Top 5 DIY Wedding Venues in Cheshire
During my time as a Cheshire wedding photographer, I’ve had the pleasure of shooting loads of weddings around the county. My home in Sale is a great base for exploring the area and over the years I’ve got to know many lovely Cheshire wedding venues.
Cheshire has so much to offer when it comes to weddings. If you go for a drive around the countryside, you’ll never be far from a luxury wedding venue! There are so many places to choose from. Stately homes, National Trust properties, barn and farm wedding venues and no corkage wedding venues are just some of the types on offer.
With so much choice, it can be overwhelming to find the right wedding venue for you. If you really want to put your own stamp on your big day, a DIY wedding venue could be right up your street….
DIY Wedding Guide
There are various levels to how DIY you can go. Many of my couples opt for a completely DIY wedding, in which they choose everything for themselves. This is the perfect way to have a wedding that suits YOU down to a tee. However, a truly DIY wedding can be a lot of hard work! Since many of the essentials will not be provided by your wedding venue, you’ll need to be super organised with your planning. You may have to think about more practical aspects (such as toilet hire, for example!)
If planning everything right down the the last detail sounds too intense, you could consider a bespoke wedding venue. Venues like this have the essentials in place for your ceremony and reception, but you can choose outside catering, bring your own drinks and decorate the space exactly how you’d like.
When planning a DIY wedding, it’s wise to consider enlisting the help of a wedding planner. You can also ask your wedding photographer for supplier recommendations from previous DIY weddings. Gathering together a team of trusted suppliers will ensure a stress free day that you can enjoy to the fullest.
So without further ado, here’s my top 5 DIY wedding venues Cheshire. If you’re wedding planning and you want to do things your way, you can find my top suggestions for bespoke wedding venues right here.
Penney Fields Wedding Photography
Penny Fields wedding photography from Katie & Andy’s tipi wedding in Cheshire.
This one is probably the most DIY of all the DIY venues I know. Essentially, Penney Fields a large field in the Cheshire countryside that’s available for event hire. This venue really does offer a completely blank canvas for your imagination to run wild!
You can use the space at Penney Fields to have an outdoor wedding ceremony with a celebrant, personalising it to suit you as a couple. You could put up a tipi or marquee for your reception and have all you pals to celebrate with you. There’s loads of room for street food vans and cocktail bars to keep everyone fed and watered. Plus, lots of space for kids to run about and host garden games for your guests.
I’m pretty sure you can have everyone over to camp overnight too. Perfect if you want to create your own festival wedding at Penney Fields!
Hilltop Barn Wedding Photography
Colleen & Sam’s Wedding Highlights from Cassandra Lane on Vimeo.
Hilltop Barn wedding photography from Coleen & Sam’s rustic barn wedding in Cheshire.
This wedding venue is located in Poynton, near Stockport. With Lyme Park only a stones throw away, Hilltop Barn is a real countryside gem within striking distance of both Manchester and the Peak District. What’s really special about Hilltop Barn is its incredible views over Manchester. Your guests are sure to enjoy looking at the rolling countryside whilst sipping on a craft beer!
Hilltop Barn has all the essentials for your wedding. There’s a pretty outdoor space for ceremonies, a barn for your reception and marquee hire available (plus indoor toilets!) The barn has been sympathetically restored in keeping with a rustic style, whilst feeling luxe enough for a special occasion. What makes this venue DIY is the ability to choose your own caterers, bring your own drinks and decorate it just as you’d like. Plus, camping space for your guests to stay over.
Hilltop Barn is a relatively new wedding venue and I’m told they only do a few weddings a year. I’d get in quick and book if I were you!
Stock Farm Wedding Barn Wedding Photography
Stock Farm wedding barn photographs from Roxy & Dan’s and Courtney & Stephen’s weddings
This bespoke wedding venue is part of the Tatton Estate and is located near Altrincham, Cheshire. It’s a very pretty setting for a wedding celebration, surrounded by gorgeous fields that you can use for wedding photographs.
Whilst it’s not strictly a DIY venue, Stock Farm offers couples a lot of choice for their wedding. It’s licensed for legal ceremonies, pet-friendly and offers a lot of scope when it comes to putting your own stamp on your day. You can hold an outdoor ceremony on the lawn (the legal bit can be done inside the house). For receptions, you have the option of the barn, a marquee or a tipi.
What sets Stock Farm Wedding Barn apart from other similar venues is its vast space, indoors and out. It’s a great choice if you need to accommodate a large number of guests, or you want to hire street food vans, photo booths or even crazy golf!
Wedding highlights film from Roxy & Dan’s Stock Farm Wedding
Dunham Massey Village Hall Wedding Photography
Dunham Massey Village Hall wedding photography from Lindy & Claire’s village hall wedding in Cheshire.
Hiring a village hall for a wedding is a budget-friendly way to go DIY. You have all the benefits of being able to choose your own outside caterers and drinks, with a much lower price tag than a dedicated wedding venue.
Dunham Massey Village Hall has a quirky vintage feel and is a great choice if you want your wedding reception to be relaxed and informal. Think bunting, vintage china and cake competitions! It also has the benefit of being in a cute village next to the canal.
Unlike some of the other venues in my list, you won’t be able to have your legal ceremony at Dunham Massey Village Hall. However, St. Mark’s Dunham Massey is a stones throw away if you want a church wedding and Altrincham Town Hall is nearby for civil ceremonies. You could also consider a celebrant-led ceremony and do the legal bit at another time!
Dunham Massey Village Hall is run by a team of volunteers and bookings are by telephone only. See the Dunham Massey Village Hall website for more information.
Anna & Tom’s ceremony at St. Mark’s Dunham Massey and Village Hall Wedding Photography.
DIY Wedding at Home
Wedding Photography Cheshire from Charley & Tom’s DIY tipi wedding at home.
Now I know this isn’t a venue… but I thought it was worth putting the idea in your head about getting married at home! In the past few years, I’ve shot quite a few weddings at my couples’ homes or even farms. If you’ve got the space to host your wedding at home, you can put up a marquee, tipi or yurt and celebrate for as many days as you’d like! Just remember to invite your neighbours!
With a wedding at your own home, you call the shots when it comes to every last detail. Just because your wedding is at home doesn’t mean it has to be any less ‘wow’ either. The sky is the limit when it comes to choosing special touches and you can really go wild with customising your day however you choose. I’ve seen fairground games, oyster bars and ice-cream shacks at these weddings which has been awesome.
All this and you can also have a quick disco nap in your own bed after the wedding breakfast! Joking apart, if you don’t mind some disruption to your life by becoming a wedding venue for a weekend, it can be a wonderful choice as it makes the day feel really personal.
You might also like to check out these other at-home weddings from outside of Cheshire: Tipi Wedding in Cumbria and Colourful Marquee Wedding Photography.
DIY Wedding Venues Cheshire
I hope you have enjoyed my guide to the top 5 DIY wedding venues Cheshire! If you liked reading this post, you might also like my post about my top 5 quirky wedding venues Manchester. As a Cheshire wedding photographer I have lots of experience with venues in the local area. So if you like the look of my work, I would love to hear from you. Please fill out the contact form or pop me an email and I’ll get back to you with my availability and brochure.