Few wedding venues can claim a view like this one. The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Cowes clubhouse sits high on Castle Hill, looking straight down The Parade and out across the Solent, and on a summer afternoon the water in front of you is busy with sails in a way no amount of styling could improve upon. The club is one of the great names in offshore sailing, and the building wears that history lightly — there is a genuine sense of a working club rather than a hall that happens to be for hire.
A thorough renovation has given the clubhouse a new entrance, foyer and reception along with redesigned bar and dining rooms, so what you get is a handsome building with none of the draughty awkwardness that sometimes comes with one. The Terrace Restaurant seats 50 indoors and another 40 outside on the patio, cooking from local produce with menus that change week by week. The Fastnet Bar, whose name tells you plenty about the club’s racing pedigree, takes 40 inside and 30 more out on its deck, and the Captain’s Room is an intimate private dining room for a dozen — a lovely option for the night before.
The other thing the club has, and most Island venues simply do not, is bedrooms. There are a dozen or so, ranging from simple crew cabins to en-suite doubles, and many of them face the Solent. Being able to put your wedding party up in the same building as the party itself changes the whole shape of a weekend. The Red Jet terminal is a short walk downhill, putting Southampton and the mainline trains about 25 minutes away.
Where the band plays
For a wedding it is the main restaurant that becomes the room to watch. It will seat around 150 for dinner and takes a dinner dance for 120, which is precisely the size at which a live band starts to feel properly worth it. In summer the club adds a marquee, and that opens the numbers up considerably while giving a band a bigger and more forgiving space to play in than an indoor dining room ever offers. Either way there is a dancefloor and an in-house sound system to build on, so a smaller acoustic set during dinner is as easy to arrange as a full band later.
How the evening runs
Ceremonies work indoors or outside with the Solent behind you, drinks follow naturally onto the patio and the deck, and the room turns around for dinner while everyone is out enjoying the view. Evenings tend to run to around midnight, which usually means two band sets with the cake and the speeches sitting comfortably between them. The clubhouse has houses for neighbours up on Castle Hill, so if you are planning anything loud late on, agree the finish time with the club in advance and everyone stays happy.
Getting in and out
Castle Hill is central Cowes, and that is a mixed blessing for a band with a van full of gear: easy to find, rather less easy to park beside. Musicians will want to drop at the door and then move the vehicle on. It is also worth checking access with the club if your date falls in regatta season, because the whole town changes gear during Cowes Week.
Bands available on the Isle of Wight and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music on the Isle of Wight.
- Wedding Bands on the Isle of Wight
- Events Bands on the Isle of Wight
- Tribute Acts on the Isle of Wight
- Wedding DJs on the Isle of Wight
- Corporate Entertainment on the Isle of Wight
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters at Venues: What You Need to Know. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.