Wedding venues in the Ribble Valley

Start with numbers and the date. Seated capacity decides more than anything else: the venues in this guide range from the Clock Tower register office room for 45 to the Glass Marquee at Mellor for 450, and most barns and country houses seat between 100 and 165. Evening numbers matter too, since many venues take far more guests at night than at the wedding breakfast.

Then check whether you can marry there. A civil ceremony in England has to take place at a register office or a venue the council has approved, and since April 2022 it can also be held outdoors within the grounds of an approved venue. Every venue with the council badge in this guide was on Lancashire County Council's approved list when we checked. A venue without the badge may still be right for your reception after a ceremony elsewhere.

Read prices carefully. Venues publish very different things: a weekday package for 25 guests, a per-person menu price, a whole-weekend hire or an exclusivity fee before food. Each venue page shows exactly what its starting price covers and links to where the venue publishes it. Where a venue publishes no price, the page says so rather than guessing.

Ask about catering and rooms. Some venues cook everything in-house, some work only with approved caterers and some let you bring your own. If guests are travelling, the number of bedrooms on site, or cottages and lodges on the estate, can decide it.

Finally, give notice. Both partners give notice of marriage at a register office at least 29 days before the wedding, and Clitheroe's registration office takes notices by appointment. The wedding then has to take place within 12 months.