Departure Lounge Cafe

(4)
£3,600 for Venue Hire
Up to 130
Bedrooms
Exclusive Use
Wedding Licence

Description

The Departure Lounge is a lovely cafe situated on the outskirts of Alton in Hampshire on the A339 to Basingstoke, set in the beautiful countryside. We are also a Wedding venue creating a very relaxed unique special day. We are proud to have been awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. Our unique countryside location in Hampshire enables us to offer a truly memorable venue for your Wedding Reception. We are confident that our vintage decoration will not only impress those looking for an alternative wedding reception venue but will also provide everything you’re looking for from your special day. We are fully licensed and offer a Afternoon tea option, a buffet menu or Hog Roast. We cater for up to 130 guests in the cafe, marquee and gardens. The Departure Lounge Café caters to a maximum capacity of 130 guests across the venue grounds. In this rural haven of sweeping fields and inspiring gardens, you can enjoy a marquee reception in a 40-foot-by-40-foot structure fit for 130. Adorned in fairy lights, this boho-inspired setting is a blank canvas awaiting your signature touch. Nearby lies a designated area for a live band or disco, which can also be decorated to your tastes. The café offers an intimate space filled with aged-wood features, quirky signage and a private bar: an inviting atmosphere for guests to dine and drink in comfort. Across the grounds, an array of breathtaking scenery provides all the backdrops needed for those memorable wedding photographs.

Personal Message from the Manager

Name of Wedding Contact: Simon Farley
Hello I am Simon and started The Departure Lounge in 2006, As a business, it has progressed from a day to day cafe into a well known and respected wedding venue. It is a great privilege to have a couples special day here at my business and take great pride in making sure that all the details are perfect. I am a very relaxed person and will always go beyond the call of duty to help make a wedding as personal as possible.

Experience

Year Business Was Established
2006
No. of Weddings Hosted
More than 50
Public Liability Insurance
Yes
No. of People In Team
7

Overview of Departure Lounge Cafe

Venue Type
Garden
Outdoor
Dining Capacity
130
Reception Capacity
200
Usual Access Time
08:00 AM
Usual Finish Time
12:00 AM
Late Night Extension
Yes

Ceremony & Reception

Dancefloor Available
Confetti Permitted
Fireworks Permitted
Wedding Licence
Outdoor Ceremony Available

Venue

Disabled Access
Landscaped Gardens
Open Flame Permitted
Outdoor Reception Space
Marquee Permitted
Exclusive Use
Bridal Changing Facilities
Pet Friendly
On-Site Parking
In-House Wedding Coordinator

Food and Drink

Alcohol Licence
In-house Catering
In-House Wine List
External Catering Permitted

Pricing for Departure Lounge Cafe

Venue Hire Only

Prices Start At
£3,600
Venue Hire Including The Departure Lounge Cafe, Gardens, Field & Marquee with a capacity of up to 120 guests. - Includes fairy lighting, ivory linings, camelot chairs & tables
What is included in this pricing:
Furniture included
Non consumables (e.g. linen, lights etc.)

In-house Catering
(price per head)

Prices Start At
£8
Example of catering packages for 50-60 guests - Afternoon Tea £540 - Hog Roast £750 - Ploughman’s buffet £420 - Chilli dinner £480 - Additional Extras to add to any package option: Pimms/Prosecco/soft drinks on arrival, speciality cakes and balloons
What is included in this pricing:
Cutlery included
Table linen included
Wine allowance per guest

Reviews for Departure Lounge Cafe
(4)

Fiona and Dave
Happy couple married in July
July 2023
Absolutely incredible experience

I can highly recommend this fabulous venue. Simon and his team couldn’t have done more to make our day exactly as we wanted it. The food was delicious and all our guests raved about the cheesecake! We were able to make it really personalised and relaxed. Honestly, the best day

Jessica Edgecombe
Happy couple married in July
February 2022
The venue itself is amazing

Insanely awesome place and people! We had our wedding here on 28th August - honestly, Simon and the team made this entire process extremely enjoyable considering let’s face it wedding planning is not always fun 🤣 They were extremely helpful, friendly and bent over backwards to help us. The venue itself is amazing - we were given loads of options, freedom to do quite a lot, and the flexibility was great. The bar looks awesome, the field is spacious and the marquee was perfect for our needs. The food was amazing and everyone at the wedding had plenty of compliments towards the food, drinks and facility itself. The staff at this venue are some of the best I’ve worked with - they went above and beyond and myself and my partner extremely appreciate everything they’ve done for us. We’ve been incredibly busy since our wedding but we plan on stopping by when we can to express our gratitude in person. Not only is this an incredibly reasonably priced venue to get married at, with a great team to work with (especially Simon), it’s also an awesome bar with great food and drinks. Highly recommend this place! Thank you everyone at the Depature Lounge for making our day

Olivia Chalcroft
Happy couple married in August
February 2022
We really felt we had a very personal touch

The most amazing wedding venue! We stumbled across the venue last summer and as soon as we saw it and met with Simon, the owner, we knew it was the perfect venue for us. We had totally free reign over the styling of the marquee, and were given the week leading up to the wedding to decorate it at our leisure. The cafe is wonderful and quirky, and the field and grounds surrounding the café and marquee are huge and provided a lovely backdrop for photos. Simon was fab through the planning. Every email was responded to quickly and thoroughly, and we really felt we got a personal touch by dealing directly with him throughout the process. Food-wise, we had a hog-roast provided by the venue as our main meal, along with some really lovely sides, and salads. For evening food, we had a ploughman’s spread which included pate and cured meats. Both meals were delicious and went down so well with our guests, and the venue was very accommodating of dietary requirements. This truly is the most incredible wedding venue. We have had many guests saying how wonderful it was, and because of its uniqueness we are confident that our guests will remember the day for years to come. Our wedding day was beyond our wildest dreams, a month on and we are still buzzing from how much fun we had. We really put a lot of that down to the venue – it is definitely a venue that not only allows, but encourages you to have fun with your wedding day. If you are looking for a venue which really lets you put your own stamp on your wedding day whilst certainly not breaking the bank, we would wholeheartedly recommend the Departure Lounge. To Simon and the team, thank you so much

Kristian Godfrey
Happy couple married in June
February 2022
Perfect place for our needs

An amazing wedding venue We discovered the Departure Lounge whilst searching for a wedding venue in Hampshire. We knew the first time we visited that this was the perfect place for our needs. This was in February 2020, and we set the date for late July 2021 - as you can imagine, there was a lot of uncertainty about the day right up until the week beforehand due to the pandemic. Simon was very reassuring throughout this period, and thankfully our intended date fell on the first weekend after wedding restrictions were lifted. Despite us only being able to finalise our arrangements at the last minute, Simon and his team put everything together perfectly, going above and beyond for us. Nothing was too big an ask, and the day was very special for us and the guests. If you are looking for a wedding venue that you can personalise and have lots of flexibility with suppliers and decoration, but you still have an amazing team on hand to help with logistics and organision, then we highly recommend the Departure Lounge - it is also perfect if you are looking for a 'festival' style wedding venue. We chose Simon's hog roast for our meal, which was fantastic and well received by the guests. There is a marquee already on site, so you do not need to hire this separately. We had 120 guests, which the venue comfortably fitted. We used external suppliers for evening food and our entertainment, and Simon helped them all set up on the day with no problem. He also had backup plans for incleement weather, but luckily the rain (just about) held off. I should also mention that the final cost was extremely affordable. Aside from our wedding, we have popped in regularly for lunch and the food is always fantastic (we recommend the cheese and chips and Sophie's malteaser cheesecake if you're lucky enough to be there on a day it appears!), and we always have a lovely welcome. We cannot recommend the place highly enough. Thank you so much Simon and the team for our wonderful wedding day

Location & Contact Details for Departure Lounge Cafe

Wedding Venue Address
Basingstoke Road, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 4BH, England, United Kingdom
Show directions

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FAQs
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Describe the best wedding that happened at Departure Lounge Cafe?

It was actually a winter wedding which happened with a sprinkling of snow outside while all the guests were nice and cosy in the marquee lit by candles and fairy lights.

What is your No. 1 wedding planning tip for couples?

Always be open-minded and relaxed as possible and just try to enjoy the day!

What’s your favourite personal touch you’ve seen at a wedding?

I have seen many from personalised decoration & clothing to songs written for the happy couple, but the most personal touch at weddings I think is having children, pets and the most precious people in your life involved.

Describe Departure Lounge Cafe in 5 adjectives

Quaint, Charming, Unique, Beautiful, Peaceful

Where’s the best photo spot at Departure Lounge Cafe?

In our field with the sun setting in the background above the woodland.

What’s your favourite midnight treat?

Probably a gourmet burger (personally)

What is Departure Lounge Cafe most unique feature?

I have half a plane fuselage next to the venue.

What part of your business are you most proud of?

The unique venue and my lovely staff