Top 20 wedding venues in Oxfordshire for 2020

Recommended Oxfordshire Wedding Venues

Updated for 2020

As Oxfordshire wedding photographers, we are fortunate to get to photograph marriages in some wonderful venues, all across the county. Oxfordshire is a diverse county, with the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to the west, and the Thames Valley to the south, plus the large towns of Banbury, Bicester, Witney, Wantage, Didcot and Abingdon. Of course, the county city of Oxford is a world famous and historic city, with the famous college architecture. Oxford also has beautiful riverside areas such as Port Meadow, Christchurch Meadows and the Thames footpath, known locally as the Isis. Oxfordshire really offers couples looking to get married a wide diversity of wedding venues, including country barns, hotels, stately homes, beautiful churches and of course, the University Colleges of Oxford itself.

We originally produced this list at the start of 2019. Since then, some of the Oxfordshire wedding venues we recommended then have ceased to be places to get married. The Tally Ho Hotel in Arncott, near Bicester, ceased to be a wedding venue, instead becoming a training centre. The lovely old Eynsham Hall no longer offers weddings on its website, and is planned to go through a major refurbishment. So, we have removed these venues from our list. As this list provided very popular with couples planning to get married in Oxfordshire, we have now updated this for 2020. Of course, the Coronavirus crisis has meant many couples have had to postpone their wedding, or even have had to move their wedding to a new venue. Therefore, we hope that this will also be a useful resource for bride and grooms to be in the Oxfordshire area, and, of course, surrounding counties.

Notes to the venue owners and managers in this list; we have taken factual data from your website. We will of course be pleased to correct any errors immediately after we are notified.

So here is our new list, in no particular order, of our top 20 wedding venues in Oxfordshire!

The Tythe Barn, Launton, Bicester

The Tythe Barn, Launton, is a high quality, professional and thoroughly enjoyable place to get married, and for us to photograph at. Plus, the venue is only two miles away from our home in Bicester so we are more than happy to stay late for the partying! Built between 1360 and 1370, The Tythe Barn has walls that are incredibly thick in places (4.5 feet!), 22 feet thick beams and a thatched roof made from reeds from the nearby Otmoor Wetlands.

Owned by Emma and Will Deeley, the venue features, as well as the gorgeous Barn itself , the adjacent Cowshed, where drinks and nibbles can be served, as well as a pizza oven for the evening guests to enjoy lovely fresh food from! The Tythe Barn Launton also features the Nook, a separate but adjacent building where the bride and bridesmaids can get ready away from their guests but with all of their needs provided for.

We always enjoy working at the Tythe Barn (we are a recommended supplier), and not just because we are local! The events team on the day are expertly managed by Laura Freeth, and they understand that as documentary wedding photographers we prefer to work in the background rather than try and take over and order their guests around! Like us, The Tythe Barn was a 2019 Guides for Brides Customer Services Award winner.

Caswell House, Brize Norton, Witney

Caswell House is a 15th century manor house, situated on the edge of the Cotswolds near Brize Norton, Witney. It has stunning medieval barns carefully restored to make a magical country wedding venue. Caswell House features large grounds including a walled garden, ancient orchards and lawns that lead down to a picturesque moat. It is a perfect destination for a Cotswolds wedding and also features dedicated, but well-separated facilities for both bride and bridesmaids, as well as the groom and groomsman to get ready. Caswell House also has adjacent accommodation for the wedding couple and immediate family to stay after the wedding.

Caswell House is a high quality Cotswolds wedding venue with efficient and friendly staff and fabulous facilities. In the summer months, it is possible to get married outside, weather permitted, as our above photo from Hannah and Daniel’s wedding shows. The ceremony takes place in the entrance to the beautiful Loggia.

If your dream Oxfordshire Wedding venue is a country house with fabulous gardens and plenty of room for your guests to have fun, Caswell House should be top of your list.

The Cherwell Boat House, Oxford

Moving away from barn type of venues; the Cherwell Boat House is situated close to Oxford City Centre, and is a marquee based wedding venue that can accommodate between 20 to 130 guests. Overlooking the river Cherwell, the Boat House is also a fine restaurant. The events team, managed by Niran Khanal, work hard to ensure everything runs smoothly on the day. Cherwell Boat House is a wonderful venue for a summer wedding, where guests can enjoy the riverside views, and watch the punting on the river. Below the marquee is a smaller room, ideal for a band or DJ to play for the evening party.

We have photographed there several times now and have always loved working at Cherwell Boat House.

Merriscourt, Sarsden, Chipping Norton

Another Cotswolds barn based venue, this one on the border of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, Merriscourt is an outstanding wedding venue. Based on three interlinked barns converted specifically for wedding use, Merriscourt also features 500 acres of lovely grounds. Unlike single barn venues, Merriscourt can accommodate the ceremony in one room and the reception in another, so no need to have your guests hanging around whilst the room is changed around. The lovely gallery barn is an ideal place for drinks and canapes to be served.

Merriscourt can also offer one of the cottages on the grounds for the bridal preparation, you can even stop the night before ensuring you do not have to rush around on the day. Having several function rooms means your DJ or band can get set up for your disco, or, as in the photo below, a ceilidh!

Merriscourt is another venue we know well, and love to photograph at. Its a 30 drive from our North Oxfordshire home.

Notley Tythe Barn, Long Crendon, Bucks

Just across the border into Buckinghamshire, near to Thame, Notley Tythe Barn is a premium wedding venue. It is a 12th century barn that was restored in 1992 by the owners, Nick and Denise Reynolds. Notley Tythe Barn is a lovely place for a wedding; set back well from any main roads, the venue is private and single event use, meaning no other function will be taking place at the same time as your wedding. There are lovely fields around the barn, ideal for some informal portraits of the bride and groom.

Unlike some barn venues, sparklers are allowed as an evening activity (outside of course!). Notley Tythe Barn is another venue we work at regularly, and we always enjoy working with Jules and the team there.

Bicester Hotel and Spa, Bicester

Only 1 mile from our home, Bicester Hotel, Golf and Spa is a four star hotel in Chesterton, near Bicester. It is a modern hotel with excellent facilities for weddings, including a large main Orangery ceremony room and several smaller rooms. The Organery is an ideal room for your post wedding party! Bicester Hotel Golf and Spa, as you would expect from a modern hotel, is fully licensed for the whole wedding ceremony. It has excellent accommodation for the couple and their guests to stay, as well as a top gym and swimming pool. It is also 5 minutes from the famous Bicester Village outlet village, should your guests need some retail therapy before or after the wedding!

Bicester Hotel, Golf and Spa is another Oxfordshire wedding venue we know well, and we are recommended suppliers.

The Great Barn, Aynho

Situated on the Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire Border, the Great Barn is a premium country barn venue. Featuring an 18th century barn, the Great Barn can accommodate up to 140 guests for both the ceremony and also the wedding breakfast. There are beautiful locations around the barn for informal portraits, and even a minstrels gallery for one of us to photograph your group from an elevated position! Always a highlight at the Great Barn is the Wisteria that comes out in late Spring and makes a lovely background for a confetti shot.

In the evening, the Great Barn converts into a fantastic place for a wedding party!

The Great Barn is a top quality venue in the Oxfordshire area, and if you plan your wedding there, you are sure to have a great time! We live 5 miles from the venue.

Manor Farm Barn, Marsh Gibbon

Another lovely Oxfordshire wedding barn, and one that is getting a big reputation, Manor Farm Barn is in the village of Marsh Gibbon, a few miles out of Bicester on the road to Aylesbury. Based on a 16th century barn, and adjacent to the village church, the Manor Farm Barn can accommodate up to 100 guests. Vikki Heath is incredibly passionate about providing the best possible experience to her wedding couples and their guests. Manor Farm Barn is run by Vikki and her husband Tony as a family business, and is an exclusive use venue.

Vikki appeared recently on the Sam and Steve Podcast, and here interview is below.

Manor Farm Barn is perfect for couples looking for an Oxfordshire wedding in a relaxed and exclusive venue.

Dovecote Events, Bo Peep Farm, Adderbury

Situated in Adderbury, between Bicester and Banbury, Dovecote Events at Bo Peep Farm offer three options for your wedding. Another family run business, the venue is based around Dovecote Barn, a lovely barn that can accommodate up to 100 people, and is licensed for civil ceremonies. For larger events, or where the ceremony has taken place at a church, for example, there is the option of either a marquee or Tipi reception, both of which are permanently based there.

Dovecote Barn is also a great venue for dancing and partying, with our good friend Terry Chylton of Smooth Moves Events usually providing DJ services.

We have photographed at Dovecote Barn many times and have always found the team there friendly and efficient and Nicky, the events co-ordinator a pleasure to work with. Another lovely Oxfordshire Barn wedding venue.

Stratton Court Barn, Stratton Audley

Stratton Court Barn is a beautiful barn wedding venue near Bicester, Oxfordshire, and convenient for Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. Owned by Chris and Cathy Wigmore, Stratton Court Barn is fully licensed for civil ceremonies. In addition, outdoor legal ceremonies can take place as in the photo below.

The barn itself is adjacent to the farm house, where bridal preparation can take place. The courtyard is an excellent place for summer drinks and canapes, and also has a fire pit for those balmy summer evenings.

The award winning Karin Tindall does a wonderful job of making sure everything runs smoothly and to plan on the day. We are based 3 miles away and again have photographed there regularly over the last few years. Stratton Court Barn is highly recommended for an Oxfordshire country barn wedding.

Lains Barn, Ardington, Wantage

On the other side of Oxford to us, but no more than 30 minutes away, Lains Barn is an award winning wedding venue. Lains is 18th century barn and adjacent gallery and can accommodate up to 180 guests. The location makes Lains Barn ideal not just for Oxfordshire based couples, but also those in Berkshire and London, due to its easy access from the A34 and M4. Lains Barn is fully licensed for civil ceremonies and also allows for confetti run photos, something some venues don’t allow.

We always look forward to working at Lains Barn, not least because we always have a lovely suppliers meal! Highly recommended as a top quality Oxfordshire wedding venue.

Crazy Bear Stadhampton, Oxfordshire

The Crazy Bear, Stadhampton is a unique and iconic place to get married. It’s often photographed for its double decker London Bus, which is actually the venue reception!

Crazy Bear Stadhampton has unique and fun decor, and has abundant gardens, and grounds. The venue’s terrace is nicely lit up in the evening with fairy lights and lanterns, as in our photograph from Gemma and Ted’s wedding below.

If a quirky and distinctive wedding venue in Oxfordshire is what you are looking for, the Crazy Bear, Stadhampton might just be for you!

Cotswolds Hotel and Spa, Chipping Norton

The Cotswolds Hotel and Spa in Chipping Norton is a great Oxfordshire Cotswolds wedding location. With over 80 hotel rooms there is opportunity for you and your guests to stay at your wedding venue. Situated in lovely golf course grounds, The Cotswolds Hotel and Spa can accommodate (and has parking for) 200 guests and is fully licensed for civil ceremonies.

If you are looking for an Oxfordshire wedding venue with a marquee and lots of accomodation for you and your guests, we would recommend the Cotswolds Hotel and Spa highly.

The Bay Tree Hotel, Burford

The Bay Tree Hotel, in the perfect small Cotswolds town of Burford, is a quintessential Oxfordshire country hotel. It dates back to 1565. Fully licenced for civil ceremonies, the Bay Tree’s main function room can accomodate 90 guests. And with 21 lovely rooms, plus more rooms in the next door Lamb Inn (owned by the same parent company), both you and your guests can stay the night before and after!

Unlike many hotels wedding venues, the Baytree offers exclusive use. That helps documentary wedding photographers like us, as we can be sure everyone we might photograph is actually there for the wedding!

The Bay Tree is one of our favourite Oxfordshire hotels for a wedding ceremony.

Hadsham Farm, Horley, Near Banbury

Hadsham Farm Wedding Venue is a relaxed, lakeside Tipi wedding venue, in the North Oxfordshire Cotswolds, but only a short drive from Banbury. Hadsham Farm is a great venue for a DIY wedding; you get three days including the day of the ceremony to prepare, party and pack away.

You have free choice of suppliers and no corkage on drinks. There is a large lake which makes a stunning back drop for some relaxed and unposed portraits.

With a permanent Tipi that can hold a maximum of 200 guests, its a perfect place for a summer wedding reception. We photographed at Hadsham Farm for the first time in 2019, and look forward to photographing many more weddings there in the future.

Primrose Hill Farm, Arlescote, Near Banbury

Primrose Hill is another farm wedding venue in the north of Oxfordshire, not far from Banbury and on the edge of the Cotswolds. Primrose Hill is another wedding venue with several converted barns, as above. This means one room can be set up for the ceremony whilst the other is already configured for your wedding breakfast.

We photographed there for the first time on a wet and windy November day, so not having to go outside whilst the rooms were reconfigured was a real bonus!

Primrose Hill is a lovely, modern and professional Oxfordshire wedding venue and we look forward to photographing there more often in future.

Old Luxters Barn, Hambleden, Henley on Thames

At the other end of the county of Oxfordshire lies Old Luxter’s Barn. In an perfect Chiltern Hills location, but still close to London and Reading, Old Luxter’s Barn is a beautiful country wedding barn, fully licenced for wedding ceremonies.

We photographed at Old Luxters for the first time in November 2019 (the day of the Rugby World Cup Final!), and sadly it was a wet and windy day. Fortunately, the venue has a marquee on the side, so guests can have drinks and canapes whilst the barn is reconfigured for your sit down meal and speeches, and, later on, dancing.

You can see more of the venue from the photo film of Frances and Dan’s wedding below.

Old Luxter’s Barn is part of Chiltern Valley Winery and Brewery, with a shop on site.

THE JAM FACTORY, OXFORD

 Based in central Oxford, The Jam Factory is a quirky and unusual Oxfordshire wedding venue. Originally it was a family run factory that made “Frank Coopers Marmalade”, dating back to 1903.  Now it is a family run business that started back in 2006 serving free range local food.  The Jam Factory is a lovely character venue where you can celebrate your marriage following your ceremony at either the Oxford Registry office or Oxford Town Hall both only a short walk away.

The Oxford Jam Factory can cater for small intimate weddings or larger celebrations if using the whole venue.  There are games for your guests to play and a large outdoor terrace and seating area. 

If you are looking for a quirky Oxfordshire wedding venue, we can higly recommend the Jam Factory Oxford.

THE MANOR COUNTRY HOUSE HOTEL, WESTON-ON-THE-GREEN

The Manor Country House Hotel is a beautiful late 15th century house, situated only 11 miles from Oxford and 5 miles from Bicester, in the village of Weston on the Green.  Set in 12 acres of grounds, you can choose to entertain your guests outside or within the lovely historic house itself so is suitable for weddings all year round.

We last photographed at Manor Country Hotel early in 2019, after our couple married at St Mary’s Church in the village.  The bride and groom chose to have their wedding breakfast in the drawing room then moved next door to party well into the night.  As this is a hotel your guests can stay prior to your wedding and after the partying has finished. 

If you are looking for an Oxfordshire country hotel wedding venue, close to Oxford and Bicester, we can recommend the Manor Country House Hotel, Weston on the Green.

THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY, OXFORD

 The Bodleian Library set in the heart of Oxford, is the main library for the University of Oxford. The Bodleian (known locally as “the Bod”) is also an iconic and historic wedding venue. The Convocation House and Chancellors Court are used for the ceremony only. The late-gothic Divinity School is mostly used for the reception or wedding breakfast. It can seat up to 120 people.

We photographed at this stunning Oxfordshire wedding venue in the heart of Oxford on a beautiful early spring sunny Saturday.  The couple married at the college where they met whilst studying in Oxford, Lincoln College.  They then walked around the corner to the Bodleian Library for their Reception.  We were able to access the Bodleian’s historic library, (supervised by library staff) full of hundreds of ancient books, to take photos of the couple before their wedding breakfast. 

The library has been used as a backdrop for lots of programmes and films including the Harry Potter films.  The Bodleian Library is also a wonderful place for your wedding party, in the Divinity School.

This concludes our run through of some of our favourite Oxfordshire wedding venues, which we hope you found useful. If you are looking for wedding photographers based in Oxfordshire, at any of these venues, or of course any other venue, we would love to hear from you! You can contact Sam and Steve below.

Recommended Oxfordshire Wedding Venue-Lains Barn, Wantage

A Wonderful Rustic Barn Wedding Venue in the Oxfordshire Countryside

As Oxfordshire Wedding Photographers, we get to photograph weddings at some wonderful venues across the county. As we often get asked by couples for recommendations for places to get married across Oxfordshire, we thought it would useful to run a regular feature on venues we have worked at and can whole heartedly recommend. 

It didn't take a lot of thought to come up with our first recommended venue! Lains Barn, near Wantage, is a place we know well, and love to work at. Unusually for us, we also also a preferred supplier there (we don't normally look for such agreements, as we look to photograph in a variety of places.) A restored barn dating from the 18th century, Lains is ideally placed for Oxford and South Oxfordshire weddings, and is only an hour by train or car from London. 

Why do we like working at Lains? Well, firstly, its a lovely place. The main ceremony room has lovely directional light coming from the side windows and doors, and also a small balcony at the back, ideal for Samantha to photograph the wedding ceremony from behind. The bar area is long but quiet narrow, and lends itself well to our kind of documentary wedding photography, in that groups naturally mix and interact, giving us ample opportunities for candids.  

The main lawn and grounds are always well kept, with cars parked at a higher level overlooking the lawn. This helps of course for positioning group and couple portraits (yes, we WILL do some on request....) There is also a short walk up to another small barn or outhouse type of building (Sorry if that isn't the best term, Lains!), which is also a nice backdrop for couple portraits. 

Just as importantly, however, the team there are GREAT.  They are efficient without being bossy, and, with regards to us as photographers, they are wonderful. They totally "get" our style of photography, and never try and organise us, tell us where "the best places for photos are", or hector us to take more group photos so they can  have more time to move things around! 

We always look forward to our weddings at Lains, whether photographing a whole ceremony there, or just the reception/wedding breakfast.  

You can see several weddings we have photographed at Lains Barn on our wedding photography blog. 

If you are looking for a wedding venue in Oxfordshire, we would heartedly recommend Lains Barn. If you haven't booked a wedding photographer yet for Lains, we would love to hear from you.  You can contact us here. 

Why you need to ask your Vicar about your wedding photography

Why your vicar might not let you have any photos of your church wedding!

For many couples, getting married in their local church or chapel is still their preferred choice for their wedding ceremony.  Despite the large number of gorgeous hotels, wedding barns and other  such authorised wedding venues these days, there is no doubt that walking down the aisle of a traditional church in a gorgeous wedding dress is a dream for many brides to be. And of course, such couples will want to have lots of  wedding photographs of the key parts of the service.  The bride walking on her father's arm to be given away, exchanging rings, the all-important first kiss, signing the register and the wedding recessional are all required photographs from the day.  As documentary style wedding photographers, working as a husband and wife team, these would of course be top of the list of our images from a church wedding.

However, it should of course be remembered that a church wedding is a religious service, conducted and controlled by a vicar, minister, priest or similar official of the church (depending on the type of church and the religious denomination). And, increasingly, they are taking a harder line with wedding photographers, including, unfortunately, banning all photography during the ceremony.

Why would they do this?

As well as conducting a religious service, the vicar does also have a legal responsibility of the actual marriage. (For the sake of clarity, I am going to use the term “vicar” for the rest of this article, as a short hand for all the various church officials that could conduct a church wedding). So, as well as orchestrating the ceremony and service, they need to ensure that the legal part of the marriage is conducted properly. So, quite a responsibility. What many vicars have told us over the last couple of years is that wedding photographers (whether professional or guests with cameras) are increasingly “disrespecting” (in their words) the service. Moving around constantly, cameras with noisy shutter and/or motor winders, high powered flash guns and interrupting the ceremony for “that important photo” are just a few of the complaints we have heard. In one bizarre example, a vicar told us that that the photographer used him as a “human tripod” and rested his large white zoom lens on the vicar’s shoulder whilst taking photos!  Another told us we could only photograph from the back of the church, despite the fact the bride had expressly asked us to take a photograph of the groom’s first look as the bride arrived with her father. When we asked why I wasn’t allowed to photograph from the front, we were told “photographers make me nervous”. Even after we pointed out we use small quiet cameras, never move, don’t use flash and are always respectful of the ceremony, the answer was still “no”.

Whilst this may seem harsh, we can understand why vicars are adopting such a hard line. We have ourselves been guests when a photographer (and for that matter a videographer) totally distracted us from the service by moving around and using bright flash or LED lighting. 

When we are booked for church wedding photography, we always strongly recommend the couple speak to the church vicar at the time of booking the church what their policy is with regards to the photography. That way, any unfortunate misunderstanding or disagreements on the actual day can be avoided. It may also be possible to demonstrate to a vicar adopting a hard line on photography that, in our case at least, we will not be a disruption in any way.

Here are some questions you can use to ask your vicar about your wedding photographs.

• Is photography allowed during the ceremony, or at all in church? If not, why? (For example, we don’t use flash, we have quiet cameras and we never move around!)

• Is there any charge for photography? Or videography for that matter? (We have never been asked to pay but we know videographers sometimes are)

• Is throwing confetti allowed? If so, must it be bio-degradeable?

• Can guests take photos during the ceremony, or at any other part of the ceremony? (We are happy for a few guests to take a photo of signing the register, after we have; see below)

• Can the photographer(s) take photos of the actual signing of the register? If not, can they pose one instead? (In the UK it is now normally the case that the vicar, or registrar for non-church weddings, will not let photography of the actual signing take place. This is supposedly due to data protection reasons.

• Is there any unusual artificial lighting in the church the photographers need to know about? (For example, sometimes in old churches you will see the incandescent electric bar heaters, which if used in the winter, give a strong red cast on digital photos.)

• Is there anything else our photographer(s) need to know?

Our preferred approach for church wedding photography, vicar permitting, is as follows:

1.     Steve arrives in plenty of time for the ceremony, usually with the bridegroom, ushers and best man. He will seek out the vicar at the earliest possible opportunity to (re) confirm what he/she is happy for us to photograph during the ceremony. If there are any restrictions, he sends a quick voicemail or text to Sam (who is usually with the bride still) to forewarn her. He usually has a packet of extra strong mints on hard, for which a nervous groom is usually thankful!

2.     Steve positions himself behind and to the right of the vicar (from the guest’s perspective). He will step out from this position to capture the bride’s arrival.

3.     Sam will arrive just before the bride. She will photograph the bride arriving, and entering the church with the bridal party.

4.     During the ceremony, Steve will photograph at the front; the vows, ring exchanges, first kiss and so one. Sam will capture this from behind.

5.     We don’t photograph during prayers or hymns. (As we both sing in a choral society, we do try and help a little here!)

6.     For the signing of the register we normally pose this with an empty register, according to the vicar’s wishes (normally we are told we can’t photograph the actual signing for “legal” reasons).

7.     For the recessional (when you come down the aisle as Husband and Wife), Sam is in place at the back of the church to capture this, whilst Steve ducks down out of the way.

8.     If throwing confetti is allowed and planned, we both photograph this. A lot!

Most professional, reputable wedding photographers will always respect a church ministers wishes whilst photographing a wedding. Will a little planning and asking your vicar in good time, you can still be sure of gorgeous photos from your church wedding!

Steve Vaughan