Small wedding venues in Suffolk
Small weddings have always been some of my favourites, they are always super chill, personal, emotional and just down-right lovely. There are big advantages to a small wedding, less cost, less stress, more time with your guests and you can often organise them in a much shorter time frame. I’ve put together a little post on some of the smaller venues I’ve photographed in Suffolk over the years. If you’re planning a small wedding these could work well. They’ve each got their own unique style and vibe which I think’s even more important if you’ve got a mini guestlist.
All of these are in Suffolk, so perfect if you’re based in East Anglia or if you’re looking for somewhere within reach of London or Norwich. For small wedding venues in Essex check out my other blog post.
Details on my Suffolk wedding photography can be found on this link too.
What makes a wedding ‘small’?
Anything under 50 guests I’d generally define as a small wedding but to be honest it could vary from just 2 witnesses at a registry office right up to a party with 40 people so there’s no set format for a small wedding. Infact that’s what makes them so great, you can really do what you like with a mini wedding as it’s far easier to adapt your wedding to suit you when you have less people involved.
Small Suffolk wedding venues
For the romantics. Tucked away in the beautiful Suffolk countryside Butley Priory is a real hidden gem. There’s accommodation for you and your guests and an intimate space for a ceremony and meal plus lots of wonderful grounds to explore and coast and countryside round there is insanely lovely. You can also extend the space with a marquee.
Southwold Cinema – Electric Palace
The perfect place for film lovers or anyone who likes to take centre stage. The Electric Palace is still a working cinema and oozes charm and character. You’ll love all the details and the ceremony can happen on the stage in front of all your guests.
For the foodies. If you love your food you can’t go wrong with the Swan. A hotel and Spa, you can spend the weekend here relaxing and indulge in amazing food. You’ll have your own ceremony room and a courtyard away from the main pub. Lavenham is a quintessentially English town with tonnes of history.
For the countryside lovers. If you want a real treat on your wedding day you can’t go wrong with the amazing Ickworth House. A National Trust property with acres of gardens and grounds to explore. The ceremony room is in a library and your guests will be spoilt for choice with marvellous rooms to stay in.
This lovely venue was a mill and it makes a really fun ceremony space for a mini wedding. In the main part of the venue there’s space for a bigger reception with a dancefloor and bar etc. But you could also keep that part small too or have a smaller ceremony followed by a larger reception. It has lovely gardens to explore too.
Right next to The Mere is the Golf Club, not to be confused with The Country Club round the corner the actual Golf Club has a small ceremony room and bar area which are perfect for a smaller wedding. You can either do your whole wedding there or head to The Dolphin for food after.
A pretty town hall which is great for smaller weddings and there are lots of places to head to after for food or a reception. The Mill always makes a good spot overlooking the water meadows and you can hire out the whole area at the top which is great for summer weddings and perfect for a smaller guest list.
I’ve done a small wedding in the main concert hall at Snape Maltings but they now have a separate studio that can be booked for little weddings which works really well. It’s a beautiful building in it’s own right, wonderful architecture and the studio itself is an intimate space which can seat a few people and it has a grand piano and of course great acoustics too! I personally think it’s a better option than the concert hall if you’re having a smaller wedding and would definitely reccommend.