Wedding Venues in Cornwall

Browse wedding venues across Cornwall and enquire directly - plus how to tell a licensed venue from an unlicensed one, what dry hire actually covers, and the second number every quote has in it.

The venue fixes your date, your guest ceiling and most of the budget after it. Which kind of building suits you is set out in the Cornwall wedding venue guide, with capacities and typical cost by venue type. This page is the stage after that: working out what a wedding venue is actually quoting you.

Whether you can marry there, or only celebrate there

A venue can only host a legally binding civil ceremony if it holds an approved premises licence. Some of the most photographed places in Cornwall do not have one, which is not a reason to rule them out - couples routinely do the legal part at a register office and treat the venue as the celebration. It only becomes a problem if you assume. Ask each venue whether it is licensed, for which rooms and which outdoor spots, and how many the licensed space seats. Then book your registrar separately and check they have your date before you sign anything: the venue diary and the registrar diary are not the same diary.

Capacity, seated capacity and exclusive use

Three numbers get quoted loosely. The headline capacity is usually standing. The seated figure, once round tables and a dance floor are in, is materially lower, and the ceremony room seats fewer again - ask for all three specifically. Exclusive use is the third and the one that surprises people: some venues sell the whole site for the day, others only the room you booked while a second event runs alongside. Ask what else is happening on your date and get the answer in the contract rather than the brochure.

What "dry hire" means at this particular venue

Dry hire has no fixed definition, and two venues using the phrase can be selling quite different things. Rather than assume, ask each to confirm in writing which of these is in the price.

• Catering: their kitchen, an approved supplier list you must use, or a caterer of your own.
• Bar: theirs, or your own supply under a temporary event notice you arrange.
• Tables, chairs, linen and crockery, in the quantities your guest count needs.
• A coordinator on the day, and whether that means running your wedding or unlocking doors.
• Access times for setting up and clearing down, and when the site must be empty.
• Accommodation, where there is any, and whether taking it is optional.

The second number in every quote

Many wedding venues price in two parts: a hire fee, and a minimum spend on food and drink you must reach whatever your final guest count. A low hire fee with a high minimum spend can easily be the dearer of two quotes. Ask for both figures, what counts towards the minimum, and whether either changes for a Friday, a Sunday or a winter date.

For scale, exclusive hire of a Cornish wedding venue for a peak-season Saturday commonly falls between £2,000 and £6,000 before catering, though it varies widely by venue type - the guide above breaks that down further. Season and day of the week move it more than anything else within your control, so ask what your shortlist costs on three different dates before you commit to a Saturday in August.

Figures on this page are a guide only. What you actually pay depends on the supplier, the time of year, and what each quote includes - always confirm the details directly with the supplier.