Oxford area wedding...

MrsTinks

Well I've had a look round and we went and looked at a couple of the suggested venues from above and I think we might be returning to Shillingford Hotel. The gardens are gorgeous, the ceremony room is lovely, the resturant is very nice too and the prices are very reasonable!
We'll have to sit down and really add stuff up etc to work out how much it's gonna cost (although we like the idea of the Grand) it's not that bad to actually take them up on the normal meal plans as they include drinks too!
Thanks everyone for your ideas!

Stubert

Little_Miss_Penny_Less wrote: »

Local to us there is an old converted barn that holds weddings (receptions & ceremonies) that is rather lovely, and reasonably cheap, well compared to what some other places ask! Try www.lainsbarn.co.uk for a peek...

I was going to suggest here! The building is a kinda funny shape though, which might not be that practical (well a 'u' shape)?

Two other places around there I can think of are Drayton Golf Club (near Abingdon) and Millets Farm possibly. I dont know if Millets do weddings or not though, again fairly near Abingdon.


hilstep2000 mentioned the Upper Reaches, I've heard of other people who have had weddings there and they have said its been really good!

benood

Not very money saving I fear but eynsham hall might be an option - www.eynshamhall.com.

MrsTinks

Upper reaches was one of the places we looked. The garden looked tatty, the reception staff was uninpressive, the resturant is closed for refurb so can't view it and it looks like it suffered in the recent floods... sandbags and plywood all over the place... Wasn't impressed...
Can anyone tell me if there is a price list for lainsbarn? I hate it when I can't see what things cost
Might look into the golf club
For anyone near Silverstone then the Silverstone golf club is a pretty good venue too, very reasonable prices and a beautiful marquee. Just not exactly what we're looking for...

Ishtar

Not sure I'd go with the Upper Reaches - I've never been impressed with the place (I'm Oxford born and bred and lived in Abingdon for over 10 years!). It always seemed quite tatty to me.

Have you thought about any of the Four Pillars hotels (not the Abingdon one though!) - they are a bit pricey for weddings, but the one at Sandford-on-Thames is beautiful...might be worth seeing if they can do something that matches your budget.

On the other hand, have you thought about the King's Head and Bell in Abingdon - just behind the town hall. They used to be a great wedding venue...although I've been away from there for 5 years, so things might have changed in that time. There's always the Crown and Thistle, but again, I don't know what it's like now.

The Barleymow at Clifton Hampden is a lovely pub beside the river, but I fear it will have been caught up in the local floods. I'm not sure whether they do private functions there - but I would guess so? There's also the Plough in Clifton Hampden, beside the traffic lights - they were well known as a great foodie pub a couple of years ago...

Just a thought, but there's also a golf club at Frilford.

Good luck finding a fantastic venue!
D.

Stubert

Ishtar wrote: »

On the other hand, have you thought about the King's Head and Bell in Abingdon - just behind the town hall. They used to be a great wedding venue...although I've been away from there for 5 years, so things might have changed in that time. There's always the Crown and Thistle, but again, I don't know what it's like now.

The Kings Head is dirty, tatty and very smelly! It's a pretty dingy pub now. Again with the Crown and Thistle the actual hotel I'm sure is pretty nice but it has the attached public Stocks Bar which doesn't attract the best kind of clientèle.

Ishtar

Stubert wrote: »

The Kings Head is dirty, tatty and very smelly! It's a pretty dingy pub now. Again with the Crown and Thistle the actual hotel I'm sure is pretty nice but it has the attached public Stocks Bar which doesn't attract the best kind of clientèle.

Yes, I remember the Stocks bar - not good at all, would definintely NOT recommend there at all! The hotel was a bit better though.

Not surprised the King's Head and Bell has gone downhill either - a lot of the pubs in Abingdon were pretty dire when I lived there...hardly surprising the rest have started catching up!

D.

MrsTinks

LOL I used to go to school just down the road some 9 years ago in Culham. Can't say any of the pubs there ever appealed to me, but was very impressed with Shillingford... Will be phoning them tomorrow to see if they have the right date free and then arrange a proper meeting with the wedding co-ordinator there to discuss prices etc.

DrFluffy

Little_Miss_Penny_Less wrote: »

Local to us there is an old converted barn that holds weddings (receptions & ceremonies) that is rather lovely, and reasonably cheap, well compared to what some other places ask! Try www.lainsbarn.co.uk for a peek...

I've been to parties here - it's fab!

Except the year I fell outta the chicken loft (tragic thing is I was drunkenly following a chicken... No hanky panky!)

Stubert

Ishtar wrote: »

Not surprised the King's Head and Bell has gone downhill either - a lot of the pubs in Abingdon were pretty dire when I lived there...hardly surprising the rest have started catching up!

Completely off topic sorry but they still are dire! Very much so. They recently re-did the Brewery Tap and that's quite pleasant but the rest of Abingdon is a pretty no-go area really. The Tap and the Head of The River are probably the only at least half decent places, but for the rest of Abingdon (generally not just the pubs) is a bit of a dive.



Shillingford Bridge Hotel does look really nice from the outside so hope you can get something sorted out there!