Some venues borrow a bit of history; Warwick Castle has more of it than it knows what to do with. Rising straight out of the River Avon in the middle of Warwick, with more than 1,100 years behind it, it is the castle most British children draw when you ask them to draw a castle — towers, battlements, a great gatehouse and a courtyard that has seen off rather a lot of centuries. What surprises couples is how comfortable it is once you are through the gates. The state rooms are grand but warm, the gardens are gentle, and the whole place is a 10-minute walk from a market town with restaurants and hotels, rather than marooned down a farm track.
The grounds run to 64 acres laid out by Capability Brown, including the Peacock Garden below the Conservatory terrace, sweeping lawns above the river and mature trees that were planted with exactly this sort of view in mind. Ceremonies are held in the Great Hall, which takes 120, or in the State Dining Room, the Green Drawing Room or the Library for smaller gatherings, and there are outdoor options in the Central Courtyard and on the Conservatory terrace when the weather obliges. The Great Hall is also where most couples dine, seating 120 beneath armour, banners and a roof that does most of the decorating for you, and holding up to 180 once the evening guests arrive.
Catering is handled in-house, from canapés through to a full banquet, and accommodation is unusually good for a venue of this kind: Tower Suites with four-poster beds and original vaulted ceilings inside the castle walls, lodges at the Knight’s Village, seasonal glamping for guests who fancy it, and a 60-bedroom hotel on the estate. Junction 15 of the M40 is minutes away, which makes it an easy venue for guests coming from a distance.
Where the band plays
The Great Hall is the room, and it is a magnificent one to play in — stone, timber and height, with a dancefloor laid at one end once dinner is cleared. Big rooms of this age tend to be generous with sound rather than boomy, and a band of five or six fills it handsomely; a smaller acoustic set-up can feel a little swallowed by the scale, so this is a venue that rewards a bit of ambition in the line-up. Load-in runs through the castle rather than up to a stage door, so timings matter more than they would elsewhere and the events team will want to plan the band’s arrival with you in advance.
How the evening runs
The rhythm here is a little different from a country house. The castle empties of day visitors in the late afternoon, and from closing time the Great Hall and State Rooms are exclusively yours through to midnight — which gives the night a lovely sense of the place shutting its gates and belonging to you. Plan the band’s sets around that window and the last one will land while the hall is still full. Drinks beforehand in the courtyard or on the terrace above the river, with something acoustic playing, is about as good as an English summer evening gets.
Bands available in Warwickshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Warwickshire.
- Wedding Bands in Warwickshire
- Warwickshire Events Bands
- Warwickshire Tribute Acts
- Warwickshire Wedding DJs
- Warwickshire Corporate Entertainment
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.