Good to knows

Weddings

How many people can we have at our wedding?

We have a variety of spaces available at Lainston House so we can host weddings from as little as 2 in one of our beautiful main house private dining rooms to 120 in our Dawley barn.

For numbers over 120 we can either add a marquee onto the side of the barn to accommodate up to 150 or a marquee in the grounds for even bigger capacity

Speak to our wedding team for more information or advice as to which one of our spaces works best for your guest numbers.

Will we be able to sample the menu before our wedding day?

For weddings with 40 guests or more, a complimentary menu tasting is included for you both ahead of your special day to try our menus and selection of wines. You will have the opportunity to try two starters, two mains and two dessert between you both.

The wedding team will be in touch a few months before your big day to book this fun event in for you, additional guests are welcome to join you at an additional charge.

You could also book a room to stay with us that evening so you can make full use of sampling our wine list and experience the hotel before your big day.

Do you have any vegetarian and vegan menu options?

Of course, we have a selection of vegetarian and vegan menu options for you to choose from, and our team of chefs would be more than happy to work with you in creating your own unique menu if you have lots of your own ideas too!

Dietary requirements can all be catered for, we just need to be aware of what tweaks need to be made to a guests menu in advance of you big day so we can fully prepare.

Will our wedding by the only one at Lainston House on the day?

Yes, for weddings with 40 guests and more yours will be the only one wedding we look after at Lainston House that day!

You can also hire Lainston House exclusively so the whole hotel including all of the bedrooms and the wedding spaces are all yours to enjoy with your guests, making it a really private day!

Our Little Slice of Lainston package allows private use of the wedding spaces you have chosen to use, hotel residents and other private parties may be going on in other spaces of the hotel at the same time.

Can I get married outside at Lainston House? And what happens if it rains?

We have an outdoor wedding pavilion here at Lainston House which is licensed for outdoor ceremonies. It is set on our private South Lawn which has the house in the background, providing the a picture perfect backdrop as you say your vows.

At no extra cost we will set the Dawley Barn as a wet weather back up if the sun is shy on the day. 

How do we book our civil ceremony? And is there a local church?

We are licensed for civil ceremonies with Hampshire registry office, they can be contact on 03005 551392 or ceremonies.northhants@hants.gov.uk

The local church in the village is called St Stephen’s Church. They can be contacted on 01962 880845

What time should we book our civil ceremony for?

We are completely flexible with the time you choose to book your civil ceremony, however recommend a ceremony time of 1pm, which would allow your evening reception to begin at 7pm.

Can we have our ceremony elsewhere?

We are happy to host you and your guests after a ceremony elsewhere - we will welcome you all back to Lainston House with a lovely drinks reception to celebrate your marriage.

How many bedrooms do you have at Lainston House?

We have 50 bedrooms in total including some dog friendly and fully accessible rooms.

With our Exclusively Yours package, all 50 bedrooms are included, and should you wish to charge a cost of these bedrooms back to you guests we can set up a unique booking code to make it really easy for your guests to secure their room.

If you are booking a Friday or Saturday on our Little Slice of Lainston package, you will be asked to book the 16 bedrooms which surround the Dawley Barn (known as Chudleigh Court). On this package a four poster bedroom is complimentary to you as the couple on your wedding night. Guests will need to pay 100% of booking rate at the time of booking.

What time can our guests check into their bedroom on our wedding day?

Guests can check in from 3pm and check is by 11am the following morning.

Breakfast is included with all bedroom bookings.

Can I stay the night before and get ready at Lainston House on the morning?

Of course you can! We have family junior suites that sleep up to five people which are perfect for the bridal party to enjoy a sleepover in, and provides plenty of space for you to all get ready together in the next morning. We can happily provide breakfast to your room too, so there is no need to miss a minute of being pampered by your hair and make up team.

Please ask our wedding team for further details and availability.

We also have lots of private dining spaces at the hotel which are great for you to host a small family meal all together the night before. 

Can we use our own wedding suppliers?

We have a list of recommended wedding suppliers who we love working with and know our wedding spaces really well. They will have lots of ideas to share with you from weddings they have been involved with already at Lainston House.

You are also welcome to choose your own wedding suppliers, if they have never worked at Lainston House before we do ask you bring them for a look around before your big day so they are familiar with everything beforehand.

Do you have any restrictions around lighting candles?

In order to keep all of our guests and our precious buildings safe we operate a strict no naked flame/ candle policy throughout our hotel. We would however love for you to bring in as many battery operated candles as you so wish and we can also advise you of some of the lovely places wedding suppliers can hang strings of fairy lights which can look magical as the evening draws in.

Do we need to provide our suppliers with any refreshments?

Check your suppliers contracts, most photographers and band will request a meal and drinks to be provided.

We have some lighter menu options which might be a better choice for them. Please speak to the wedding team for further information.

What time can our suppliers set up from on our wedding day?

We are usually able to offer access to your suppliers from 9am on your wedding day, this should give them plenty of time to set up and make things look extra pretty for you!

We will talk more about this during our wedding planning meeting with you nearer to your wedding date once we know what else is happening in and around the hotel before your big day, it may be that we can bring this time forward for you.

What time can we party until on our wedding day?

You can party right the way up until midnight! We can also extend this to 1am for a further £300 fee.

After your party has come to a close, our hotel bar will remain open for residents to enjoy an extra tipple before bed.

Can you cut up our wedding cake for us and serve it to our guests in the evening?

Of course we can! We can also provide you with a cake stand and a cake knife if you should need one.

Do you allow confetti?

Confetti provides a great photo opportunity! We just ask your guests use bio degradable real dried petals and that it is thrown outside in the grounds.

Unfortunately confetti cannons are not permitted inside our outside of the hotel.

Do you allow fireworks, sky lanterns or sparklers?

We love a fun sparkler send off at the end of a wedding night (and it is often a great photo opportunity too!). Unfortunately due to lots of local residents and livestock, fireworks and sky lanterns aren't permitted.

What happens if it rains on our wedding day?

Lainston House boosts lots of lovely indoor spaces for your guests to mingle within, and there are plenty of photo backdrops including our roaring fire place, our grand staircase or our light airy Drawing Room.

We also have lots of umbrellas available for you to use if you don't want to miss the lovely outdoor opportunities even if the sky's are grey.

Should we take out wedding insurance?

We always advise our couples to take out wedding insurance, it provides a great peace of mind if the unexpected happens!

Can we bring our own drinks for the wedding day?

We do not allow corkage as we are a fully service hotel - we have lots of options to choose from, and our bar team are usually very good at sourcing any specific requests.

Is there parking available and can our guests leave their car overnight?

We have plenty of car parking available for your guests, we also allow drop off by our front door for guests requiring easier access. We have electric charging points available in our main car park too.

If your guests would like to leave their cars overnight they are welcome to do so, we kindly request that the keys are left with our reception team in case of any emergencies. To ensure you have perfect picture opportunities on your day, we do ask that cars are not parked and left on the oval area in front of the hotel.

Can we drop out wedding items (favours, name cards, table plans etc.) off to you before our big day?

Of course! We always schedule a full handover with the wedding team and our operations team the day before you big day, at this meeting you can leave anything you would need for the day and we will set up everything for you. If you needed to drop off anything sooner, this can be discussed with our wedding team.

Can our dog come to our wedding?

We loved four pawed wedding guests! We have dog friendly bedrooms available and are happy to discuss and incorporate having your pup as part of your special day.

Who will run and look after us on our wedding day?

The wedding team will look after you leading all the way up to the day itself, then on the day of the wedding we have our operations team including our operation manager with your every step of the day.

We also recommend hiring a Toastmaster as they are great at making sure everything runs to time and that your guests are always in the right place at the right time too!