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Weddings

About

Wakehurst is a Hickstead-based wedding venue located in West Sussex, England. Steeped in history, this 16th Century Mansion is simply stunning and is sure to impress you and your wedding guests. With views across the sweeping lawns and waterlily pond, you will feel like Lord and Lady of the Estate nestled in this picturesque setting.

Facilities and Capacity

Nestled on 500 acres, Kew’s wild botanic gardens will provide you with endless photo opportunities ranging from the picturesque English Walled Garden, temperate woodlands of the world or magical reflections on the lakes. The Dining Room, Gallery and Library inside the Mansion feature wood-panelled walls, ornate fireplaces, and beautifully sculptured ceilings. Together, they create a grand and historic backdrop to your special day, providing wonderful photo opportunities. Alternatively, Wakehurst's perfectly groomed Croquet lawn is the ideal foundation for a marquee. With the capacity to seat up to 200 guests, the setting is quintessentially charming.

Services Offered

With a range of exclusive suppliers, the onsite staff will be delighted to liaise with you on your individual requirements and design a bespoke package to cater for your exact needs and dreams. Wakehurst's dedicated in-house caterers, Graysons, have creativity, quality of food, and excellent service at the heart of everything they do. Their passion to inspire and deliver exceptional events will make your experience at Wakehurst a truly memorable one. Whether a formal sit-down wedding breakfast or something more relaxed and informal, Graysons will work with you to individually tailor a wedding that reflects you as a couple. Whether it's Pimms on the lawns and garden games or Mulled wine and mince pies, the team can help you celebrate whatever the season.

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Frequently asked questions

Venue type:

In the country
Stately home
Historic
Landmark
Woodland and festival
Outdoor license

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

Venue staff assistance:

Wedding coordinator

Other features:

Exclusive use
Accessible facilities
Car parking
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Do you have any questions?

Reviews for Wakehurst

RomanticGreenHair26413
Justine Sent on 30/10/2021
5 out of 5 rating

The most perfect day

The team at Wakehurst were second to none. Absolutely fantastic. Totally reliable for one of the biggest days of our life. They made our day seamless. The venue was superb. Food amazing. Even the bar staff were obviously passionate about their job and contribution to the whole event. I would highly recommend this venue for anyone looking to get married. Thank you Jo and Kim for making our day perfect
J
Julie Sent on 28/08/2021
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing!!! Beautiful venue, great service and outstanding food. Couldn’t recommend anymore highly

Living locally we set our hearts on Wakehurst back in 2019 and had everything set to get married in April 2020 until the pandemic hit! Incredibly Jo and the team were super understanding and stuck by us over the next year and a half as we reset the date 4 times finally getting married July 21. Throughout every consultation, menu tasting, venue set up, dismantle and during the day itself Jo, Kim, Tash and all the team were outstanding adapting to all our needs and wants including constant replanning to current covid restrictions and a last minute ice cream requests on our wedding day, which happened to be the hottest day of the year.
The food was outstanding, classics done to a superb standard. We had roast main and so many complements from guests on the catering during and after the day.
We really couldn’t recommend the venue or the team more highly and are so grateful for all they did to make our day perfect 😊
L
Natalie Sent on 01/09/2021
5 out of 5 rating

The most perfect day

We had our wedding at Wakehurst in August 2021 after two postponements due to Covid-19.

We honestly had the best day. The venue is absolutely stunning and our guests could not believe that they were able to explore the grounds near the mansion alone after the public had left. The grounds are also an incredible place for a huge variety of couples wedding shots so we ended up with so many amazing photos to choose from.

Jo, Kim and all the team at Graysons (who manage events at Wakehurst) were fantastic from start to finish. They helped us plan and manage our day to perfection and made sure none of the details were forgotten. The flexibility we experienced with the team due to Covid changes was amazing and we really felt they went above and beyond throughout the process to make sure we finally got the day we had originally planned.

On the day itself, everything ran extremely smoothly and someone was always on hand if we needed them. Kim was with us throughout the day and so was able to arrange for the start time of our band and evening food to be pushed back when our wedding breakfast overran a little.

Truly an incredible day - there is literally nothing negative I can say!
U
Uni Sent on 10/11/2016
5 out of 5 rating

Our whole experience at wakehurst was exceptional.

Our whole experience at wakehurst was exceptional. From first enquiry right up to our most wonderful wedding day, nothing was too much trouble and we felt so reassured knowing that we were in very safe hands on the day.
T
Toby Sent on 10/11/2016
4 out of 5 rating

Our wedding Day was wonderful.

Our wedding day was wonderful. The venue and gardens are lovely. Many thanks to all the staff at Wakehurst who really went above and beyond before, during and after our big day.
N
Nikki Sent on 26/07/2012
5 out of 5 rating

Beautiful location, great service, wonderful day

I fell in love with Wakehurst place when we first went to see it. I knew straight away this was going to be the place I was going to get married in, so much so I actually started to cry. It truly was perfect. The service I received from Katie and Caroline during the run up to the wedding was second to none. They were both very attentive and extremely supportive. We had to make a few changes here and there and they were both so helpful I really was impressed. Katie took all the stress out of the organising and on the day made sure everything ran smoothly (so much so that one of my guests thought I'd hired her as a personal wedding planner!). I have to make a special mention of the food - it was excellent, really was superb and again on the day when we had a few of the little guests not eating (my 18 month old niece) they happily accommodated her requests! During the wedding the staff were really helpful to all the guests including clearing up after the little ones ! I highly recommend Wakehurst place for a picture perfect venue, great service and excellent food. I will always go back there for visits as it has a special place in my heart.
A
Anonymous Sent on 07/02/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Fantastic setting

We choose this venue as the setting is beautiful. We had our ceremony and reception all in the manor house which flowed together wonderfully. The event team were fantastic, friendly, had great suggestions and were always on hand to assist. On the day they went above and beyond our expectations, they liased and organised all of the various external organisations.
Great day. Thank you
Married May 2014
N
Nick Sent on 14/06/2016
5 out of 5 rating

We could not be happier with our choice!

Wakehurst looked beautiful and all the staff went above and beyond to make our day run as smoothly as possible. We would like to make a specific mention to the two stewards who were friendly, thoughtful and helpful right to the end of the evening. All our suppliers were brilliant and made our lives incredibly easy through-out the whole process. We would definitely recommend Wakehurst as an excellent Wedding Reception Venue.
T
Terry Sent on 11/10/2010
5 out of 5 rating

Wakehurst’s Place Elizabethan Mansion came to life

Our daughter Ceri married Andrew Morgan at Wakehurst Place on 17th April. A day that turned out to be a beautiful sunny spring day with a clear blue sky – no vapour trails! Our guests commented on the fabulous location, the catering and the fantastic service provided by the staff. We were challenged by the Icelandic volcano preventing some guests from travelling on time. This resulted in last minute removal of some place settings, only for two to be restored very soon afterwards, with the surprise arrival of close relatives from New Zealand! All this was managed very quietly and efficiently by the Wakehurst team. The mansion house really comes alive when it is set out for wedding celebrations and the Wakehurst team helped us party until very late that evening. It was a fabulous day.
C
Charles Sent on 10/02/2015
5 out of 5 rating

A really personal and amazing experience

We got married on September 13th 2014 in the Mansion House at Wakehurst. The place already had such special memories for both of us, and with Natasha's genuine warmth and amazing organising skills it definitely lived up to our dreams. The venue is so beautiful in all seasons and our family and friends loved it as much as we did. If you're thinking about Wakehurst, do it!!
S
Shah-Simmons' Sent on 22/11/2012
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing Day

Now obviously we are going to be very biased and say what an amazing venue, food, service we received however if this is what our guests also said then it must certainly be true!!! We would definitely recommend this venue due to the staffs efforts to detail making our day so wonderful. The venue is truly exquisite and we could not have asked for anything more - definitely a day you will never forget!!!!
M
Matt Sent on 10/02/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Millennium Seed Bank - AMAZING!

We held our reception in the completely unique (brilliant) venue of the Millennium Seed Bank in April 2014. The staff were so helpful in the planning, run up and on the day - even the security felt more like a 5 * concierge than security. The day was everything we hoped for in a really dramatic setting. All of our guests were completely amazed at what the venue looked like set up for a wedding.
A
Al Sent on 26/07/2010
5 out of 5 rating

Fantastic Venue

We got married in June in the gorgeous setting of Wakehurst Place. From the moment we first visited Wakehurst we knew this was the place we wanted to get married. The staff were extremly helpful during the planning and were amazing on the day. The food and service was also second to none. All our guests have commented on how beautiful Wakehurst was and what a great time they had. Without a doubt we would recommend Wakehurst Place to any couple looking for the perfect venue.
C
Claire Sent on 29/11/2012
5 out of 5 rating

The Perfect Day!

We wanted a simple, relaxed and personal civil Ceremony with a bit of style and Wakehurst provided this in abundance. The Mansion house is absolutely beautiful, with views out onto the lawn and gardens. We must have had one of the only perfect hot sunny days of 2012 and I could not have wished for a more perfect setting. We only had the ceremony at Wakehurst place as we had a very small wedding with 20 guests and our young daughter to look after so I thought it may be seen as less important but Elisa made us feel so welcome and advised us on every aspect of the day, offering us a room to feed our daughter in and giving us all the time we wanted to mill around the gardens and take photos. Elisa and the rest of the staff made us feel very special and nothing was too much trouble. We would highly recommend wakehurst place for a wedding, the venues setting as well as Elisa and her team helped make it the most perfect day.
J
John Sent on 15/02/2010
5 out of 5 rating

A stunning venue with attentive staff.

We got married at Wakehurst in October 2009 and with all the beautiful trees there a more stunning venue for an autumn wedding would have been difficult to find. The staff took excellent care of us on our wedding day itself, but throughout the planning process we felt as if we were being listened to and that our budget was something to be worked with rather than being an awkward constraint. Nothing was too much trouble - cream teas for our guests in the library, sausages and mash for dinner, jazz music in the evening - we had exactly the wedding we wanted, for a price that we could afford, in a wonderful place that we can visit again and again. We were able to really enjoy our wedding alongside our guests because we were confident that everything had been taken care of, and we would not hesitate to recommend Wakehurst Place to other couples.
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Selsfield Road RH17 6TN Hickstead (West Sussex)
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