a castle in the United Kingdom?
The Scottish Highlands combine wilderness, castle venues and loch settings, with castles that have tower rooms and great halls as well as lochside estates. Kent has many medieval castles, among them Leeds Castle and Hever Castle, and several can be hired exclusively for weddings.
Which destinations suit guests who live in or near London?
Hertfordshire lies immediately north of London, and many guests can reach its venues on the day. Guests from London can often travel to Kent on the day, and Oxfordshire is reached by direct trains from London Paddington. Surrey lies south-west of London, close to both Heathrow and Gatwick.
Which destinations suit guests flying in from abroad?
London has international airports and Eurostar connections, and the Elizabeth line links Heathrow directly with Paddington, the City and Canary Wharf. Surrey is close to Heathrow and Gatwick, and Heathrow is a direct drive from most Oxfordshire venues.
What is the difference between the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire?
The Cotswolds are a landscape that spans several counties, from Chipping Campden in the north to Bath in the south. Gloucestershire holds the western Cotswolds and extends beyond them to Cheltenham and the Forest of Dean. Oxfordshire has its own part of the Cotswolds, together with Oxford, Blenheim Palace and the Thames Valley.
What kinds of venue can I choose?
The settings differ from place to place. Kent has oast houses, the round hop-drying kilns found almost only in Kent and East Sussex. Yorkshire has converted stone barns and the ruined abbeys of its river valleys, and Oxford offers the college hall. London has livery company halls, and Cornwall has sub-tropical gardens that the Gulf Stream allows to grow.
Is it practical to marry somewhere remote, such as the Highlands or Cornwall?
Highland venues are used to guests arriving from several places. Inverness has direct flights from London, Perthshire is reached from Edinburgh or Glasgow, and many venues arrange transfers and host stays of several nights. Cornwall is a long way from London by road or rail, so guests commit to the journey and usually stay for the weekend.
The venues
A glimpse of venues across the United Kingdom
Meet Aura
Your wedding planning companion for the United Kingdom
Ask Aura about wedding destinations, venues and planning possibilities across the United Kingdom, drawing on the information available through 5 Star Weddings.
The directory
Ready to look at venues and people?
The guides help you choose where. The destination page lists the venues and wedding professionals themselves.