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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

Reviews for Wakehurst

Izzy
Izzy Sent on 27/09/2025
1 out of 5 rating

Ghosted us for 2 months then cancelled our wedding by text

Promised the world during showarounds and phone calls - we were so excited!!! Then they ghosted us for two months and cancelled our whole wedding by text one night.

Took a week of ringing up multiple times a day before anyone spoke to us for an apology and an explanation, which still didn't make much sense. They promised us an annual pass, which is nothing given the situation and they haven't sent it anyway. Graysons tried to find us another venue, but with only a year until our date the options were really limited. We agreed to go with Wakehurst in February and they cancelled end of June - so much time wasted, so now all our planning is really hectic and stressful. We are beyond heartbroken.

To all brides & grooms - please please be careful out there!!! 💕
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
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!
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 😊
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
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.
M
Martin Sent on 07/04/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing day!

We got married in August 2014 at Wakehurst Place. Both Kate and Natasha were absolutely amazing throughout. Natasha made both myself and my wife completely at ease in the build-up and on the day.

The venue itself is stunning and the pictures from foto-memories (who I would also recommend make them something we will both never forget.

The two rooms are both great and the whole venue has a really nice feel to it. From our initial meeting through to the day all of the staff made us feel special, even helping with directing lost guests to Natasha helping with our chair covers!

The team all worked incredibly hard and the gardens and Elizabethan mansion make a spectacular backdrop.

Thank you to Kew and the team at Wakehurst for a fantastic day.

Thanks again Wakehurst & Kew!
R
Ross Sent on 15/03/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Effortless Stunning Beauty!

Wakehurst Mansion House was the most wonderful place for our wedding reception. Effortless beauty of the house and the surroundings made every photo stunning. The flower girls running around the grounds looked gorgeous. Natasha and Beverley were amazing at keeping timings on track, as we were busy enjoying ourselves, we didn't need to worry about a thing. We enjoyed a ceilidh in the gallery space. The venue was perfect for disabled access and very accomodating of my dad in his wheelchair. Thank you to everyone involved in making our day so special!
A
Anonymous Sent on 07/03/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Beautiful March Wedding

We got married in March 2014 at Wakehurst Place. From the wedding fayre to after the wedding we were treated wonderfully by Kate and Natasha. Our organising skills were a bit slapdash but they kept us on track in a lovely way. They have some great preferred suppliers and were also flexible if you wanted something different. We had an amazing day and we will look back with fondness for years to come. Thanks again Wakehurst & Kew!
L
Leona Sent on 13/02/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Wakehurst Place

We were married 31st May 2014 in the Mansion House at Wakehurst Place. Natasha was great and did all that she could to help us set up and plan our wedding day. The venue was stunning and the guests commented that the gardens were wonderful to walk around in during the photos and after the meal.
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.
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
Sav Sent on 09/02/2015
5 out of 5 rating

Romantic and best value overall

We got married on November 8th 2014 and I actually found Wakehurst place on hitched.com - From the very first call (Natasha answered) I was very impressed with the professionalism, flexibility and thorough explanation as to how things work for a wedding. Every bride wants a fairy tale wedding and the groom wants it within budget and we certainly got both. The mansion, grounds, in-house catering, decorations etc - was mind blowing. We (and our guests) were delighted that everything was taking care of on the day by Natasha and her team (when I say seamless, I mean seamless!) I would highly recommend this amazing venue as it comes with a very skilled team and services included which would normally be charged by other venues.
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
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Selsfield Road RH17 6TN Hickstead (West Sussex)

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