Skip to main content
Weddings
5 couples are considering this venue right now. Save your date

About

On Hitched.co.uk since 2022

Last update: March 2024

***HIGHEST RATED CASTLE VENUE IN UK ON HITCHED***

Hedingham Castle is a historic and unique wedding venue nestled in the charming village of Castle Hedingham on the Essex-Suffolk border. If you've been dreaming of a fairytale celebration full of romance and atmosphere, take a moment to appreciate this 900-year-old Norman keep, grand Georgian Country House and picturesque gardens. With such an impressive and regal backdrop for your vows, Hedingham Castle brings the wow-factor to your big day. Because a magnificent marriage begins in a magnificent place.

Facilities and Capacity

Civil ceremonies at Hedingham Castle are held in the Banqueting Hall, a breathtaking double height space with soaring ceilings and many old-world details that will entice your photographer. The hall is ideal for up to 100 seated guests, and the Minstrels' Gallery offers space for an additional 30. After exchanging your vows by candlelight, you and your guests can follow the path across the Henry VII's Tudor Bridge and gather for a drinks reception in the Great Hall of the Georgian House. This area is perfect for a relaxed champagne toast overlooking the grounds and picturesque lake. If you're planning a seated evening reception, you're welcome to celebrate beneath the grand Ballroom Marquee, suitable for up to 150 guests. Thanks to the lush greenery and tulip trees, you'll enjoy complete privacy there. Alternatively, host your entire day in the Castle itself, with an enchanting wedding breakfast in the Tapestry Room which can host up to 70 guests.

Outdoor Ceremonies

If you would prefer to say your vows outside, we are able to offer outdoor ceremonies on the lawns of the Georgian House with stunning views over the lake.

Weekend Weddings

Picture this: the entirety of the Hedingham Estate is yours for the weekend. The magnificent 900-year-old Castle, the beautiful Georgian House with its elegant rooms and Ballroom Marquee, and the charming Garden Cottage and Lodge surrounded by romantic Essex countryside. Spend an enchanting three days with your most cherished friends and family and create memories that will last a lifetime. Make Hedingham your home for the weekend and soak up every magical moment.

Catering

Hedingham Castle offers a choice of three trusted caterers for you to choose from, all of which can provide extensive menus and offer tastings, and can be flexible to your requirements.

Services Offered

Upon booking Hedingham Castle, your dedicated wedding coordinator will work closely with you to bring your vision to life. This team is known for their impeccable attention to detail and will ensure everything is perfect, from fine-tuning your aesthetic to your wedding breakfast menu. To help make your big day run smoothly, they are happy to provide an on-site hairdresser and beautician and will also work closely with your own chosen suppliers. This venue also invites couples to spend their first night as newlyweds in their charming Garden Cottage, complete with its own private orchard, just a stone's throw from the Castle.

NEW! Couples can also choose the brand new honeymoon retreat situated inside the Castle itself, The Royal Chamber. Positioned on the top floor of the Castle, this is the very first modern bedroom inside a Norman Keep in the country and is the ultimate in historic luxury, complete with enormous four poster bed, double bath and commanding views of the stunning Essex countryside.

ALSO NEW! Elopements now available - intimate weddings for two for couples seeking a romantic and private celebration.

Messages sent successfully.

Bundle and save time!
Contact Hedingham Castle and their preferred suppliers

Frequently asked questions

Venue type:

In the country
Unusual weddings
Castle
Stately home
Historic
Landmark
Outdoor license
Unique weddings

Ceremony options:

Civil ceremony licence

Dining options:

Seated meal facilities
Corkage option
Alcohol licence
Buffet meal facilities
In-house catering

Evening entertainment:

Marquee available
Dance floor
Entertainment licence
Live band facilities
Evening reception facilities
DJ facilities

Overnight accommodation:

Overnight accommodation for wedding couple
Overnight accommodation for guests

Venue staff assistance:

Wedding coordinator

Venue leisure facilities:

Hairdresser
Beautician

Other features:

Exclusive use
Accessible facilities
Car parking
Helipad
Confetti permitted
illustration question

Do you have any questions?

Request pricing

Reviews for Hedingham Castle

5.0 out of 5 rating
5.0 out of 5 rating
370 reviews
100% recommend it
  • Quality of the service
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Response time
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Value for money
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    5 out of 5 rating
Renate
Renate S. Sent on 24/09/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Beautiful Day

We thoroughly enjoyed the whole wedding organising experience. I personally am missing that it is over now. The day was perfect. The guests said the day could not have gone any better.

The staff were brilliant and very well organised. Jacqui was wonderful and very caring. She dealt with the issue of whose flowers were who superbly.

Thank you for a wonderful wedding day.
Josie
Josie Sent on 20/08/2022
5 out of 5 rating

A dream come true xx

Our fairy tale venue!!

We simply had the most wonderful, wonderful day! I couldn’t have asked for a better service or more from the team that helped us.

Sarah was a rock and nothing was too much trouble from day one even through my million emails and questions. Jackie made our day run so smoothly and was often seen just out of sight running and organising everything to a T.

Jenny really made the morning getting ready delightful, she made teas and got Prosecco’s and even sewed up a last minute hole in a bridesmaids dress seam! It really was a fairy tale dream come true and a day we will remember with thanks for all of our lives. Jenny’s husband Bob also helped all of the guests and made them feel welcome as did all of the staff from the moment everyone arrived.

Hedingham castle is exquisitely grand but the warmth of the team and the feel of the place felt so homely and intimate. We knew the day was going to be good but it was better then what we could have ever hoped for.

A big thank you to the lovely Demetra and the Lindsay family for creating such a wonderful venue and for being so kind and welcoming to us, from start to finish there aren’t enough gold stars for you all and you deserve every hard earned award you get - we feel privileged to be part of the history of the castle.

Love Mrs S xx
Rebecca
Rebecca H. Sent on 20/01/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Our dream day

Hedingham castle was the only venue we viewed and we booked instantly just two weeks after our engagement. Hedingham castle has everything you need in one place but within separate buildings which I think is impossible to find elsewhere.
The castle is stunning and so atmospheric, the mansion house and their gardens are idillic for reception drinks and canapés and the marquee has the wow factor, unlike so many. The James bond chandeliers are a stand out feature, the loo’s are modern and clean, the bar doesn’t dominate the space and the dance floor is a little surprise once the curtains are pulled back. The accommodation is ideal for what you need to lay your head after the best day of your life.
Like many, we were planning our wedding during covid. Sarah and all the team at Hedingham castle remained upbeat regardless of what was going on back stage. They helped to keep us positive that our day would happen and it did, on the 01st of October 2021. They delivered a seamless day that we had dreamt of. From Bob on the entrance gate to the bar manager who drove us back to the accommodation at the end of the night the staff could not have done more and our guests even commented so.
Thank you to all at Hedingham castle we will be forever grateful to you all for providing the best day of our lives.
E
Louise T. Sent on 30/06/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Incredible! Flawless wedding venue

Absolutely incredible wedding venue! From the moment we booked right up until the end of our wedding day, the staff were just amazing - always there to answer any questions along the way (no matter how silly they were!). Since our wedding, our family and friends have all echoed how amazing the staff at Hedingham Castle were on the day - it’s so nice to hear it wasn’t just us with this option. Flawless venue - thank you Hedingham Castle for our dream wedding!
N
Natalie C. Sent on 26/08/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing - the wedding of our dreams

We had our wedding at Hedingham Castle in August 2022 and it was absoultey amazing. Everything was perfect - the venue itself, the planning, detail and care Sarah and the team put in leading up to the wedding, the food and the staff on the day. I honestly cannot thank everyone at Hedingham enough for making our day so special.
R
Rachel Sent on 25/02/2023
4.8 out of 5 rating

Perfect, stunning wedding venue!

We got married at Hedingham Castle in August of 2022, and I cannot say enough good things about the venue and Sarah and her team.

I live in the US (my husband is British hence the UK wedding), and Sarah worked with me through time zone differences and my need to iron out every single detail with her. We rented the venue for two days to throw a more casual welcome party on the Friday and then the full wedding on Saturday-- Sarah and her team managed to pull together both a casual outdoor event with activities on Friday quickly followed by a black tie elegant affair on Saturday. Everything was absolutely perfect down to the last detail.

On the Friday, they had a magnificent outdoor tent to allow for cover from the sun where we set up picnic tables and wine fridges for guests to help themselves. Inside, there was a wine a beer bar in the castle along with the buffet and indoor tables if people preferred to eat inside. We hired a historian from the castle to tour our guests to learn the history of the stunning castle grounds, and we hired games, archery, and falconry, which Sarah was kind enough to coordinate for us. Our guests were blown away by the history and beauty of the castle.

On the Saturday, the venue was transformed into an elegant fairytale, where our guests told us that they couldn't believe so many different settings were in one venue!!!!! They took an old red double decker bus from the hotel to the venue where they were seated in the castle for the ceremony. Sarah and the staff adorned the room in candles and despite being a 3pm summer ceremony, the room was dimly lit by romantic candlelight. Following the ceremony, guests went out to the lawn where we got photo and then were ushered to the bridge to throw confetti, quickly followed by heading into the house for drinks reception. This was yet another magnificent change of scenery where guests were thrilled by the restrooms behind the bookcase, the stunning house indoors, and mostly by the surprise of the French doors opening up to a fairytale lawn to enjoy their champagne and cocktails in a picturesque landscape. When guests were then ushered into the marquis for the reception, they couldn't believe that there was yet another location at the venue. Sarah and her team moved mountains to make the reception perfect as well. Sarah worked closely with me on the table layout, which tables could and could not move for the dance floor to open, placing the menus and napkins exactly how I wanted them, and ensuring that we had the right number of drinks ordered to keep the drinks flowing!

In addition to the experience for all the guests, we had my parents and my in-laws stay at the bridal cottage on the grounds, and my husband and I and the bridal party stayed at the Lodge on the grounds. Everything was just perfect for us and our closest family and friends.

Hopefully the length and detail of this review convey just how much I loved everything about this venue - don't miss the opportunity to get married in this incredible, versatile space! Six months later, our guests are still talking about it, and for us, it was absolutely the best weekend of our lives.
G
Georgia S. Sent on 05/07/2022
4.8 out of 5 rating

Unforgettable Day - the best of our lives!

I must say a heartfelt thank you, on behalf of my husband and family as well, to everyone at Hedingham for being so wonderful from start to finish.
Poor Sarah was probably sick of my constant emails in the run up! She never failed to reassure me or answer my questions. And somehow Jackie managed to ensure everything ran smoothly on the day with every single one of our huge number of guests!
I would live our wedding day on repeat if I could. All my childhood dreams and more came true at Hedingham.
The only complaint I have is that we cannot do it all again next year!!

Georgia and Joseph Stewart
C
Charlie K. Sent on 04/01/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Pure Delight, What a Team!

Sarah and the team at Hedingham Castle were just incredible from start to finish. For us the team were involved in our wedding from our engagement as that happened at the castle!!! It was beautiful and felt so personal to have Sarah there from day 1 to our wedding day! Jackie was our wedding day coordinator and was not only the nicest person but also did not spare any moment running the day perfectly and making us feel so special at every step. The fact that Demetra was also a part of our engagement, and offered to show our parents round once we had booked our day was also very touching and made it even more personal. Alongside the incredible service we received the venue is just absolutely stunning, and truly worth every penny spent to enjoy our day!
Thank you to all at Hedingham Castle, Sarah, Jackie, Demetra and the team there we could not have asked for a better venue and team!!
F
Francesca M. Sent on 05/01/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Best day ever!

After having to change our date 3 times, the staff at the castle were so helpful and reassuring all the way through. When the day come, everything run so smoothly and was perfect!
Everyone commented on how amazing the venue was and loved the fact that each part of the day you experience another part of the venue. Ceremony in the castle, pictures in front of the castle, drinks in the gardens with the amazing lake and then finally dinner and dancing in the marquee.
I would recommend Hedingham Castle in a heartbeat and I wish I could do the day all over again.
R
Grace P. Sent on 15/07/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Incredible

What can I say that will actually do Hedingham justice? From the beginning we fell head over heels in love with this stunning venue but not only the venue the incredible staff. We met Sarah from our first visit at Hedingham and I can honestly say I don’t know what we would have done without her. Through the whole pandemic Sarah, & Hedingham generally, were fantastic. Supportive of date changes and our crying phones calls to them, they became like a family to us over 3 and a half years of planning our day and we genuinely now miss them so much.
On the day of our wedding, which was the best day of our lives, everyone was truly incredible. Jackie our corrdinator was amazing!!! AMAZING!! She made us relax and truly enjoy what was the most magical day.
We wish we could thank personally every single person who was there on our day. So Hedingham team, thank you, thank you for everything you did during the pandemic, thank you for looking after us and most importantly thank you for getting us married ❤️
We wish we could do it all over again! See you in 10 years to renew our vows.

Grace & Oli Game xxxx
H
Nicola E. Sent on 04/01/2022
5 out of 5 rating

Dream venue & day

We had our wedding in August 2021, after several setbacks & cancellations dues to Covid.Sarah and the team at Hedingham were amazing throughout planning, rescheduling and on the day. Highly recommend as a wedding venue, the location itself is breathtaking and the staff were professional throughout! Thank you x
L
Leigh Sent on 27/06/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Wow just wow!

Thank you so much, you have been amazing and words do not reflect how wonderful our gorgeous day was. Every guest complimented your service.
M
Michelle Sent on 27/06/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Made to feel special

Thank you to all the staff at the Castle for making my daughter's wedding the huge success that it was. It really was the perfect day and we can't thank the team enough. From the minute we arrived we were treated as if we were the only wedding you had ever had at the Castle and made to feel very special. It is the perfect venue, the day ran like clockwork, food was delicious and all our guests were blown away with the venue.
S
Shelley Sent on 27/06/2018
5 out of 5 rating

Loved every minute

Where to start, just simply amazing, from start to finish! The staff were so helpful and informative. Every single guest commented on how beautiful the venue was and it truly is. We loved every minute.
J
Jennie Sent on 10/05/2018
5 out of 5 rating

So much more than excellent.

Everything was outstanding- so much more than excellent. Our day was beautiful and magical, thank you all so much.
illustration stars

Did the reviews win you over?

Send a message

Badges

Hitched Wedding Awards 2023 Winner

Hedingham Castle Real Weddings

Sophie & Scott
47 photos · 15/07/2023
Kathleen & Matthew
49 photos · 20/08/2022
Debs & Michael
29 photos · 17/06/2022
Jasmine & Joe
16 photos · 21/09/2021

Deals

Preferred suppliers

Bespoke Celebrant Ceremonies
5.0 out of 5 rating , 130 reviews
· Celebrants
Lavenham Photographic
5.0 out of 5 rating , 42 reviews
· Photographers
Wild Poppies
5.0 out of 5 rating , 11 reviews
· Florists
Limeberry
5.0 out of 5 rating , 20 reviews
· Catering
Kristian Leven Photography
5.0 out of 5 rating , 22 reviews
· Photographers

Map

Bayley Street CO9 3DJ Sible Hedingham (Essex)
illustration visit

Would you like to schedule a visit?

Request a visit

Other suppliers in Essex for your wedding

Wedding Venues

Responds within 24 hours