Business Rates and Wedding Venues: Use This Template to Contact Your MP
Wedding venues across the UK are facing a significant and unexpected challenge. Under proposed changes to business rates relief, many purpose-built wedding and event venues risk being excluded from support that is routinely available to hospitality and leisure businesses.
For venues, business rates are one of the main fixed costs they face. When relief schemes exclude wedding venues, it puts real pressure on viability, staffing, and ultimately pricing.
A property’s rateable values sit under the remit of the VOA, and reform is needed as to how this is calculated for wedding venues. The rates that venues pay sits with central and local government.
This matters not just for venues, but for couples too. Increased overheads inevitably feed into the cost of hosting weddings, reducing choice and accessibility. When local weddings become less affordable, couples are also more likely to look abroad – taking their wedding spend, guests and associated tourism out of the UK economy entirely.
Below, we’ve created two simple templates:
- One for wedding venues to contact their local MP
- One for couples who want to support the venues they love
- Plus key facts and data for additional context
Template letter for wedding venues to send to their MP
Subject: Wedding venues excluded from business rates relief
[Your Name]
[Your Role]
[Venue Name]
[Town / Postcode]
[Email]
[Date]
Dear [MP Name],
I am writing as the [owner/operator] of [Venue Name] in your constituency to raise serious concerns about the overall state of play and exclusion of wedding and event venues from business rates relief schemes that have been extended to particular sections of the hospitality sector.
Although we operate in the same way as hospitality venues – hosting events, employing staff year-round, and supporting a wide local supply chain – wedding venues are often excluded from business rates relief that is available to other parts of the hospitality and leisure sector.
We recognise that rateable values are set independently by the Valuation Office Agency. However, the actual business rates liability that venues face is determined by central government policy, through the multiplier, eligibility criteria for relief, and the clarity of national guidance provided to local authorities.
Where wedding venues are not explicitly included within relief schemes, or where guidance is unclear, this results in exclusion in practice – even when venues operate as hospitality businesses in all but name.
This is not a request for intervention in valuation decisions, but for clarity and fairness in national policy design and relief eligibility.
Business rates are one of the main fixed costs we face. When relief schemes exclude wedding venues, it places additional pressure on viability, staffing and pricing.
Analysis by Bridebook shows that wedding venues are facing a greater increase than pubs, with rates payable rising by 78% over the next 3 years on average, equating to £12,740 in additional rates accounting for transitional relief.
The top 10% of wedding venues most affected are facing an increase of £53,250 over 3 years and a long term annual increase of £35,660 in payments.
Why this matters locally
Wedding venues contribute significantly to local economies. For example:
- We employ [X] people directly, plus seasonal and freelance staff
- We spend approximately £[X] each year with local suppliers
- We bring visitors into the area who support hotels, taxis, restaurants and shops
Venues are already managing rising costs across energy, wages, food, insurance and maintenance, while remaining highly seasonal and booking-dependent businesses.
Impact on couples and wedding costs
According to Bridebook’s UK Wedding Report, venues and catering remain the single biggest area of spend for couples. When venue costs rise due to increased fixed overheads, those costs are ultimately passed on to couples.
This doesn’t mean increased revenue for the venues and couples are forced to make sacrifices to keep costs at a reasonable level – including reducing the number of friends and family they invite, or forgoing using the services of other local businesses.
The report also shows that:
- The average cost of a wedding is now £25,815
- 59% of couples went over budget last year
- 59% relied on financial support from family
- Average cost per head rose by 24%, reflecting rising costs venues are facing from food inflation, increased minimum wage, NI costs and utility bill rises
- Average wedding guest lists dropped by 11% as couples cut guests to compensate for increased pricing
Further cost pressure without the rate relief being offered to other hospitality venues risks making local weddings less accessible. When UK weddings become unaffordable, couples are more likely to consider destination weddings abroad – taking their wedding spend, guests and associated tourism out of the UK economy entirely.
What we are asking for
We are asking for a simple and fair solution:
- Explicit inclusion of wedding and event venues within hospitality/leisure business rates relief; and/or
- Clear national guidance to ensure eligibility is applied consistently by local authorities.
I would be grateful if you could raise this issue with the relevant minister and support clarification or amendment to ensure your local wedding venues are not excluded by technical definitions. We have shared some key data and facts below to support this.
Thank you for your time and for supporting local businesses in [Constituency].
Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Venue Name]
Supporting Key Facts
Data from Bridebook’s 10th annual UK Wedding Report, based on insights from 7,000 couples highlights the growing financial pressures on couples and suppliers alike:
- The average cost of getting married is now £25,815, including weddings, engagement rings and honeymoons
- Wedding days alone cost £20,604 on average
- 59% of couples went over budget in 2025
- 59% relied on financial support from family
- The “Bank of Mum & Dad” contributed 29% of costs equivalent to 2 billion across the UK
- Cost per head pricing for venue and catering combined rose 24% in 2025 to offset hugely increased costs
- Food prices – up 22% since 2022
- Small business utilities / energy bills up 70% since 2022
- Insurance premium rises of up to 40% for larger venues due to cost of rebuilding materials
- National Living Wage rise of 9.8% in 2024 (and facing further 6.7% rise in April 2025)
- NI insurance contribution and threshold changes – adding £2,300 per year costs for single full time min wage employee
- Wedding sizes dropped 11% year on year in 2025 as couples sacrificed inviting friends and family to make budgets work within the enforced price increases
- 40% of couples contemplate an overseas wedding but at present 4% of couples actually marry overseas. This rose 25% from 3% in 2025 alone.
- Further cost pressures will drive more weddings out of the UK economy
A template for couples who want to support their local wedding venues
Your voice as an individual is powerful. MPs pay attention when constituents explain how policies affect real-life choices and costs.
Subject: Supporting local wedding venues in our constituency
Dear [MP Name],
I am writing as a constituent who is currently planning a wedding / recently married and wanted to raise concerns about proposed business rates changes that may negatively impact local wedding venues.
Wedding venues are an essential part of our local economy. They support jobs, bring visitors into the area, and sustain a wide range of small businesses – from florists and photographers to caterers, musicians and accommodation providers.
If wedding venues are excluded from hospitality business rates relief, increased costs will inevitably be passed on to couples. This reduces choice, affordability and access to local venues, particularly in rural areas.
I would urge you to support ensuring that wedding and event venues are treated fairly alongside other hospitality and leisure businesses.
Protecting wedding venues helps protect couples, local jobs and small businesses in our community.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Kind regards,
[Your Name]
[Postcode]
How you can help
- Venues: copy, personalise and send the template to your MP this week
- Couples: share your experience and postcode – personal stories matter
- Everyone: the more consistent the message, the harder it is to ignore
Key Facts & Data
Wedding costs and affordability in the UK
Data from Bridebook’s 10th annual UK Wedding Report, based on insights from 6,700 couples, highlights the growing financial pressures on couples:
- The average cost of getting married is now £25,815, including weddings, engagement rings and honeymoons
- Wedding days alone cost £20,604 on average
- 59% of couples went over budget in 2025
- 59% relied on financial support from family, with the “Bank of Mum & Dad” contributing over 2 billion across the UK
Venues are the biggest single cost for couples
Venues (excluding catering) remain the largest individual supplier cost, with couples spending an average of £6,040, followed closely by catering and marquee hire. This means any increase in venue overheads has an immediate impact on overall wedding affordability.
Regional impact
Wedding costs vary significantly by region, but pressures are rising nationwide. For example:
- London weddings average just under £27,000
- Scotland has seen a 23.5% year-on-year increase, reaching £22,987
- Even traditionally lower-cost regions such as the East Midlands and North West have seen rising pressures
The risk of weddings moving abroad
As UK weddings become less accessible, couples are increasingly open to alternative formats, including smaller celebrations or destination weddings overseas. While this can suit some couples, it removes valuable spending from UK venues, suppliers and local tourism economies.
Fair treatment for wedding venues protects local businesses, local jobs, and the future cost of weddings.
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