One thing I love about weddings is how inventive people are getting to create a day that they and their partner really want. For us, this meant an Airbnb wedding – although I’ve very much enjoyed seeing the emergence of festival-themed weddings, kooky Hobbit weddings, mini golf weddings and all kinds of fun and original ceremonies that skip the traditional formalities, because: you do you.
At the end of the day, what is your wedding if not an excuse to gather your nearest and dearest together to celebrate you as a couple? So, it makes sense to make it as personal as possible in all the ways that matter to you.
We really wanted to create a relaxed environment and to maximise on quality time. They say the day goes by in a flash (it does) and I’ve always loved the build-up to special events as much as the day itself, so we figured a staycation-meets-wedding situation would be the perfect fit. We could all get excited the night before, then each camp – bride and groom – could get ready together on the morning of, and we could all debrief the next morning, too. We wanted somewhere that was peaceful, but still offered enough space for a hoard of us to descend and get merry. We wanted somewhere that was already beautiful on its own, so the backdrop would already be taken care of. We wanted somewhere that felt special but also informal. And we wanted somewhere that fit the English countryside aesthetic we envisioned for the day. The only problem is that official wedding venues offering this are generally either: a) hard to find, b) eye-wateringly expensive, c) restrictive toward vendors, e.g. catering and entertainment or d) a combination of the above.
After completing the web trying to find the perfect location for us, I decided, why not go off-road? And that’s when I turned to Airbnb. Our family and friends are scattered across the south, west, east and midlands, so we wanted a venue that sat somewhere in the middle. I opted for flexible dates, cranked the number of guests up to the max, clicked for an entire home and started searching in the cotswolds, before broadening outward until I found a beautiful country manor house nestled in Wiltshire that ticked every single box.
We couldn’t believe the listing: a beautiful, honey-coloured Georgian building named Henge Estate, with tall columns, a pretty, white, wrought iron balcony and vines weaving their way around the walls. It delivered on cosy, swoon-worthy interiors (fireplaces, wood panelling, country kitchen, antique rugs). It had two wings, which meant we could roughly divide guests into the bride-side and groom-side. It even had an extra little annexe with a separate kitchen (where my mum finished decorating our homemade wedding cake).
@stephanandnakita