Castle Combe is regularly called the prettiest village in England, and having wandered down its one honey-coloured street to the market cross and the bridge over the Bybrook, it is hard to argue. The Manor House stands just above it, a 14th-century house in the same warm Cotswold stone, with 365 acres of the Bybrook valley falling away below: rolling lawns, ornate Italian gardens, woodland, and the river running through the bottom of it all.
Inside, the house is all the things the outside promises — exposed beams, oak panelling, leaded glass and fireplaces big enough to stand in — without ever feeling like a museum. There are 50 bedrooms between the main house and the mews cottages in the grounds, with another 12 at The Castle Inn down in the village, so a large wedding party can stay together. The food is a serious draw in its own right: the Bybrook restaurant holds a Michelin star, and all the wedding catering comes from the same kitchen.
The wedding spaces suit different sizes of day rather than repeating the same room three times. The Dunstanville Suite is the largest, oak-beamed and vaulted, licensed for ceremonies of up to 110 and seating 150 for dinner, with its own terrace looking down the wooded valley. The Bybrook room takes 150 beneath its beams, with stone walls, leaded windows and views across the lawn, and comes with exclusive-use bookings. The Shakespeare Lounge is the intimate choice at up to 40, panelled, with bay windows and a fire. Outdoors, a Victorian pavilion of fluted columns and ornate panels is licensed for ceremonies of up to 150 and works year round, weather permitting.
Where the band plays
The Dunstanville Suite is the natural home for a band: a vaulted ceiling that lets the sound open up, a floor that takes 150 for dinner and then makes room for dancing, and a terrace just outside for anyone who needs air between sets. The happiest surprise here is that the hotel permits live music and discos without noise restrictions, which is unusual in a village setting and means a full band can be heard as it is meant to be rather than fighting a limiter all night. At 150 guests a six-piece with horns is the sweet spot.
How the evening runs
A standard wedding here runs to midnight, while an exclusive-use booking — the house is yours from 1pm until 11am the following morning — carries on to 1am, which is worth knowing before you set the running order, since that extra hour usually buys a third band set rather than another hour of playlist. One practical note: fireworks are not allowed, on account of the village and the livestock, so if you want a spectacular finish it will have to be a musical one.
Bands available in Wiltshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Wiltshire.
- Wedding Bands in Wiltshire
- Events Bands in Wiltshire
- Wiltshire Tribute Acts
- Wiltshire Wedding DJs
- Wiltshire Corporate Entertainment
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.