The Bishop's Palace

(9)
£4,298 - £9,750 for Venue Hire
Up to 105
Bedrooms
Exclusive Use
Wedding Licence

Description

Mark the start of your married life together in our breath-taking 800 year old medieval Palace, which never fails to wow as guests arrive over the drawbridge and into the grounds. Entertain inside the impressive Palace building and enjoy 14 acres of RHS partner gardens. Part of the fun of your wedding day is the planning and we want to make this as enjoyable for you as the actual day itself. Our dedicated wedding planner will take care of all the details for you, advising about timings, décor and supplier recommendations. Drinks and canapés are served in the original medieval Entrance Hall and on the garden terrace whilst you spend time with your photographer and guests. There are 14 acres of gardens to explore and plenty of space for families to run around or play games in. And don’t worry if the weather lets you down, the Entrance Hall is the perfect place to enjoy drinks and if it’s really cold we’ll light the impressive medieval log fire. Once it’s time to eat you will be called into the medieval Undercroft for the feasting to begin. Seating up to 105 guests, the Undercroft is a stunning environment in which to enjoy your wedding breakfast. The room will be beautifully dressed and you have the opportunity to make it your own by choosing flowers and decorations to match your colours and themes. The Undercroft is the location for your evening reception, we’ll move some of the furniture to create space for a DJ or band and dancing which means that your first dance will be set to a breathtaking backdrop. One of the big attractions of the Palace is the 14 acres of gardens that surround it. A mixture of formal Dutch style flower beds, a picturesque style South Lawn, the wild freedom of the aboretum and of course the well pools that give the city of Wells its name, offer a wonderful space for guests to explore and enjoy and an amazing backdrop to your wedding photographs, why not take a look using the following link; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-_hydiJ7Lc

Personal Message from the Manager

Name of Wedding Contact: Imogen Martin
Welcome to The Bishop's Palace! I'm the Wedding & Venue Manager, and I'm delighted that you're considering The Bishop's Palace as your wedding venue. I'd love to have a chat, so do drop me a line and we can discuss your wedding vision in more detail. I've worked with a number of different companies within the wedding industry (including other wedding venues) and The Bishop's Palace is by far the most amazing venue I have had the pleasure of experiencing. It is an absolute must-see!

Experience

Year Business Was Established
1205
No. of Weddings Hosted
More than 50
Public Liability Insurance
Yes
No. of People In Team
1

Overview of The Bishop's Palace

Venue Type
Castle
Dining Capacity
105
Reception Capacity
155
Usual Access Time
02:00 PM
Usual Finish Time
12:00 AM
Late Night Extension
Yes

Ceremony & Reception

Confetti Permitted
Church Within Walking Distance
Dancefloor Available

Venue

Open Flame Permitted
Water View
Landscaped Gardens
Exclusive Use
Disabled Access
Grade I/II Listed Building
Outdoor Reception Space
In-House Wedding Coordinator
Bridal Changing Facilities

Food and Drink

Halal Catering
Alcohol Licence
Kosher Catering
Corkage Charge for Own Alcohol

Pricing for The Bishop's Palace

Venue Hire Only

Prices Start At
£4,298
Maximum Price
£9,750
Here at The Bishop’s Palace we have the option of hire of the Palace buildings, or an exclusive hire of the Palace buildings and 14 acres of Gardens. Hire of the Palace building includes use of the rooms inside the Palace, including the medieval Entrance Hall, stunning vaulted Undercroft and elegant Long Gallery. ‘Exclusive’ hire of the Palace and Gardens means that our beautiful heritage building and all 14 acres of stunning gardens would be yours exclusively and that no members of the visiting public would be allowed past the entry gate. ‘Building’ Hire is the hire of The Palace building only with the gardens remaining open to the public.
What is included in this pricing:
Exclusive use
External caterers not permitted
Day before set up available
Non consumables (e.g. linen, lights etc.)
Private room(s) included (non-exclusive use)
Furniture included
Wedding coordinator available on the day
Multiple course wedding breakfast

In-house Catering
(price per head)

Prices Start At
£55
Maximum Price
£75
You will have a choice of food and drinks package options provided by our excellent catering partner shown below, including canapes and 2 or 3 course Wedding Breakfasts, their prices include the hire of table linens, tableware, glassware and staffing for your event. The French Kitchen Tel: 01749 938465 www.thefrench-kitchen.co.uk
What is included in this pricing:
Bespoke menu available
Menu tasting included
Corkage charge applicable
Minimum numbers apply
Cutlery included
Multiple course wedding breakfast
Table linen included

Reviews for The Bishop's Palace
(9)

Mr and Mrs M
Happy couple married in March
February 2020
Winter Wedding at The Bishop's Palace

We had our wedding reception at the Bishop’s Palace in Wells in March 2018. This was after being failed by another wedding venue in Taunton. Changing our venue to the Bishop’s Palace was the best decision we made for our wedding. Organising the reception was a smooth and relaxed process from start to finish. Initially we had a guided tour around the palace and gardens whilst chatting about the different options available to us. Once we decided to book the venue we were put in contact with our wedding coordinator, Kelly. We had several meetings with Kelly to discuss how we wanted our day to run, nothing was too much for Kelly, she was always offering her assistance, not just with plans at the Bishop’s Palace but with other aspects of the wedding like the flowers and disco. We had a food tasting at the palace cafe to help us decide on the food for the day, this was a great experience and we were able to discuss the options available to vegetarians and those with food intolerances. The wedding day itself was amazing, it ran without any issues, despite the fact it snowed!! The food was brilliant, all of our guests were complimentary. We certainly didn’t go hungry! Everyone said how beautiful the venue was. We spent most of the day inside of the palace due to how cold it was outside, but this was lovely as the fires were lit in the beautiful fire places. It was an idyllic winter wedding! The cost of the whole reception was far less than I ever would have imagined. We opted for a winter package, which was great value for money. Overall it was definitely a 10/10 and we would highly recommend the Bishop’s Palace to anyone else getting married in Wells!

Mr and Mrs Lewis
Happy couple married in June
February 2020
Best wedding

We had an amazing day and we had such fun so very many thanks to everyone at the Bishops Palace for such a memorable day. Everyone is telling us it is the best wedding they have ever experienced!! and we agree!! Thank you so much!

Mr and Mrs Molesworth
Wedding: July
February 2020
THANK YOU

Our daughter, Helen, had the most truly memorable wedding at the Bishop's Palace on Saturday 23rd July. I can't begin to thank you all enough. The organisation and pre -wedding communications were conducted with a permanent atmosphere of willing to please and efficiency! The food was wonderful, from the tasting, to the breakfast and finally the buffet. This was the biggest party that we will ever throw, and thanks to you all it was the most WONDERFUL day from start to finish. It was the most memorable day.

Mr and Mrs Bradshaw
Happy couple married in November
February 2020
Marvellous Efficiency

I just wanted to express our huge gratitude to the Bishop’s Palace a brilliantly executed wedding for my wife and I last weekend. In particular, we can not praise high enough the hard work and pure professionalism shown by Kelly Emery. At every point she was accommodating, responsive and helpful. On the day she and her team made everything run with marvellous efficiency and so very smoothly. We also thought all the staff were very friendly and that the chef did a first class job – as so many guests commented on the excellent food. We could not have been happier.

Mr and Mrs Davis
Happy couple married in August
February 2020
We couldn't have wished for a better day

We just wanted to say thank you so much for everything you did for us. The wedding ran so smoothly even with the cake issue! You were literally amazing and we never had to worry about anything with you. We couldn't have wished for a better day. Everybody loved the food and the venue and said how great it was. So can't thank you enough really!

Alice McGee
Happy couple married in October
November 2018
Stunning, beautiful and personal venue

We would definitely recommend the Bishop's Palace as a wedding venue. We were looking for somewhere beautiful that would allow us to have a more personal day than a standard hotel package and that is absolutely what we got. The Palace and gardens are really stunning and Kelly and her team were flexible, understanding and really accommodating, helping us make the day just as we wanted it. Kelly was really helpful right from the start and really went out of her way for us, from sourcing shot glasses for the soup canapés, to taking care of dietary requirements and frequent changes to the plans at the last minute. We went for an afternoon tea and then hog roast which went down really well with all our guests (and Bishop's Palace makes some of the best home-made scones we've tasted). Even though we managed to hit the one rainy day in about 2 months of sunshine, our photos are gorgeous and we had a wonderful day. The only challenge was not having on-site accommodation/ late licence but with hotels within a short walk this wasn't a big problem.

Gemma and Will Brockbank
Happy couple married in September
October 2018
Our wedding 22nd September 2018

We held our wedding reception at The Bishops Palace on Saturday 22nd September 2018 and I it was amazing!! From the initial show around of the Place to the actual wedding, I can not fault a single thing!! Kelly the events organiser is the most wonderful lady, who has a keen eye for attention to detail, treats her clients with the upmost respect and makes sure everything is done exactly how they want it as well as keeping everything in order and running the day with with Milatry precision!! We choose the prince and princess package for our day which was perfect for us. To start Kelly allowed us to voice all of our ideas and helped us make them reality, we where invited to a meal taster where we had the run of the cafe and was served the most amazing food to choose from, the food was the talking point of our wedding with every single guest eating everything that we had chosen and commenting of how generous the portion sizes where and how fantastic the food tasted!! I can highly recommend the beef carpaccio for starter!! They have an amazing chef!! On the run up to the wedding Kelly made sure she kept in touch via email and as a bride planning one of the biggest days of my life I was having questions pop into my head left right and centre, every single question was answer on the day that I sent the email and explained the answer I needed clearly. On the day of the wedding Kelly organised all of her staff amazing and they all did a brill job. Unfortunately we wasn’t blessed with weather and it decided to rain all day but they where prepared for that and had the fire lit for our wet guests and opened up an extra room for guests to mingle, the itinerary ran to time due to the staff being so swift and knew exactly what to do when. Now I can start on the beautiful grounds and building! Well the building speaks for itself, as we lived close by it was a place we had visited before and each and every time we went it took my breath away at how beautiful it is, but to have my wedding set up in it just made it even more special. Every single guest was gob smacked by how amazing the building is and although they did not get to enjoy the gardens due to weather the all where more than happy to enjoy the building itself. We did get out to have photos done in the gardens and I’m so glad we chanced it because there is no way you can not have a wedding at the palace and not take advantage of the most spectacular gardens! Me and my new husband had the best day and we are so glad we chose The Bishops Palce to celebrate our fantastic day!! Thank you so much Bishops Palace you have helped us make memories that will last a life time!!

Sarah Bollard
Happy couple married in August
September 2018
What a wonderful venue!

We had an incredible wedding reception at The Bishop's Palace in August. It's a very unique setting and guests were particularly impressed by the Palace itself and the gardens. The catering was also really good - delicious canapes, mains and evening food with good sized portions and lovely fresh/local ingredients. Most of all, we can't thank the fantastic team enough. Kelly was incredibly dedicated, patient and supportive throughout the process. She was very responsive to emails and calls and great at giving us the space we needed whilst also checking in regularly to see if she could help. Every request we had (and some were rather bizarre/tricky!) was no problem at all and the answer was always 'yes'. The other staff were also wonderful, from the waiters/waitresses to bar staff to welcomers on the door. I can't recommend this venue highly enough!

Kate and Ravi
Happy couple married in April
August 2018
The Perfect Day!

We had our wedding reception at the Bishop's Palace on the 21st of April. We had the most perfect day, the Palace and the grounds were absolutely stunning. Kelly and her team kept everything running perfectly throughout the day and were extremely professional. The guests loved the venue and the food was delicious! Kelly was also extremely accommodating, organized and helpful during the run up to the big day. Thank you to everyone at the Bishop's palace for an amazing experience!

Location & Contact Details for The Bishop's Palace

Wedding Venue Address
The Bishop's Palace, Wells, Somerset, BA5 2PD, England, United Kingdom
Show directions

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Gallery
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FAQs
Find out a bit more from our FAQs

Describe the best wedding that happened at The Bishop's Palace?

A medieval themed wedding where the entire wedding party dressed in medieval costume. The vaulted undercroft was set up with a stunning banquet display with floral canopy. They really embraced the historic nature of the building.

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

Take your time over each decision, and listen to your instincts!

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

Bespoke bridal shoes with the most stunning illustrations of the palace building, moat and our iconic swans.

Describe The Bishop's Palace in 5 adjectives

Historic, spectacular, Unique, Timeless, Elegant

Where’s the best photo spot at The Bishop's Palace?

The Gardens - quite literally anywhere. Or the Long Gallery... Or the Undercroft… Okay, there are too many - I can't decide!

Have you had any celebrity guest or wedding at The Bishop's Palace?

As a historic monument, we have had the pleasure of a number of Royal visits including from The Earl and Countess of Wessex in 2021. We regularly host dinners for the High Sheriff of Somerset and Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant (the queens representative for the county) The venue has also had the pleasure of taking part in numerous television appearances including this year hosting The Antiques Roadshow.

What’s your favourite canapé?

My favourite canapé is the next canapé....

What’s your favourite midnight treat?

Toasted marshmallows!

What is The Bishop's Palace most unique feature?

The venue itself. Honestly, it's utterly breath-taking.

What part of your business are you most proud of?

The personal service that I give to couples to support them in the run up to their special day and being present to oversee and be part of the day itself.
Press & Awards
All our awards & press mentions

Bridebook Benefits

Bridebook GiftFree welcome glass of prosecco when viewing venue
Bridebook Special OfferExclusive supplier list for couples who book