10 Reasons to Have Your Wedding Reception at a Village Hall
These days, when browsing the rather overwhelming volume of wedding locations available, deciding on one can seem daunting. There are so many factors to consider and it’s hard to know what’s right for you.
In the not-so-distant past, village halls weren’t high up the list of options considered attractive, but recently a lot has changed! Significant amounts have been invested into renovating or even completely rebuilding village halls to make them effective and attractive event locations as well as community hubs. What’s more, many of them, especially in Devon, tend to be in beautiful rural locations.
If you are thinking of having your wedding in a village hall, then here are 10 great reasons to help with your decision:
10 reasons to have your wedding reception at a village hall
You can get a beautiful or even newly built venue
Lots of them have great countryside locations and views
They often have a large guest capacity
They are equipped with excellent facilities
They offer a blank canvas for your wedding styling
The cost - it’s so low!
You’ll be giving back to and supporting a community
The location (if local to you) will have meaning
They often have great outdoor spaces
You’ll have the freedom to hire the suppliers (ie the bar) of your choice
1. YOU CAN GET A BEAUTIFUL OR EVEN NEWLY BUIlT VENUE
Ok, the first important point to make, which we did touch on above, is that in the last 5 years many village halls have been invested in significantly to fund a renovation or complete re-build, meaning that the buildings themself are brand new, often still with some character or charm. This means that that picture you may have had in your head of a dusty, dated, dingy hall is absolutely a thing of the past!
2. LOTS OF THEM HAVE GREAT COUNTRYSIDE LOCATIONS & VIEWS!
Being in the beautiful South West of England, we aren’t short of a pretty village or two with idyllic country views – which is where these halls are set! Forget thinking you need to pay thousands for that setting when, scattered around our glorious countryside, there are little country gems hidden for a fraction of the cost.
3. THEY OFTEN HAVE A LARGE GUEST CAPACITY
As these halls are purpose-built for events they almost always have a capacity of 100 or more – some up to 300! So, no need to worry about squeezing everyone in.
4. THEY ARE EQUIPPED WITH EXCELLENT FACILITIES
From the brand new, commercial-grade kitchens, fully stocked with crockery, to (usually) good parking capacity and having tables and chairs you can also use/hire if you like, if there’s one thing for sure it’s that village halls are kitted out for your needs and have the practical boxes ticked.
Best Day Ever Devon, Wedding Stylists
Samuel Box Photography - Swimbridge Village Hall
5. THEY OFFER A BLANK CANVAS FOR YOUR WEDDING STYLING
Perhaps you don’t want to use the halls tables/chairs and crockery, that’s fine, forget that, village halls are brilliant blank canvases for you to bring your wedding style visions to life! That Pinterest board you’ve been adding to since you were a teen, bring it to life in a village hall! Or, if you've not quite got the creative flair or perhaps the time, why not get one of the brilliant wedding stylists involved that we are lucky to have here in the South West, such as Best Day Ever Devon, for example?
6. THE COST – IT’S SO LOW!
So, now for the juiciest point, the cost of hiring a village hall for your reception is extremely low! As in a gigantic saving on most other types of venue for your reception.
We’ve already established that you still get an idyllic location, with great facilities, a blank canvas for your décor and a great capacity for guests (amongst much more – keep reading) but you also get all that for an unbelievably reasonable price. Most village halls display their rates on their websites, so you can easily check the prices.
Now that you’ve saved all that money, why not look at things you thought you couldn’t afford that you now can, like hiring a great stylist (see above), or upgrading your honeymoon plans?
7. YOU’LL BE GIVING BACK TO AND SUPPORTING A COMMUNITY
There is something that feels super heart-warming about knowing that the money you spend on your venue is going back into a community, isn’t there? Know that you are helping to support that community, that village hub, so they can afford to do great things for the local people in that area is a wonderful feeling.
8. THE LOCATION (IF LOCAL TO YOU) WILL HAVE MEANING
If you’re lucky enough to have a beautiful village hall near where you live, then you will have the bonus that that location will also have a lot of meaning to you. Feeling connected to your wedding location is a really meaningful part of the experience.
9. THEY OFTEN HAVE GREAT OUTDOOR SPACES
Choose carefully, and you can get a village hall location with wonderful outdoor space and beautiful views, too. Take Marwood Village Hall for example (below image 2), just down the road from us, they have fantastic outdoor space with a field, fire pit and kids play area, and will even allow you and your guests to camp there – Tipi Village, anyone?
10. YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM TO HIRE SUPPLIERS (I.E. THE BAR) OF YOUR CHOICE
In most cases, village halls don’t apply any corkage (assuming the hall doesn’t have its own bar), so you are free to choose the event bar provider of your choice to put on an exceptional bar experience for your reception, without any extra costs from the venue, meaning absolutely no compromise – it’s just like being at a venue with a fixed bar, maybe even better! We, of course, would love to help make your big day amazing, so please do get in touch.
OK, so they’re our top 10 reasons to have your wedding reception in a village hall. Of course, a village hall can also be great for other celebrations, like birthdays, anniversaries or even charity events. We have also included a list and links to 10 great village halls in Devon and will be bringing you more village hall inspo from across the South West soon.
If you know of a great village hall wedding venue, why not leave the details in the comments section below?
Don’t forget though, village halls aren’t the only option for a wedding in the countryside, there are some fantastic country houses as well as barns and farm locations, too (watch this space).