Essex offers the perfect blend of seaside resorts and historic towns, including Colchester, which was once the Roman capital of Britain. It’s one of the UK’s most diverse and exciting wedding destinations, offering everything from grand country estates to beautiful coastal retreats. Known for its rolling countryside, relaxed vibes and lively social scene, so many locations across the county are the perfect place for couples looking for a blend of romance, luxury and fun as part of their big day.
Our 2025 Wedding Report revealed that 6% of all UK weddings take place in Essex and the wider East of England region, with 77% of local couples opting to stay within the county for their special day. The average cost of a wedding in Essex and the East of England is £20,137, which is slightly below the UK average of £20,822. This means you can enjoy a stunning wedding in Essex while potentially saving a little on your budget, too.
With easy access to London, a huge variety of venues, and some of the best and most varied wedding vendors around, it’s no surprise that Essex is such a popular place in the UK to get married. Whether you’re dreaming of a luxurious castle filled with history, a relaxed countryside barn or a glamorously modern venue, Essex has something to suit everyone.
Essex weddings are known for their glamour, style and variety, with couples embracing everything from rustic charm to full-on luxury.
Luxury stately home weddings are a big trend, with couples choosing grand country houses so they can have a fantastically extravagant celebration that would be worthy of a Heat Magazine photoshoot.
Rustic and countryside weddings are hugely popular, with barn venues allowing for a combination of rustic charm and luxurious elegance. Couples in Essex love to glam up outdoor and barn venues with creative lighting, bold colour schemes and eye-catching decor. To bring their vision to life, couples in Essex invest more in decor, spending an average of £1,408 compared to the UK average of £1,271. Similarly, the average amount spent on flowers in the region is about £1,335, which is around £200 more than the UK average, showing that couples in Essex love to include big floral centrepieces.
To create a memorable guest experience, couples in Essex also love incorporating interactive elements into their weddings. This includes live cooking stations, photobooths with crazy and fun props, installations like flower walls or balloon arches, and other immersive activities that encourage guests to participate.
Essex is packed with stunning wedding venues, ranging from grand manor houses to modern, stylish hotels, with tons of options to suit all styles, tastes and budgets.
To include some of the county’s rich history in your big day, along with a huge injection of class and elegance, you could go for one of the many castles or stately homes across Essex. Hedingham Castle has it all, including a towering Norman castle, an elegant Georgian Country House and 160 acres of pristine grounds. Lympne Castle is often thought of as one of the most beautiful castles in England, with so many jaw-dropping locations in and around its 139 acres of land. There are also Gosfield Hall Wedding Venue and Parklands Quendon Hall, two grand manor houses that are bursting with brilliance.
To make the most of the fantastic countryside around Essex, you could go for one of the fantastic outdoor venues around the county. Tie the knot at the picturesque and historic Colville Hall on the grounds of an organic farm that still operates to this day. The Old Kent Barn is quaint and rustic, but with bags of elegance. There’s also Vaulty Manor, a 17th-century wedding barn with a range of options to make sure you have the ceremony and reception of your dreams.
Being such an eclectic county, Essex also has plenty of unique places to tie the knot so you can make sure your big day is unlike any other. The Arlington Ballroom, Rayleigh Windmill and Topsail Charters are all filled with character and are the perfect way to inject some of your personalities into your wedding.
Essex weddings are often seen as big and extravagant, but there are also plenty of affordable venues around the county, too, so you can have a beautiful wedding day without needing to spend more than you’d like. Check out what budget-friendly venues around the region offer, like Ivy Hill Hotel, Friern Manor Country House Hotel, The Warren Estate and Westerham Golf Club.
In Essex and the wider East of England region, the average cost of a wedding venue is £5,047, which is lower than the UK average of £5,945. This means you can score a beautiful venue in this popular area while keeping costs below what many couples pay elsewhere in the country.
As a massively popular wedding destination, you need to make sure you book your chosen wedding venue in Essex in plenty of time, especially if you want to get married during the busier times of the year, such as the height of summer or at the weekend.
The average lead time for booking a wedding venue in Essex is 12 to 18 months, with some of the more popular venues and dates requiring a lead time of two or more years.
For midweek or off-peak weddings, you may find availability within six to nine months, and winter weddings often have shorter lead times and lower costs.
Essex has some of the sunniest weather in the UK – in fact, it’s home to two of the top 10 sunniest places in the country. But, just like the rest of the UK, the weather can still be unpredictable, especially if you’re closer to the coast, where cool winds can blow across from the North Sea.
Spring (March – May) is a beautiful time to get married, with flowers blooming and beaches getting warmer so you can enjoy some pictures on Southend Pier or by the sea. Temperatures range from 10°C (50°F) in March to 16°C (61°F) in May. Spring showers are possible, so make sure you plan accordingly so you’re not caught short.
Summer (June – August) is the most popular wedding season in Essex, as temperatures get warmer, typically between 18°C (64°F) and 25°C (77°F). With long, sunny days, summer is ideal for an outdoor ceremony or reception at venues like High House Weddings and Crondon Park.
Autumn (September – November) is a great time for warm, cosy weddings, as temperatures drop to a range of 17°C (63°F) in September to 9°C (48°F) in November. As the leaves turn from green to orange, it offers a great opportunity for fantastic wedding photos at the county’s many parks and gardens, including Southchurch Hall Gardens and Markshall Estate.
Winter (December – February) in Essex brings a magical and intimate atmosphere, but also cold temperatures of between 2°C (36°F) and 7°C (45°F). It’s probably best to secure a venue with lots of indoor space so you and your guests can stay warm and relaxed during the celebrations, like The Tower Hotel and MGM Muthu Westcliff Hotel.
Thanks to its proximity to London, Essex is one of the most accessible wedding destinations in the UK, with excellent transport links by road, rail and air.
For guests flying in, Essex is home to London Stansted Airport (STN) and London Southend Airport (SEN), both offering domestic and international flights. London Heathrow and Gatwick are also within easy reach via train and car.
By rail, Essex has fast connections to London, with direct trains from Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street serving towns like Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend. Most journeys take less than an hour, making it a great choice for London-based couples and guests wanting to escape the capital.
For those driving, Essex is well-connected via the M25, M11, A12 and A127, making it easy to reach from London, the Midlands and the South East.
When it comes to somewhere to stay, there are plenty of options around the county, from five-star boutique hotels to family-run B&Bs. There’s also a fantastic selection of hotels with their own venue spaces, which also make them a great choice for a wedding venue. Make sure you check out hotels including The Kings Oak Hotel, Stoke by Nayland Resort and Pontlands Park for somewhere both convenient and beautiful.
