TOP 5 LONDON WEDDING RECEPTION VENUES FOR CULTURE, HERITAGE & ART LOVERS
Most of my wedding couples are seeking non-traditional wedding venues, with history, heritage, culture and beautiful food. Luckily London has so much to offer so here are my Top 5…
Sessions Art Club
Sessions Arts Club is an arts and performance space as well as bar and restaurant, that sits in the old judges’ dining room at Sessions House, a grand Grade II* listed building in Clerkenwell. Their dining room is surrounded by three terraces with fireplaces, rooftop bar, and garden. Perfect for more smaller and intimate wedding celebrations, the dining areas seat up to 60 or can accommodate 100 guests for stand up evening receptions.
The peeling and bare plastered walls, high ceilings and grand architectural details juxtaposed with modern furniture and artistic features all add to the faded grandeur charm that gives Sessions Arts Club it’s modern, relaxed and understated vibe.
The Garden Museum
For couples who love nature, gardening and appreciate a bit of Gardener’s World on a Friday night. Housed in the deconsecrated church of St Mary-at-Lambeth, the Garden Museum contains the burial place of John Tradescant, the first great gardener, plant hunter and curiosity collector (his eclectic collections started Britain’s first museum called ‘The Ark’, and formed the original collections of the now Ashmolean museum in Oxford. Featuring a courtyard garden in the centre of the building and surrounded by renovated gardens, it really is a special space of calm and tranquility within the busy city.
The modern museum architecture sits sympathetically within the medieval walls and windows of the church, the juxtaposition of which makes it a truly unique, distinctive and contemporary space for your wedding reception.
Spring Restaurant -Somerset House
Situated within the arts and cultural beating heart of London, Spring Restaurant is housed within the New Wing of Somerset House. For more intimate receptions of up to 36 guests, you can choose from the Garden Dining Room or alternatively, for for larger celebrations you can hire the whole restaurant which seats up to 116 guests.
Spring’s chefs are passionate about creating stylishly relaxed events that share and celebrate seasonal produce, so if you are both true food lovers, it really is THE London wedding reception venue for you.
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is London’s leading space for contemporary culture and sits within the cultural landmark of The Mall in central London.
The Nash and Brandon Rooms are filled with original Regency plasterwork with dark wooden flooring and floor to ceiling windows that make the rooms bright and full of natural light that open out onto three balconies overlooking St James’s Park. Seating up to 150 guests for your reception dinner, it’s a perfect arts venue for larger celebrations.
Ochre - The National Gallery
Situated in London’s iconic Trafalgar Square within one of the best Galleries of the World; The National Gallery, Ochre’s fabulous private dining room or whole restaurant can be hired out for your wedding reception. For more intimate gatherings, choose the private dining room that overlooks Nelson’s Column and St Martin-in the Fields Church, with it’s beautiful round table and handmade chandelier. Or alternatively for larger events, the main restaurant with it’s high ceilings, soft colour palette, modern furniture, cocktail bar and lounge is the perfect wedding reception setting for art and food loving couples.
All images are via Pinterest
