About Birmingham

Originally known as the Iron City, the Birmingham that we know today is popular for its many Michelin star catering options, beautiful art including pre-Raphaelite paintings and numerous canals—there are a whopping 35 miles of the canal here!

Birmingham also has more open space than Paris, housing one of the biggest national parks in Europe, Sutton Park. It is also home to the UK’s busiest theatre, the Hippodrome, which puts on a large selection of dramatic and comical performances all year round, including pantomimes at Christmas.

So if you’re coming to this bustling metropolitan city to get married, you’ve come to the right place. Birmingham has no shortage of wedding ceremony ideas for those with a taste for modern, traditional, or natural landscape settings that will add to the magic and splendour of the most important day of your lives together.

Wedding Venue Options in Birmingham

Wedding venues in Birmingham are arguably some of the most beautiful in the country. With many traditional and non-traditional ceremony options to choose from, it's no surprise why so many couples choose to tie the knot here. It’s also home to some of the best additional wedding services offered in the country. Here are some extras that you might be considering for your wedding.

• Wedding Dress Designers
  Choosing your wedding dress for your big day is one of the most exciting parts of planning a wedding. But it can also be the most stressful if you don’t already know how to dress for your shape. A good wedding dress designer will take into consideration what your best assets are, and help you find the dress that compliments them best. Many talented wedding dress designers are operating in Birmingham and its surrounding areas. It's advised to shop around to find one that can create the look you’re after and make you feel your best and most beautiful for the big day.
  
  
• Wedding Planners
  If you’re more the hands-off type, or would simply prefer to hire an expert to take care of some or all of the heavy lifting in regards to planning your big day, you’ll likely want to hire the services of a qualified wedding planner. They’ll be in charge of orchestrating the day from the start, finding the perfect venue, flowers, decorations and more to help set the scene for your celebration of love. Many wedding planning companies in Birmingham can provide exceptional service, reduce stress and ensure your special day is as perfect and memorable as it should be.
  
  
• Wedding Tailor
  Dress aside, nothing says “wedding” like a well-fitting tux. Complete with satin lapels, buttons and suspenders, tuxedos bring an element of class to any big day. If you’ve just bought or rented a tuxedo for your wedding, it’ll rarely fit you perfectly right off the hanger. That’s why you may need a professional wedding tailor. A wedding tailor is responsible for ensuring your tux fits perfectly for your wedding. They’ll take your measurements and then make the necessary alterations to your tux to make it fit you best for your bride or groom-to-be as they walk down the aisle to meet you.

Wedding Venue Companies in Birmingham

• The Couture Company
  The Couture Company is a Birmingham-based wedding dress designing company that has been making bespoke wedding dresses and gowns for over 20 years. The team prides itself on listening to the preferences of the client and customising each wedding dress so that it fits their body and their style very well. They make their gowns inside the studio rather than outsource them somewhere where labour is cheap as they want to support homegrown talent and businesses.
  
  
• Kitchen Garden Cafe
  Great for more intimate, laid-back celebrations, Kitchen Garden Cafe caters for parties of up to a maximum of 70. With outdoor dining and fairy light decorations to set the scene, you’ll feel comfortable in the company of your nearest and dearest. Kitchen Garden Cafe also allows you to book the whole venue out for just you and your guests, ensuring you have the bar and staff all to yourself. This venue is good for engaged couples with smaller budgets.
  
  
• Colmore Tailors
  Based on Temple Street in Birmingham, Colmore Tailors was founded by Scott Caddick in 2015. It used to be a travelling service, but as the business grew, it found its roots in Birmingham and became the city's first and only after-hours tailor shop. After working with tailors and a well-known brand that seemed to produce subpar garments, Scott decided to source the best homegrown fabrics and use them for their bespoke suits. Colmore Tailors specialise in soft suits, but they will offer you a selection of sample suits upon consultation so that you can try on which cloth, pattern and make will suit your build and style.

Pros and Cons of Wedding Venues in Birmingham

Hosting a wedding celebration in Birmingham can be magical and truly romantic for engaged couples. With so many options and choices, it's easy to see why. But if you’d like your day to go off without a hitch, it's important to factor in some of the city’s drawbacks as well.

Advantages

• Cost
  Birmingham weddings are cheaper than in England’s capital, London. You can save around £5,000 on your big day just by getting married here.
  
  
• A good selection of outdoor wedding venues
  If an indoor celebration seems stuffy or boring to you, Birmingham can provide you with alternative options. Two popular options among engaged couples, especially during the warm summer, include barn weddings and tipi weddings.
  
  
• Venue options that cater for all
  Birmingham has plenty of hotel room options available to couples getting married here. Many provide honeymoon suites for newlyweds which boast some impressive features like impressive views and double-bath bathrooms.
  
  
• Access to amazing chefs
  After London, Birmingham has the second-highest concentration of Michelin star chefs in the UK within its city borders. If you’re planning to hire a local for your wedding’s catering needs, you and your guests will more likely be impressed with the quality of the food at your wedding breakfast.
  
  
• Easy access to the city using canals
  Did you know that you can reach Birmingham in around four hours from most parts of the UK? That’s because Birmingham has a network of large network canals. Some couples getting married here arrive together by narrowboat, a bucket list item if you haven’t had the chance to do so already!

Disadvantages

• Accent
  The Birmingham accent can be difficult to understand, particularly for those not used to hearing it. To put it, if you have to put on the subtitles when watching the Peaky Blinders, you’ll likely struggle to understand the locals.
  
  
• Smaller airports
  If you’re planning to fly to Birmingham for your wedding, you may struggle a little more than with other places in the UK. The good news is that almost all UK roads lead to Birmingham. Being at the heart of the country, it is well-connected to M5, M6, M40 and M42. It’s also only 30 minutes away from the M1.
  
  
• Expensive public transport
  A common complaint amongst many, travel costs by public transport are on the expensive side. Expect to pay around £20 a day for your travel costs—a little steep if you’re planning to travel every day when scouting for wedding venues and vendors.
  
  
• No tubes or subway systems
  Another common complaint about Birmingham is its notable lack of tubes and subways. It does however have a tram system called the West Midlands Metro which travels between Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
  
  
• Cost
  While being cheaper than in London, the average cost of a wedding in Birmingham is still higher than in other places in the country. The average UK wedding cost is around £25,000 vs £30,000 in Birmingham.

Famous Wedding Venues in Birmingham

• Birmingham’s Canals
  Based in the heart of the Birmingham city centre, the canal network is packed full of history and charm. For a start, it’s almost 300 years old and has even more canals in it than Venice! Many people choose to explore the many bars dotted around Canal Edge in Central Birmingham, as well as the many towpaths on its network. Being part of the Birmingham Canal Network (or BCN), it's also well-connected to other canal systems in the UK. This makes it a particularly easy option for brides-and-grooms-to-be to travel into the city by narrowboat—a unique option if you’re trying to add some extra romance to your special day and avoid motorway traffic.
  
  
• Highbury Hall
  Highbury Hall, named after the Highbury area of London, was built in 1878 by parliament member Joseph Chamberlain. This Grade II-listed Victorian mansion has a lot of history. During WWI, for example, it was used as a hospital and place to live for disabled soldiers. Today, it's more popular among couples looking for somewhere beautiful to hold their wedding reception and rehearsal dinner. The property boasts an enormous amount of outdoor space and a large indoor ballroom, perfect for your wedding breakfast and your first dance together as a married couple. There’s also the option to combine your wedding ceremony and reception if you’d prefer.
  
  
• Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
  The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is another favourite for those visiting Birmingham to get married. Opened in 1885, it's home to a total of 40 galleries, including those displaying applied art, social history, archaeology and ethnography.
  The museum is a Grade II-listed historical building and allows couples to use the facilities for their wedding ceremony and reception. They provide many designated areas to take wedding photos, great if you’re a big fan of classic British art and historical artefacts. Once your ceremony is over, you can head to the tea rooms which provide a good-size dining area and dance floor for you and your guests.