Intimate romantic vibes in The Timber Store and unusual London Wedding Venue

10 unusual London Wedding Venues for couples who want something a little different. If you’re a creative individual organising a wedding ceremony you want it to have flair and an element of surprise.

In the journal today I’m introducing you to 10 unusual London Wedding Venues, all of them irresistible.

This is part of a series of wedding venue blog posts for you. Finding your perfect venue can take time and patience but I am going to help you to find one.

As a Wedding Celebrant I have worked with all kinds of venues over the years. Most have their pros and cons but I’m interested in my community in particular. Most of you won’t go for a conventional hotel. Some of you will be happy with unlicensed venues.

So lets get into our research of 10 unusual London Wedding Venues.

When you are beginning to plan your wedding, your venue is the first thing you are going to think about and usually the first wedding supplier you will book.

Before you book your wedding venue, I want you to know that there are many unusual London wedding venues which if you’re new to the world of wedding ceremonies may not be familiar to you.

Your venue is the first encounter your guests will have with your day and sets the scene for the theme and style of your special day. The spaces you choose for ceremonies are really powerful and can totally change the mood and feeling of your experience.

The other reason why it is so important is, of course…THE PHOTOS! I hope to persuade you that finding what is right for you and your values, personalities and circumstances will immediately make for great photos. Read on for more on that later.

Atmospheric London Wedding Venue Asylum Chapel in London

When you are getting married in a London Wedding Venue there are many options available to you. This can make it super confusing and overwhelming. 

But finding the exact RIGHT ONE feels like looking for a needle in a haystack. Look, you found each other so it can’t be that hard. The thing is, your venue is one of the most important factors in what will set it apart from any old bar and make it special and personal to you.

I want to help you to find a venue that is the exact fit for you and not just the only thing you could find when you were scrolling on a sleepless night.

You want to make sure that you can limit your choices to just the best options within your budget. The wedding venues the most aligned with your values. The wedding venues that most fit your theme or needs.

Don’t get freaked out by the huge amount of wedding venues in London because together we are going to pick out 10 of the best unusual venues for your wedding ceremony. We’ve got this.

Vintage feel under the arches at London Wedding Venue AMP Studios

Choosing your unusual wedding London venue can be confusing. It can be hard to know where to start. London is big and much of it is beautiful.

Look out for my upcoming journal post HOW TO DECIDE WHAT MATTERS MOST WHEN CHOOSING A WEDDING VENUE.

Here’s my advice, try to decide what matters to you the most when choosing your wedding venue. It could be any of the following and many more:

1. Values
2. Ethics
3. Design
4. History
5. Scale & size
6. Locality
7. Intimacy
8. Green credentials
9. Budget
10. Accessibility

I said earlier that I believed that choosing something aligned with who you are will make for better photos and here is why I think that.

When we are properly ourselves, fully aligned with our values and each other and when we are making choices authentically from our own tastes and motivations we will feel happier…and then…our photos will be all the more beautiful and genuine. So here is my curated selection of 10 unusual London wedding venues

In this blog post we are going to explore one unusual London venue for each of the categories

Bold Tendencies rooftop venue

This venue is on the 7th to 10th floors of a multi-storey car park! Bold Tendencies is an Arts Charity who hires their various inventive spaces for events, weddings and parties. All of their different venues support their non-profit Summer Time activities. So if your values are around giving back to the community but you also value creativity and surprises this sounds perfect for you.

Here is what they have to say “BOLD TENDENCIES  is a not-for-profit arts organization in Peckham. Established in the rooftop spaces of a multi-storey car park, it has transformed a disused building in the heart of South London into an iconic, much-loved public place of culture and assembly. Since 2007, Bold Tendencies has delivered an ambitious annual artistic program of visual arts, creative learning and live events spanning visual art, music, dance, opera, poetry and readings. Their year-round learning program of free and accessible initiatives foster space for local groups and individuals to imagine, create, appreciate the arts and exercise the right to joy.”

Check out Bold Tendencies online.

Here is a great choice for ethical thinkers who want to give back to London on their wedding day. 29 Peckham Road supports Thames Reach Charity, you can find out more here:

Thames Reach Charity. Read on to hear more about this unusual London Wedding Venue.

Outdoors intimate Mediterranean style unusual London Wedding Venue, 29 Peckham Road

29 Peckham road is a wedding venue with a difference and for those of you with strong ethical concerns this is a great choice. If you hire this venue in Peckham you also contribute to an important local community charity working with vulnerable people, many of them unhoused, to support them back to work.

They have 2 interesting spaces:

The Lecture Theatre can accommodate up to 110 people, depending on the arrangement, and measures 9 metres x 22 metres.

This versatile oak-panelled hall is licensed for wedding ceremonies, and is packed with evocative period detailing that reflects the building’s role in local history.

The Courtyard

The Courtyard can accommodate up to 150 people.

This Mediterranean-inspired space, complete with olive trees, is ideal for al fresco parties and wedding receptions on warm summer evenings.

Here’s one for design lovers!

Located on Kensington High Street with beautiful views over Holland Park, the world’s leading museum devoted to contemporary design is an architectural icon and is available to hire for corporate and private events.

The Design Museum’s stunningly refurbished 1960s building offers multiple venues for a range of different events including drinks receptions, conferences, awards ceremonies, dinners, product launches and meetings.

The museum operates as a registered charity and all funds generated through venue hire go towards supporting the Museum’s vision for everyone to understand the value of design.

Found out more about The London Design Museum

History nerds…this is for you. Described as ‘where old London meets new beginnings’, The Old Timber Store exudes an enchanting and cosy ambience, making it the ideal setting for couples seeking the magic of simplicity within London’s iconic railway arches.

Find out more about The Old Timber store.

My family isn’t quite THIS BIG…but yours might be! This is what their website has to say:

“Dockside Vaults is a celebration of the underground, an expansive network of tunnels spanning 10,000 square feet of revealed brickwork and premium raw architecture. Ten cavernous cellars branch off from its main concourse, creating pockets of space that not only facilitate privacy but allow the atmosphere to percolate.

Nestled underneath Ivory House – the only original warehouse left in St Katharine Docks – the grade II listed Dockside Vaults juxtaposes its contemporary qualities by whispering over 160 years of history to its visitors.

The blank canvas events space has a capacity of 450, lending itself to experiential entertainment, live music, and the most memorable of events. Fresh from a six-figure renovation, its premium facilities include a huge kitchen, fibre optic internet, and full hybrid event capability.”

So, if it’s sheer scale and volume is what you need then look no further, if you want all that space with charm, history and intrigue alongside then this is perfect.

Dockside Vaults can be found here: Dockside Vaults

I’m adding in an extra venue here as a ‘bonus’: Peckham Level

An extra sneaky addition to our list of 10 Unusual London Wedding Venues secretly makes it 11…but it is a huge impressive super cool space…a number of adaptable blank spaces in fact in the middle of wonderful Peckham.

Guess what? It’s another Car Park!

Find out more about Peckham Levels 

I do not under-deliver…you asked for a venue where a London location is a priority. I found you somewhere just off The Old Kent Road..!

AMP Studios is an unusual vintage industrial-style venue in Peckham. Often referred to as an oasis off the Old Kent Road. An old railway arch, it acts as a versatile space and it hosts weddings.

It is entirely possible to have a Celebrant Led wedding ceremony in a cute venue like this if you’re having a micro-wedding. AMP Studios have a really interesting history, you can find out more here: AMP STUDIOS

I found you A TREEHOUSE! Even better…it’s in Shoreditch!

I feel that it probably doesn’t get more intimate than that because when we are in a treehouse we are basically little children again with all the vulnerablity that entails.

This is the Mission of The Shoreditch Treehouse and I am sure that if you value intimacy you will agree that this is an inspiring mission: they say “Our mission is simple; to offer as pace that nurtures creativity and genuine human connection’.

Wedding ceremonies are all about creativity and connection and an intimate venue like this would be perfect for a micro-wedding for people who want an intimate occasion for their wedding ceremony.

Click on the link to find out more about THE SHOREDITCH TREEHOUSE. 

Number 8 of our 10 unusual London Wedding Venues is The London Wildlife Trust offers us 3 ACTUAL NATURE RESERVES in London!

They have 3 venues for wedding hires: click here to find out more about each one. 

Camley Street Natural Park

Walthamstow Wetlands

Woodberry Wetlands

If you are looking to honour your natural environment and your local wildlife with your wedding these are a really great option.

‘A really great option for couples on a budget or prioritising other things is to opt for ‘Dry Hire’ venues, where catering, registrars and alcohol and everything else is optional or you can provide your own. This not only offers versatility and cuts the budget but it can leave lots of room for creativity.

This Directory Urban Weddings has some really high end properties and some have high end price tags but some are not licensed and some are lower cost depending upon the area, the facilities, size and lots of other factors.

They have a whole range of London Dry Hire options….all you need is a Celebrant like me, all your besties ‘all hands on deck’, a bit of vision and energy and you’ve got yourself a wedding ceremony at half the price of a licensed venue with in-house restrictions.

Find your dream Dry Hire here: URBAN WEDDINGS

Accessibility is a much overlooked aspect of event organisation and especially with weddings…I think it would be good to do a more comprehensive blog about accessibility on it’s own. For now, the first accessible unusual london wedding venue I’ve found is The Sanderson

This venue prides itself on its accessible features. The public entrance features a ramp for wheelchair users and their range of accessible suites are wheelchair accessible, hearing accessible and have a roll-in shower, accessible tub and visual alarms.

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON OUR WHISTLESTOP TOUR OF 10 UNUSUAL LONDON WEDDING VENUES.

Amie Seal Photography

Cick the image or link to visit AMIE SEAL PHOTOGRAPHY who created this image of me in my happy place at a wedding ceremony in the woods.