Want your wedding to stand out? Check out these 10 quirky wedding venues in London for a celebration your guests won’t forget!
Pop that champagne – you’re getting married! Thanks to the ever-expanding UK wedding industry, there are practically infinite options for where you might host the big event. So how to narrow it down? Well, if the two of you are a little unconventional (and you want your wedding to reflect this!), you’ve come to the right place. Here are the top 10 quirky wedding venues in London, from museums to cinemas to eccentric pubs and more.
In terms of quirky-yet-stylish venues in London, Swingers takes the (ivory, multi-tiered) cake. With multiple Swingers wedding packages to choose from at Swingers West End, we offer everything you could possibly want for your special day!
Take your pick between the Perfect Set package or the Forever Set package to enjoy exquisite food, drinks and entertainment at Swingers West End in London. The Perfect Set is ideal for more intimate receptions (minimum 20 guests at £85/person), while the Forever Set is perfect for larger parties (minimum 50 guests at £135/person).
With both Swingers wedding packages, you’ll receive:
The Forever Set also offers three hours of unlimited drinks and a totally private room for your event (though you’ll have reserved tables with the Perfect Set as well!). But in truth, no matter the size of your party, you and your guests are guaranteed a spectacular time at Swingers. Your wedding will feel extravagant yet personal, whimsical yet totally put-together, thanks to the efforts of our extraordinary teams.
Or you could pledge your nuptials beneath the colossal fossil of Hope the blue whale – just one of many amazing features in the Natural History Museum’s largest gallery, Hintze Hall. This gallery has incredible architecture, with soaring ceilings, stone columns and arches and a dramatic staircase from which you and your partner might descend.
While Hintze Hall is impressive enough, hardcore natural history lovers can also hire out the entire museum, which holds a whopping 3,000 people. Likewise, you could look into Fossil Way – an equally impressive space full of prehistoric fossils – as well as the other smaller halls in the museum.
And if you love nature but prefer living specimens, a garden wedding could be the answer! For a suitably quirky venue, check out the 130-year-old Horniman Conservatory, situated within the gardens of the Horniman Museum in London. Here you can have an outdoor wedding among the trees, then take your reception inside to the conservatory.
This stunning space is a Victorian structure of white cast iron, high ceilings and tiling for a picture-perfect dance floor. It’s ideal for weddings of 120-150 guests, especially if children will be attending – they’re sure to delight in visiting the Horniman Museum’s aquarium and butterfly house.
Shifting gears from day to night, another great London wedding venue is Kachette. Originally home to a 19th-century railway station, this Shoreditch space consists of two restored rooms with exposed brick, gleaming floors and adjustable lighting. Hiring Kachette also gains you access to its state-of-the-art speaker system (it’s a popular venue for DJ sets and private club nights, in addition to weddings).
The open floor plan and equipment make it easy to tailor your reception to your vision, whether that’s cocktails and canapés or a miniature rave! We’d highly recommend it for couples who love to dance – the customisable lights and acoustic space make it an outstanding venue for just this purpose. (And if you love Shoreditch but would prefer a better-stocked venue, you might look into hosting your reception at one of the 10 coolest bars in Shoreditch.)
Know where else people love to party? On a boat – at least according to films and that one song. To be sure, a boat gliding along the River Thames at sunset is another wonderfully quirky wedding venue for you and your partner to consider!
Bateaux London provides wedding packages for up to 200 guests (depending on which riverboat you select) including top-of-the-line food, specialty drinks and of course, the boat itself. Each space is furnished with elegant tables and chairs, plus an on-deck roof terrace on their premier steamboat, the River Room – which would be an inspired choice for a late spring or summer wedding.
For bookworms and Indian food fanatics alike, Cinnamon Club in Westminster hosts weddings and receptions in their sensational restaurant-slash-Victorian-library. This Grade II-listed building not only emanates rich historical significance, it’s also enchanting to modern-day visitors!
That’s not even to mention the food: Indian cuisine like you’ve never had before. Cinnamon Club’s wedding menu includes delicacies like Kerala crab and curry leaf cake, along with satisfying mains like smoked lamb with mint chilli korma and masala cashews. There’s also an extensive vegetarian menu and an equally extensive cocktail menu, all of which makes for a winsome wedding in the heart of London.
If you and your partner love a maxed-out entertainment experience, you’ll adore this quirky London venue. Within Bloomsbury Lanes & Karaoke is their private Kingpin Suite: a shimmering, yellow-accented space complete with bowling lanes, pool tables, ping pong, private bar and lounge area.
Indeed, we’d describe the aesthetic as “ultimate arcade meets gentleman’s club,” with just a few more bells and whistles – for example, a DJ booth set up in the corner for when you’re ready to get groovy! Until then, you and all your guests should be kept entertained and well-fed by this venue, which serves up classic American diner food to pair with craft beers and killer cocktails.
Let’s scale back now to a London venue since time immemorial: the humble pub. Well, the Bull & Gate in Camden is not exactly humble – it’s made our top-10 venues list, after all. But from the framed curiosities on the walls to the rustic details, this is a great pub you can hire without breaking the bank.
In terms of capacity, their main dining room holds up to 120 people, while their more intimate Boulogne Bar is perfect for a smaller reception. On top of what’s on tap, you’ll get some quality seasonal food here, as well as exceptional “extras.” To make it a truly memorable evening, enquire about custom cocktails and a bespoke pub quiz during your reception!
Upstairs at the Ritzy – the venue above Brixton’s Ritzy Picturehouse – is a cinephile couple’s dream come true. With vibrant yet thoughtful decor (leafy plants, vibrant blue walls and the all-important film posters), a private bar space and even a balcony looking out on the city, this wedding venue strikes just the right balance of quirky and chic.
If you can swing it, consider a private screening in one of the cinemas – they range from 50 to 350 people – before moving upstairs for drinks and deep discussions. Don’t forget to get photos on that balcony, either! You can pose dramatically like Romeo and Juliet (the Baz Luhrmann version, of course). And if you’re looking for even more advice for a super-unique wedding, check out our tips on how to make your wedding unique and unforgettable.
For couples who love climbing and camping, but are trying to be considerate of less-outdoorsy guests, the Treehouse Hotel is your solution. You’ll get all the natural appeal and cosiness of the great outdoors without having to sleep on the ground.
In fact, The Nest – the Treehouse’s adorable name for its rooftop space, which includes both indoor and outdoor areas – is possibly the comfiest place for a reception in London, as well as one of the best-catered. With fruity cocktails and champagne to kick things off, then delicious small plates and substantial mains to keep you satisfied, you can while away your wedding day in this little slice of heaven… then go camping for the honeymoon.
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