Stories from Your Wedding Friend - The Wedding Planner's Blog
A venue steeped in history, Offley Place has a lot to offer wedding planning couples. Firstly it has gorgeous grounds but more than that it can offer space for weddings of different sizes. Independently owned since 2003, the venue has seen rejuvenation and introduction of new spaces and continues to grow so at the time of reading this, further offers may well have been added! So, what does it offer right now?
A warm comfortable welcome to this grade II listed building gives you a hint of what's to come, so your guests will be thrilled to be there too. It's full of character and traditional charm, not modern but a mixture of the two. Venue spaces are elegant and rustic, and mostly full of light. Some spaces can be used in conjunction with others, such as the Conservatory and restaurant, and can be set up flexibly.
Capacity varies from space to space but can go from 30 to 250 guests, with the Hester Ballroom providing the largest space and can be used for dry hire if preferred for cultural reasons. Both main spaces have a similar feel with their wooden floors, brickwork walls and skylights, so you don't have to compromise on the look and feel. The Ballroom is licensed for religious and civil ceremonies, as are rooms within the main part of the hotel.
The venue is available for an exclusive use option if required for total privacy, which is nice but comes at a premium and needs booking a fair while in advance. Of course, this includes the hotel rooms, so that cost can be spread amongst friends and family. For average usage you may wish to bear in mind that other events and guests may be floating around the venue.
For smaller weddings the Rose View Suite is ideal, with its own private patio and garden area.
I'm a total foodie so I'm always drawn to menus. And yes, I generally start at desserts - if a venue has a great dessert menu, I'm usually confident that the rest of the menu will match up. Offley Place have a wonderful menu; traditional 3 course, canapes and buffet but as mentioned if you want to go off menu you can certainly discuss it with them, though you will likely be limited to this using the Hester Ballroom only.
In general, Offley Place is a lovely venue in a fab location that ticks a lot of boxes, however you need to be aware that with the skylights it's possible that the rooms get a bit hot in full sun. There are only 16 bedrooms available in the hotel so if you don't go for exclusive use you don't get access to all the bedrooms. There are other hotel options not too far from Great Offley, a short taxi ride away.