Читать книгу The High-Street Bride’s Guide: How to Plan Your Perfect Wedding On A Budget - Samantha Birch - Страница 18

So we’ve established that you can hold your reception wherever you want once the papers are signed – and that means a friend’s house or back garden if you happen to know someone with plenty of space, and even more patience. Remember though, if you throw your bash at a mate’s place or go with the marquee option you’ll usually have more choice of suppliers, but you have to be prepared to handpick them yourself – and to sort out the cleaning afterwards.

If you’d rather stick someone else with the washing up, don’t forget you can break out your first dance at any party venue. If you’re having trouble finding anything realistic when you Google ‘wedding venues’ in your area, swap in ‘party venues’ and see what happens.

You’d be surprised how many weird and wonderful places regularly set aside rooms for celebrations: aquaria; boats; cinemas – especially indie ones; courts (yes, you read that right); galleries; libraries; museums; sports clubs; theatres; tourist attractions; unis and colleges outside term time; zoos…

But there are even more options beyond those. Sometimes options neither you nor even the owner has ever thought of. At the end of the day, where you hold your do is about where you can negotiate hire of, even if they don’t normally do it.

How about a loft or apartment that’s available for short-term rental? There are all sorts of sites that offer up people’s homes in popular cities such as London or Edinburgh – just check with the homeowner whether it’s okay to bring a fair few friends back.

Then there are photo studios – they’re often up for hire for freelance photographers and can be great if you’re after a real blank canvas. Because they’re often owned by arty types, you can find some amazing buildings with exposed brick or beams for a cool, contemporary backdrop.

Wherever you find yourself, even if they don’t usually hire out to anyone at all, if you like the space and can see it transformed for your big day, what’s the harm in asking? You’ve got the best chance of getting a green light from the manager if you stick to these three simple rules: