wedding venue suggestion please! Hampshire,Surrey or West Sussex

chalice

Have managed to mess up the wedding plans already - before they have barely started! We booked a country house which will seat 100 max, paid a large deposit, and then found out we have quite a few over that number to invite! So, the cost of adding a marquee on is nearly twice what we are paying to hire the house - and that seemed like a lot! I think we should maybe cut our losses and just start again.

We live near Portsmouth and there's not a great choice here. Ideally would prefer a historic house to a barn. Would also like to provide the alcohol so a hotel is out. We also like the idea of having exclusive use of the venue, and I don't imagine this happens with a hotel.

Any help most appreciated - we have four daughters - this is the first - so will get better at it!

Not panicking yet.....we have nearly a year to go!

Many thanks.

EllieBelly1

I went to uni in Portsmouth and worked for a mobile bar service part time, saw loads of venues. How about....Royal Marines Museum, Southsea castle, Fort Nelson, HMS Warrier or the function place in the historic dockyard, Clock Barn....will try and think of some more further out, it was 6 years ago now!

lizd87

totally sympathsise! I live near Chichester and found very little choice of reception venues (especially affordable ones!). We're having a marquee at a beautiful trout fishery near Petworth. PM if you want the details, but i'm not sure about other country houses... the other one i looked at- that was v expensive, was Stanstead House.

roseability_2

We're getting married at Tithe Barn in Petersfield- we have guests coming from Chichester and Portsmouth so it was a nice compromise.

Edit to add- we're bringing our own alcohol (and then having paid bar in the evening but there's no reason that you couldn't have your own booze all night) and it's exclusive use of the venue. HTH!

chalice

Thank you so much for your replies - its really kind of you to bother.

Stansted House not big enough unfortunately. I like the Tithe Barn but they have their hearts set on a historic country house in the countryside!

Will keep looking but proving very difficult.....and expensive!

lizd87

hmmm it is pretty limited really. It's getting a bit further away, but the Hilton Avisford park is quite country house esque, and not as expensive as some hotels round here.
Another one in a similar vein is Fontwell park racecourse- i think you can hire the big house that's there.

Ahhh actually i may have an idea... try contacting Uppark House and Petworth House - both national trust owned. As far as i know, the NT have started hiring out a lot of their buildings for weddings. I can't see anything on their websites, but it would be worth a shot ringing them directly.

spongybobby

have you tried 'new place'. its out the back of portsdown, just past wickham. my sister got married and had her after party there. very nice venue with great surroundings.
since i cant post a link. in your favorite search engine type 'new place wickham'

mrsp80

Chilworth Manor near Southampton. It's now a Best Western. New Place is also nice - it's a De Vere venue which may help you search.

ABC12

I've seen that. It looks really nice on the website deverevenues.co.uk/locations/new-place/weddings they have lots of others in the area too

White_Sapphire

ABC12, STOP spamming our boards. :mad::mad::mad:

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