18 Fantastic Wedding Venues in Essex

This exclusive use Grade II Listed farmhouse with barns and beautiful gardens ticks all the boxes for the perfect rustic wedding venue for up to 200 guests. Located in north Essex, Houchins is a traditional venue with lots of history but also has cool industrial backdrops and event spaces like The Grain Store and The Chitting Shed. It’s particularly beautiful for a summer wedding with lots of lovely outdoor spaces for celebrating and ceremonies. The gorgeous three-tiered farmhouse is ideal for guests to stay over, while the romantic honeymoon lodge is a luxurious and private place to spend your first night as newlyweds.

The setting of this wedding venue in the Essex countryside next to a parkland golf course is truly magical. Make the most of it in the warmer months when outdoor ceremonies can take place in the pretty secret garden and you can enjoy a drinks reception on the terrace looking out over the grounds. If you’re getting married in winter or the British weather isn’t on your side then there’s plenty of space inside Forrester Park to celebrate, including the Forresters Suite that can seat up to 120 people as well as the Clubhouse, with its vaulted ceiling and cosy beamed bar area.

Set in the rolling hills of Essex, Crondon Park is a beautiful barn venue with original Tudor and Jacobean features including a striking Baronial Hall that is a truly magnificent place to host your wedding. With beautiful rosewood flooring throughout and sensational light oak timber beams, the Hall is bursting with character and charm and will certainly wow your guests.

Crondon Park is officially one of the best wedding venues in Essex – the barn was crowned best countryside wedding venue in Britain in 2019 and with its magnificent views, romantic Granary Bridal Suite, five guests bedrooms and amazing on-site catering it’s clear to see why.

If it’s a historical setting you’re looking for for your wedding then Little Easton Manor could be the perfect backdrop. This pretty as a picture pink Manor House has a regal history that dates back to the Domesday Book is one of the most romantic Essex wedding venues with 66 acres of stunning grounds including serene lakes and charming English country gardens.

You can hold your wedding ceremony in the Rafters Barn, followed by a memorable wedding breakfast in the glorious Barn Theatre. In summer, there’s the option for outdoor wedding ceremonies in the brand new open air pergoda positioned on the edge of the Great Lake. There are two cottages on site at this stunning Tudor mansion too that have seven bedrooms between them alongside a luxurious bridal suite.

How about holding your wedding in a venue that was crowned Essex wedding venue of the year in 2020? The exclusive-use venue also boasts the accolade of having the events team of the year, so you know your big day is in safe hands here. The Compasses at Pattiswick is set in the beautiful countryside of Holfield Estate and was formerly a gastro pub, so a wow factor wedding breakfast is guaranteed. This foodie favourite has space for both intimate weddings and larger celebrations up to 120 guests and has plenty of elegant and modern spaces that you can completely personalise to your own taste.

The Essex Barn is a purpose built barn in the grounds of The White Hart in north Essex, so you benefit from the rustic charm of an historic beamed barn, without any of the space restrictions of an old building. The brilliant space can seat up to 200 guests, plus there’s overnight accommodation for 26 guests so you can keep the party going for longer. The space here is ideal for exclusive use weddings with an open mezzanine floor creating an idyllic setting for wedding ceremonies as well as a pretty gazebo surrounded by flowers for summer “I dos”.

The name says it all, and if you hold your big day at this Essex wedding venue you’ll certainly call it “that amazing place” forever more! That Amazing Place doesn’t just have a unique name, it has lots of one of a kind spaces and features that will make your wedding stand out. The venue is exclusive use and is a really flexible choice if you want to do things your own way!

The 15th century manor house is absolutely stunning and when booked with the wedding cottage has space for up to 31 wedding guests to stay. Downstairs in the main house the beautiful, light reception rooms can seat up to 80 people (with the option for larger weddings with an adjoining marquee), complete with a lake view. There’s a choice of rooms for your ceremony or you could say “I do” outdoors in the sublime grounds, home to a gated secret garden and orchard for stunning wedding photos.

Over 800 years old, Vaulty Manor is a beautifully restored 17th century barn in the picturesque area of Goldhanger, in Maldon.  After a fairytale wedding in the barn, you can host a wow factor wedding breakfast in the light-filled oak Baronial Hall. There are also acres of stunning grounds and the terrace is ideal to enjoy a BBQ or Hog Roast during a summer soiree.

After the wedding festivities, the accommodation options are abundant. The refurbished manor house combines Georgian glamour with modern amenities and is where both the bridal suite is located along with accommodation for up to 10 people. The Courtyard rooms are equally luxurious and can hold up to 60 more guests.

With wall-panelling, beams and beautifully historic rooms The Rose and Crown Hotel in Colchester is a very romantic choice of wedding venue. This centrally located hotel has everything you need for a perfect wedding day. The dedicated events team will help you create a tailor made and delicious wedding breakfast while the characterful function suites have space for large weddings of up to 160 guests. Choosing a hotel as a wedding venue means there’s no need for guests to search for accommodation, you’ll find plenty of rooms here including the romantic four poster suite for the newlyweds.

The Lawn is a stately wedding venue in Essex, where you can have either an indoor or outdoor ceremony. Everything here is centred around a magnificent listed Manor House with a light-filled and impressive orangery at its heart as well as a splendid Grand Hall and a sweeping staircase that was made for big entrances.

Other reasons to fall in love with this wedding venue are the glorious landscaped gardens with a stylish wedding gazebo set against the backdrop of a classic English country rose garden and the fact that all your guests can stay over in the neighbouring 4* hotel once you’ve enjoyed an evening of dancing and celebrating in the elegant surroundings.

Maidens Barn is perfectly located in the peaceful Essex countryside, but close enough to the M11 for your guests and suppliers to easily reach it. This charming venue is ideal for couples looking for a traditional rural idyll but with all the modern features you need to have the wedding of your dreams.

The venue is centred around a glorious and lovingly restored barn, with huge windows that let in lots of light and is a picture-perfect place to hold your ceremony and wedding breakfast. There’s also the option to have an outdoor ceremony beneath the romantic flowering arbour in the grounds. At the end of the night you can retire to a very romantic Hideaway Cottage – a wonderful place to spend your first night as a married couple.

This stunning venue, for weddings from 10 – 200 guests, is situated four miles away from Chelmsford in the beautiful Essex countryside and consists of a large picturesque 15th century Tudor Manor House with a moat, beautiful gardens and over 100 acres of grass and woodland with four lakes.

If it’s exclusive use you’re after then you can’t get much better than Newland Hall. Everything from the house, gardens and marquee are yours for the day and there’s even a separate driveway, car park and entrance for staff and suppliers. Every wedding here is completely unique too, with a bespoke package to meet your wedding dreams.

If you like your period features with a side of contemporary elegance then Hatfield Place could be the wedding venue for you. This country house wedding venue with gorgeous grounds has it all – huge Georgian rooms with plenty of character, a sweeping staircase to make an elegant entrance, a stately ceremony hall, a pared back ballroom and an intricately planted walled garden with a contemporary orangery.

There are so many spaces to choose from to make your own as well as magical backdrops for your photos that you’ll be spoiled for choice. You can make the party last longer too and stay with your nearest and dearest in the twelve beautifully furnished guests rooms once the party is over.

Ivy Hill Hotel is a lovely boutique hotel in the countryside outside Chelmsford with nine acres of gorgeous gardens. If you’re looking for contemporary wedding venues in Essex then this hotel could be the place to fulfil all your wedding wishes with 31 smart bedrooms for all your guests, plenty of different spaces to choose from for you ceremony and evening reception and the flexibility to cater for guest lists large and small.

It’s all about peace and serenity at this 16th century mansion. It’s one of the most rural wedding venues in Essex and it is regarded as one of the finest Tudor mansions in the county. It comes complete with barns, cottages, lakes, lawns and a sweeping driveway, so you’ll be spoilt for choice for spaces to celebrate in. The secret cottage is the cherry on top of the cake at this fabulous Essex venue – reserved for the bride and her bridesmaids to enjoy the night before the big day, this gorgeous little addition comes with its very own hot tub.

If you want to feel like royalty on your wedding day then this beautiful venue fit for a king or queen should be the perfect fit. At Gosfield Hall you can live out your period drama dreams with a grand ballroom for your meal and reception, an oak panelled gallery providing a stunning long aisle for your big entrance and the newly licensed carriageway for outdoor weddings. All this romantic and historic charm can be found in the rolling countryside of pretty north Essex and could be exclusively yours for the day and night thanks to the 23 bedrooms and bridal cottage on site.

The list wouldn’t be complete without Woodhall Manor. Not technically one of our wedding venues in Essex, this stunning Elizabethan manor sits just over the border in Suffolk and is all you can dream of in a wedding venue.

Reached by a narrow winding road, Woodhall Manor really does have the wow factor. It stands in Suffolk’s Heritage Coast and is completely secluded from the world. Steeped in history and full of character, it’s a really romantic venue with the option to marry in a glorious walled garden or within the charming house.

How amazing would it be to say you got married in a castle, especially one with so much historical importance like Colchester Castle? This historic castle in the centre of Colchester is one of the most unique venues in Essex. It’s a working museum with over 2,000 years worth of incredible history and your wedding could add to the story.

When it comes to amazing photo backdrops you’re spoiled here with the wooden bridge, spiral stone staircases and pretty Castle Park. You can say your “I dos” in the incredible Chapel, which has stunning high white vaulted ceilings, before celebrating with a reception in the luxurious Charles Grey Room.