Planning A Village Hall Wedding
I love a village hall wedding, there’s something uniquely personal about getting all the people you love in a village hall and celebrating your wedding day in your own personal way, the atmosphere is always vibrant and it feels so communal. It’s a perfect way to put your own stamp and vision on your day and when done well they beat the pants off a pre-organised wedding in a fancy venue. Arranging a village hall wedding is rather different to having your wedding at a venue that specializes in weddings. So here’s some handy hints to help you with planning your perfect village hall wedding day.
1. Your wedding ceremony
One of the first things to think about is where you want to have your wedding ceremony. When you’re planning your ideal wedding location you will need to think about where is our ceremony going to take place, not many village halls have a licence to hold a wedding ceremony so if you really want a civil ceremony at your reception venue this may limit your choices. Of course, you can opt for a church wedding and the good thing is Churches and village halls are usually in proximity to each other. Don’t fancy a Church wedding? Humanist ceremonies are perfect and can take place anywhere, ideal if you want to get married outside or at the village hall itself, just be aware they aren’t legally binding so you will need to have a legal ceremony at a registry office.
2. Getting organised & point of contact
Village halls are becoming very popular wedding locations, but they aren’t a dedicated wedding venue like a hotel or purpose built wedding barn so won’t have a dedicated wedding coordinator. The beauty of a wedding coordinator is they deal with all the things you shouldn’t have to on your wedding day, there are things to think about on your wedding like where things need setting up, where to put your cake, the tables, the comfy chairs, the alcohol, how to arrange the flowers and table decorations etc etc - trust me, this isn’t something you want on your wedding plate the day before or the day of your wedding. Why not hire a helper, or ask a very organised close friend to help out? They can be the focus of all the questions from suppliers, take phone calls and help make sure your day runs smoothly.
3. Accommodation - where is everyone going to stay?
While most people are grown-up enough to find accommodation nearby on their own, it’s still worth thinking about letting people know they do actually need to think about it. Remember a village hall don’t have bedrooms for most of your guests. A great idea is to research some nearby accommodation and make a few days of your wedding, guest houses, holiday cottages or Airbnbs are a great way for everyone to get together before your day and have a fun few days beforehand (with the added bonus that you’ve got plenty of helpers on tap to help you decorate your venue if you’re going full DIY). Local pubs and B&B’s are also a great option for people, perhaps have a list of possible places to send your guests when you invite them, it’s nicer if pods of people can meet up beforehand - it helps with the friendly feel of your wedding day.
Local holiday cottages are a great place for groups of people to stay over for your wedding, even better if they have a hot tub!
4. Decorations and dressing your wedding venue
A village hall is perfect for DIY wedding’ers! It’s a very hands on thing and there’s something really special about transforming a plain room into your own little wedding paradise for the day, it’s also a bonus that everyone tends to get involved (including the photographer if you’re me and turn up the day before). Friends and family are often more than happy to help out and once it’s complete there’s a wonderful sense of accomplishment seeing your vision is reality. It’s worth checking with your venue what you can and can’t use before you go crazy making and sourcing decorations, some don’t like things attached to walls or ceilings, others give you free rein to do what you want.
Places like eBay, etsy and local charity shops can be great sources of wedding decorations and fittings, not forgetting reclaim yards and using some of your handier DIY friends to get creative - I’ve seen some wonderful setups made by couples and their friends!
5. Sustenance aka Wedding Food and Drink!
You’re in complete control here woohoo or ohhh no what do we do? Don’t fret, it’s cool to be the boss of your own wedding menu (and drink requirements). The great thing with a village hall is you can save hundreds, sometimes thousands on your bar bill - your guests can bring their own drink, there’s usually no corkage charge and no queues for the bar (assuming your location doesn’t have a staffed bar but most don’t), just make sure you find somewhere to store the fizzy and beer to keep it cool, asking the groomsmen to sort out a huge ice container (I’ve seen old tin baths used) is something they’ll no doubt be keen to help with!
You can of course hire a mobile bar, they come in all sorts of wonderful variations with converted camper vans, vintage bicycles with trailers, full on cocktail makers, speciality prosecco or gin bars the world really is your alcohol oyster, and how about a mobile espresso option to pep any flagging guests up ready for the evening partying?
Food-wise the options are endless, there are caterers who’ll pander to every and any taste and you can have more than one - what about a barbeque, fish and chip van, street food stalls, pizza, pie and mash or even do it yourself and ask some of your friends to pitch in the day before (although you’ll need to think of logistics for cooking / storage / transport if you go down this route).
If you’ve got a load of kids going why not have an area where they can decorate their own cakes, ask some of the grans to make some plain sponge cakes and bring a lot of sugary decoration stuff, everyone loves kids full of sugar right?
6. Other little touches that you might not initially think about
Somewhere to sit inside. Indoors is usually no problem, village halls have chairs aplenty but having something a bit comfier for the older folk is sometimes a nice touch. Why not create a small relaxation area out of some comfy chairs, a table and lamp from a charity shop? Giant beanbags for the kids perhaps?
Outdoor seating. Some people will bring chairs outside if they want to congregate, some village halls may have outside seating already in the form of picnic tables. If not, hay bales are a good option, they’re relatively cheap, eco friendly and very comfy - especially if you provide a pile of cheap blankets and shrugs for people to wrap up in. A couple of fire pits is also an option, just remember to check if it’s ok with your point of contact at the hall.
Loos. Most village halls have loos, some don’t though. It’s worth considering if you maybe need more, after all a single loo isn’t going to go down very well! Portable loos are often a good option, and the added bonus is you can create a bit of a festival vibe outside with mobile catering, some fun games, music (check noise regulations) and fire pits…marshmallows anyone?
A DIY snug area made for a village hall wedding. Seating and lamp were from a local charity shop and the tables were a barrel cut in half from a local reclaim yard. Total cost £100 and a bit of sawing!
Essentials boxes. Little boxes in the loos with essentials in is a lovely touch (and often handy). You can fill them with all sorts including deodorant (for the hardcore dancers), compede plasters for blisters, headache tablets, perfume and after shave (little sample bottles work well), mints and chewing gum, hand sanitizer, little packs of tissues etc - little things but I bet a lot of people will need something from them at some point!
Cutlery, plates & glasses. It’s great that you’re thinking about feeding everyone, they’ll all need the energy for your party right? Does your village hall provide the stuff to eat it off? Check you don’t need to hire in plates, cutlery and glasses etc…if you do they can probably advise somewhere local, some supermarkets have a hire service I’ve seen a lot of couples use Morrisons.
Timings. Check what time you need to be out by, some have strict finishing times and you don’t want to be ushering people out at 10.30 when your evening is in full flow and everyone is expecting to party until 1am! Also noise restrictions, if your hall is located in a built-up area there may be restrictions on how loud you can have music, great for the neighbours, not great if your band or dj likes a loud old party!
I hope these hints and tips help with planning your DIY village hall wedding, some of the best weddings I’ve photographed have been in village halls I love love love the atmosphere at them!
Thanks for reading, Paul x
There’s a handy resource here to help you find a village hall: https://www.hallshire.com/