There are many clever ways to managing costs when planning a wedding; choosing the right venue, however, will impact your wedding budget in more ways than one. Make sure that you check the fine print ….

• Choose a venue that does not charge an extra fee for the ceremony room, let alone the chairs, registry table, etc 
• Check your venue does not need vast amounts of decoration to bring it to life. When you view a venue, check that everything you see is actually included in the price.  It is easy to spend thousands of pounds kitting out and decorating a venue as well as a lot of time and stress bringing it all together. Adding your own personal touches should simply be the cherry on the cake without the need to ice the whole cake beforehand. 
• Make sure the venue lets you set up the day before and clear away the day after.  You shouldn’t be running around doing seating plans on the morning of your wedding when you could be happily sipping a glass of champagne enjoying getting ready.
• Choose a venue that allows you to bring your own wine and does not charge corkage.  Corkage charges can be astronomical and wine offered with wedding packages has a big mark-up (and is still sometimes undrinkable).  A venue with no corkage charge means you can do a run to France or buy champagne or Prosecco when supermarkets have some great offers or just agree a bulk price with your local off-licence.  This also has the added advantage of offering your guests better wine … you can actually enjoy.
• Check you can arrange to have a cash bar after you have eaten at sensible prices or set up your own bar instead with no extra charge.
• Find a venue that is flexible with suppliers or allows DIY weddings.  If you have a handy family or bunch of friends it is possible for smaller weddings to do the food yourselves. You can more than half the catering costs with all hands to the pump.  If you want the professionals to take the pressure off your shoulders, then find a venue that is happy to work with your preferred outside caterers means you are not restricted to one or two caterers and no hidden mark-ups. 
• Of course the most important thing is to manage your guest list.  With average catering costs of approximately £50-£60 per head plus wine and bubbles for the toasts the cost of every guest mounts up pretty fast.  It is very easy to see why more and more couples are asking only their nearest and dearest to celebrate with them.  You can always ask some more friends in the evening to party with you but check your venue can accommodate more evening guests and yes, with no extra charges. 

 
Aside from the venue, you will find many ingenious and creative ideas on Instagram and Pinterest to add special details to your day.  With your beautiful venue booked, the price fixed and no hidden extras, this part will be where you can have some fun.
 
The Pilgrims Rest is a stunning 600 year old venue in the heart of East Sussex full of historic soul.  Offering all the above, we have recently been voted in their top 31 intimate wedding venues in the U.K by Bridebook.    
 
We have carefully designed and furnished the venue to provide a suite of changing rooms for the bridal party, lime-washed trestle tables wide enough for sharing platters and benches topped with faux furs; pewter candlesticks and candles; champagne buckets and even vintage wine decanters.  We supply Chivari chairs for the ceremony, pealights and garlands for the fireplaces, wood for the three open fires and many, many extras.  We have tried to think of everything you might need to make your day as perfect, and affordable, as possible. 
 
We have regular open days hosted by our amazing events team.  They will hold you hand on the day and introduce you to some of our talented local suppliers if you wish – all part of our commitment to helping you have a memorable, enjoyable and affordable wedding. 
 
If you would like to arrange to meet them please contact Amy on venue@pilgrimsrestbattle.co.uk or telephone on 07552873448.
 
The photograph was taken by Emma at www.epiclovestory.co.uk at Laura and John’s DIY wedding last summer.  A very last minute (and our very first) wedding held at The Pilgrims Rest.  This dynamic duo managed to pull the whole thing together in less than a month making the decorations, acres of bunting, all the food and cake themselves with the help of their wonderful family and friends.  It was an incredibly special and happy day that we were very proud to be a part of.

We all dream about our wedding day - from making bridal boxes as children to creating Pinterest boards full of inspiration. When the time comes, suddenly dreams become reality and what started out as a fun and exciting process can quickly become a stressful and expensive one. From being a fairly relaxed, happy person we become the bridezilla of all bridezillas; we start to organise things down to the tiniest detail and walk through our wedding days a thousand times before it happens to make sure the day will run perfectly.  At this point we need to stop, take a deep breath and really think…who are you actually planning this wedding for?  For you and your fiancé or everyone else? If you have to pause to think about this then stop, take a bigger breath and think again.  It is your day - have a wedding that you will actually enjoy organising and more importantly you will enjoy on the day.
 
Less is more is a good mantra when planning your day.  Reducing your guest list means your close friends and family will be your guests so there should be nobody to impress and nobody to judge (or so we would hope!)  Your wedding day should be full of fun, laughter and love.  Think about if you were attending your best friend’s wedding - would you judge them if they decided not to spend hours making tiny pots of jam as favours?  Probably not.  If this is the case, then do yourself a favour (rather than making them) and keep it simple.
 
This is where we step in.  The Pilgrims Rest in East Sussex is a 600 year old, licenced wedding venue in the heart of East Sussex.  We have designed and furnished it so that it needs little decoration. With vintage decanters and wine buckets and stands for your wine; wood for the fires and pewter candlesticks and candles for the lime-washed trestle tables; benches and furs for dining and Chivari chairs for the ceremony we have tried to think of everything to make your day as simple and affordable for you as possible.
 
You can set up the afternoon before the wedding giving you the whole day to enjoy yourself.  We have created a whole floor especially for the bridal party to get ready in the morning complete with a bottle of bubbly to start the day.
 
We do not charge corkage so that you can have great wine and your own bar if you choose. We offer couples the flexibility to have a wedding just how they want it and the choice to make it their own. We work with some amazing local caterers but if you have your own then bring them with you!   As well as caterers we have a tried and tested list of amazing Sussex suppliers - from florists to photographers, D.J’s to harpists.  Importantly our friendly and experienced team will hold your hand on the day ensuring your wedding goes without a hitch.
 
With less stress, less cost and less hassle your wedding will be more relaxed, more enjoyable and more fun.  When it comes to planning your wedding - less really is more.
 
If you would like to come and view The Pilgrims Rest please email Amy on venue@pilgrimsrestbattle.co.uk or call 07552873448 to arrange an appointment.

Photography by Georgine Piper at www.georginapiperphotography.co.uk

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The length of an engagement can vary hugely.  There are those who plan their wedding day two years in advance and those who opt for just two months - whatever you choose, time is no barrier for a fabulous wedding.
 
At The Pilgrims Rest we have bookings for 2020 and even 2021.  We also have last minute bookings which happen for a variety of reasons.  Some couples are moving abroad and want to start their new lives married, others have been together for years and suddenly decide to “Go for it” and are married within a few months.  Our very first wedding at The Pilgrims Rest was unexpectedly brought forward an entire year - this amazing couple managed to plan and execute their wedding beautifully in less than a month.
 
We have designed The Pilgrims Rest to make a wedding a realistic possibility for anyone wanting to tie the knot in a short time period.  With no restrictions on suppliers and no corkage charges we aim to offer as much flexibility and choice as possible to make your wedding day a reality.
 
The cosy, intimate nature of the venue means that you can surround yourselves with your friends and family, making this 600 year old Wealden hall house your own for the day.  With its inglenook fires, bridal changing rooms and vaulted ceremony room in the Great Hall it is pretty hard to beat.
 
If you are thinking about tying the knot this year we do have some last minute dates still available for 2018.  Alternatively if you would like a little more time to plan your day and would like to attend one of our wedding viewing days then please contact Amy on 07552873448.