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Weddings

About

Just 90 minutes from central London, The Gallivant is a small boutique wedding venue in Camber, East Sussex, offering soon-to-be-weds a beachside experience worthy of the Hamptons. Every inch of this coastal haven is curated for happy memories and feel-good moments, from the refreshing food to the roaring, crackling fire. Fully licensed for civil ceremonies, this is the perfect place for a destination wedding far from the bustle of city life.

Facilities and Capacity

Overlooking the rolling dunes and pristine blues of Camber Sands beach, The Gallivant boasts a coastal property worthy of this Sussex treasure. Recognized as one of the top seaside hotels, this intimate venue proudly dons its title as a finalist in the Beautiful South Awards for wedding locations. And it's easy to see why. Arriving on this slice of south-east beauty, you will have the exclusive use of all the luxury this little hotel can provide in abundance—including its 20 stylish bedrooms. Whether you seek only a handful of guests or a packed house, the hotel opens its entire premises to your wedding festivities. The choice of rooms includes the Cabin Room, which seats 14, the Dining Room for 30, and the Open Space, which easily hosts up to 80. You can even embrace the elements with a drinks reception on the sand dunes before tucking into a three-course locally sourced gourmet wedding feast in the newly renovated Summer House.

Services Offered

The Gallivant is pleased to provide you with an elite events team dedicated to crafting memorable, replenishing occasions. They offer absolute flexibility, invigorated with a mindful touch that takes stock of your important details. Operating on a desire to take the pressure off, they are here to adjust the serene setting to your preferences, no matter the wedding size. Alongside these event experts, Jamie and his culinary team are at hand to deliver the best of British cuisine anywhere you'd like, whether it's on the outside terrace or a picnic blanket. Bliss and ease form the heart of this hotel retreat, and nowhere celebrates this more than The Beach Hut. Just a stone's throw from the sea, this relaxing treatment room offers everything needed to get you wedding-ready and fresh-faced for your first adventure as newlyweds. Explore the website for more sumptuous details.

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Frequently asked questions

Venue type:

In the country
Small hotel
Coastal weddings
Unusual weddings
Outdoor license
Unique weddings

Ceremony options:

Civil ceremony licence

Dining options:

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

Evening entertainment:

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:

Beautician

Other features:

Exclusive use
Accessible facilities
Car parking
Pet-friendly

Reviews for The Gallivant

Hattie
Hattie Sent on 04/06/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Absolutely incredible

We LOVED getting married at The Gallivant - it is the most stunning venue and it was so special to be able to bring all of our guests there for a unique experience and to have them all stay at the venue with us. We went for a big hungover swim at the sea next day (with blankets, towels, flasks of tea and coffee - all provided by the Gallivant!), which was such a fun experience.

The team were incredible from start to finish and thought of every single detail that made our day even more special. Daisy was a fantastic wedding planner, who was always responsive and came up with some amazing ideas for how we can really make the most of the space at The Gallivant. The food was unreal (many of our guests commented it was the best food they'd ever eaten, let alone at a wedding!). On the day, Hamish and the team thought of everything, dealing with any issue that came up, catering to each of our guests and making sure that my husband and I were able to have many moments together just us - we didn't have to worry about a thing and could fully focus on enjoying every part of the day.

We could not recommend having your wedding at the Gallivant more. If you want a relaxed, chic and elegant wedding, where you can have all your guests in one place and bring them the best of local food, wine and a team that will do anything to make sure you have the best possible day.

A
Alice Sent on 06/07/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Simply perfect

The most beautiful, special wedding weekend we could have ever dreamed of! In contrast to many other wedding venues, The Gallivant really does make an effort to make you feel special from the very first visit onwards... there is nothing about it that makes you feel like you're "just another wedding". Their attention to detail, incredible local food and wine, impeccable service and absolutely stunning venue make this a really special place to get married.

It has a relaxed, yet stylish and high quality feel to it, without being pretentious. Being able to hire the whole hotel out for your friends and family to stay with you feels so special and unique, and our guests haven't been able to stop praising it since. From the outstanding food and drink (some of the best we've ever had, despite it being "mass catering"), to the amazingly helpful and friendly staff, to the organisation in the lead up to and on the day itself. Everything felt taken care of and we had a completely stress-free and care-free day! Drinks reception on the dunes, in the beaming sunshine, really was the icing on the cake too!

We can't recommend The Gallivant enough if you're looking for a relaxed, slightly alternative, unique, beautiful, stylish wedding venue with the best food and drink you could imagine!
Christopher
Christopher Sent on 11/07/2021
5 out of 5 rating

Magical, unique, memorable… the best day

We originally planned to get married in Spain in 2020, but the pandemic put paid to that, and it was by something of an accident we came across the Gallivant when searching for a UK venue. But as we write this two weeks on, we wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The Gallivant was simply perfect. The venue is gorgeous, the service impeccable, the food and drink absolutely sensational, and the drinks reception on the Dunes in the sunshine, with the brilliant Ben on the piano, genuinely was the stuff of dreams. The run-up to the day wasn’t easy, with doubts over restrictions and numbers, but we can’t thanks Sarah and the rest of the staff for all of their understanding and flexibility. This is what the future has to be about - people working together and helping each other out to create happy memories. We can’t recommend The Gallivant highly enough.
J
Jaime Sent on 17/06/2021
5 out of 5 rating

A perfect day at the Gallivant!

Having originally planned to get married in August 2020, due to government restrictions we tied the knot in October 2020 with 15 of our nearest and dearest. Even at the best of times, the build up to your wedding can become quite stressful(!) however the support we received from everyone at the Gallivant was overwhelming. Sarah was our main point of contact and was amazing from the planning stages through to the day itself, going above and beyond to make sure we and our guests were perfectly looked after.
Head chef Jamie put together the most incredible menu for the day and the quality of the food and drink served across our weekend really stood out and was a big highlight for us.
The venue styling feels so sophisticated yet relaxed and having the exclusive use of such a beautiful space and accommodation felt very special. There were little details at every turn that made the day so personal to us, like the Bloody Mary 'Recovery Station' at breakfast as an example!

Our day couldn't have been more perfect, thank you all so much for the efforts you went to for us, it's one we will always remember.
Rebecca
Rebecca Sent on 23/05/2021
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect venue for our laidback wedding

We had originally planned to marry at a different venue in the centre of Rye but unfortunately, three months before our wedding, there was a fire and the venue was forced to close.
We'd spent over a year planning the day and so the thought of having to do it all again, in such a short space of time, was pretty soul destroying. However, the team at The Gallivant were amazing at recreating our vision and went above and beyond to make sure all the little details we'd already planned could still be incorporated into the day.
We wanted a laidback, slightly less conventional wedding, with an intimate breakfast for family and then a big party with plenty of locally-sourced food and drink for everyone afterwards. A special mention to head chef Jamie, who as well as creating a stunning menu, also sourced and shucked local oysters, which is something not usually on the menu but we were keen to include for our guests in the afternoon.
They say things happen for a reason and, while the day wasn't the original we had planned, The Gallivant was the absolutely perfect venue for us and the day surpassed all our (and our guests') expectations.
Becky and Sam
S
Sam Sent on 25/10/2011
5 out of 5 rating

Beautiful venue

Stayed for the weekend for Fri and Sat night for a friends wedding. At first sight of the hotel, it was a single story understated beach hotel, but from entering the reception area you meet friendly, customer focused staff and our room was comfortable but with lovely furnishings that makes it feel like it is your own room. The Food is amazing and the whole wedding was coordinated beautifully. Being a stones throw from the beach we took evening and morning walks and was even abe to take the Hotel dog "Camber" for beach walks too!! Will definitely stay again!
J
Jo Sent on 25/10/2011
5 out of 5 rating

Thank you for the fabulous wedding reception

I am writing to express a belated thank you for the fabulous wedding reception on 25th/26th September. There were so many elements to bring together during the weekend we were very nervous about how it would all work out, but the whole weekend went very well thanks to you and your team. Paulo especially, came in for praise from our guests and he did so much to make it run smoothly with a great deal of good humour. We thought the food at the reception and on the beach was superb, and I did have a word with Chef on Sunday to say how good we thought it was. We had so many people say it was the best wedding they have ever been to, and saying how much they would like to return to Camber Sands. We certainly would and would like to know if you are open the last week in November as we are thinking of coming down for a few days midweek? Once again thank you for making a special occasion very special indeed.
K
Kelly Sent on 25/10/2011
5 out of 5 rating

We really had an AMAZING day....

I’ve got lots of thanks to send over to you and all of the Gallivant Team – we really had the most AMAZING day, it couldn’t have been more perfect. The setting and everything that you all did to make the day so fabulous was noticed by everyone especially me and Ross. The canapés & drinks were fantastic, the main meal was really absolutely beautiful and just everything really. Your team looked after us all so well, we really can’t thank you enough. We were so lucky, everyone has said to us that it was the best wedding they’ve ever been to which is quite a accolade and a lot of that is down to The Gallivant – you’re onto a winning formula! I think for me, one of the things that is really to your advantage is that in no way did I ever feel like it was a formulaic wedding process either before or on that day – that was really important to me because even though I know you do actually do weddings all the time and they can’t be that different, it really did feel as though i was just ours and that was lovely so THANK YOU!
A
Adam Sent on 25/10/2011
5 out of 5 rating

Thank you so much for helping to give us such an a

Thank you so much for helping to give us such an awesome day. We absolutely loved it. It really was just what we wanted …we want to do it all again! A big thank you to everyone at the Gallivant who helped make the day so special – wonderful food and brilliant service.
A
Amanda Sent on 25/10/2011
5 out of 5 rating

The team and place were amazing

We stayed as we were attending a wedding at the hotel. The team were exceptional, especially Natalie front of house manager, professional and attentive. For us being dog lovers, we were even allowed to bring our well behaved dog! Great quality breakfast! Will stay again!
S
Sarah Sent on 25/10/2011
5 out of 5 rating

We have just had such amazing praise....

Thank you so much for everything you did to make our wedding day so great…we have just had such amazing praise for what a great venue the Gallivant was and how beautiful everything looked. We loved it so much and will certainly be returning.
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The Gallivant TN31 7RB Camber (East Sussex)

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