The 13 Coolest Wedding Venues in London

London is absolutely overflowing with wedding venues for every style and size of celebration, and if you’re looking for something a bit unique, quirky or unusual you’re really spoilt for choice. This list of my top 13 coolest wedding venues in London features hidden gems, alternatives to well-known spots, and places you might never have even considered. Keep an open mind, start taking some notes, and expect the unexpected…

London’s coolest wedding venues for couples looking for ‘something a bit different’:

1. 100 Barrington

Need-to-know:

Brixton, SW

Capacity 120

Reasons to love:

100 Barrington is what wedding planners would call a blank canvas, but it’s less ‘four-beige walls’ and more ‘industrial city chic’. Located between the train tracks in Brixton, you’re getting railway arches, exposed brickwork and high ceilings with gorgeous beams. One of my favourite features, though, is the outdoor space (yeah, I know, wild to find in London) that feels like a little urban-meets-tropical oasis. 

If versatile, elevated warehouse vibes are for you, 100 Barrington has to be on your shortlist.

2. Chelsea Physic Garden

Need-to-know:

Chelsea, SW

Capacity 200

Reasons to love:

Introducing Kew Gardens’ cooler little sister, a real botanical sanctuary in the heart of London – four acres of green space, to be exact. Its proximity to literally everything else in the city is almost unbelievable once you’re inside the leafy wonderland and, while you do have to choose from their recommended suppliers, the list is long and full of fabulous options. This is a venue that really works best in spring and summer (it’s inside spaces don’t have the same flair as the gardens), but they allow a marquee to protect us from the whims of the Great British Weather.

3. Asylum Chapel

Need-to-know:

Peckham, SE

Capacity 120

Ceremony and drinks only

Reasons to love:

If ‘quirky’ was a wedding venue, it would be Asylum Chapel. The grade 2 listed building from the 1800s is hauntingly chic, deliberately distressed and crumbling, and still features its stained glass windows that miraculously survived a devastating bombing during WW2. You can now marry in a venue that really deserves its space on the list of the coolest wedding venues in London, but you can’t host your dinner and dancing here – only the ceremony and drinks reception.

My recommendation is to pair Asylum with AMP Studios (just an 8 minute walk away), which is owned by the same group and delivers on industrial style old-London charm. This combination makes for a great value, chilled out day – no fuss, just two epic venues that bring the unexpected.

4. Woods Quay

Need-to-know:

Victoria Embankment, WC

Capacity 180

Reasons to love:

This super cool venue is licensed for civil ceremonies literally on a pier on the Thames – if you’re looking for unique, you know you’ve found it when you arrive at Woods Quay. After your ceremony you can have your reception on Driftwoods boat, cruising up and down the river with all the people you love most in the world. London lovers, this one really epitomises our capital city and is bound to be a wedding unlike any your guests have been to before.

5. Wild By Tart

Need-to-know:

Belgravia, SW

Capacity 160

Dinner and dancing only

Reasons to love:

Perfect for a stylish reception, Wild by Tart is a restaurant and event space available for you to hire exclusively for your wedding. The restaurant, bar, mezzanine and studio in this former power station and coal store can all be yours to transform, ideal for foodie couples wanting something that feels like a wedding-dinner-party hybrid. 

Consider a ceremony at a venue like the Holland Park Orangery (West Kensington), then hop on a fun vintage London bus to transport guests to dinner at Wild by Tart.

6. Bourne and Hollingsworth Buildings

Need-to-know:

Clerkenwell, EC

Capacity 110

Reasons to love:

Bourne and Hollingsworth buildings have made the cut on my list of coolest London wedding venues for a few reasons – one of which is the ability to hire specific rooms or the whole building for your wedding. It’s a great space for your reception, in a multifloor, townhouse style with airy decor and lots of plants. You’d hardly need to add much decor unless you wanted to, and there are so many interesting ways to play with the flow and movement through the building at different times of your day.

7. Old Sessions House

Need-to-know:

Clerkenwell, EC

Capacity 120

Reasons to love:

You get the whole house with all its different spaces when you hire Old Sessions House, and I love that wallpaper, all the natural light and the rooftop – hello, how cool! It’s a grade 2 listed building so it’s full of charm, and you’ll have so much fun exploring all its rooms. Bear in mind it’s not licensed for legal weddings so you’ll need to do your paperwork elsewhere and have a symbolic ceremony here. I just love venues that keep the history of London in their design, but allow for gorgeous and contemporary events within their walls.

8. Charterhouse

Need-to-know:

Clerkenwell, EC

Capacity 180

Reasons to love:

Charterhouse is unique for so many reasons, primarily all the history of the place (it’s been an almshouse since the 16th century) paired with its gorgeous gardens (outdoor space in central London, we love!) and the fact that is still has residents. The presence of these special residents does mean that if you plan on partying past 10pm, you’ll need to find another venue for your afterparty – something London is definitely not short on. It’s a good way to change up the vibe and give older guests a chance to depart before the party gets even wilder.

It’s a beautifully classic historical wedding venue, and the space that really earns it its place on the list of the coolest venues in London is the Norfolk Cloister. Its stone flag floor and original features come to life under the glow of candlelight and the clink of glasses, and better yet you’d never even know it was there until the time came to sit down for dinner. 

You can choose to get married in their on-site chapel, or have your ceremony elsewhere and hire Charterhouse for your drinks reception in the gardens and dinner in the Cloister – just like M&N did last summer. Take a look at their wedding at this fab venue.

9. Battersea Arts Centre

Need-to-know:

Battersea, SW

Capacity 350

Reasons to love:

The Grand Hall at Battersea Arts Centre is an impressive stage to host your wedding, and it’s a BIG space so suits events with larger numbers best. You’ll find little breakout spaces and a hugely versatile room beneath a high ceiling – and what a ceiling! The whole place is punctuated by fabulous ceilings and mosaic floors, and with the right production you can really transform it into whatever style you want. 

This is definitely a venue that you’d want a wedding planner on board for – designing the space so it has impact is a skill developed through experience, and without it your wedding can end up getting lost and the details shrinking into the background in such an impressive space.

10. Trinity Buoy Wharf

Need-to-know:

Docklands, E

Capacity 300*

Reasons to love:

My number one reason to love Trinity Buoy Wharf is that iconic backdrop of the O2 and London Docklands skyline. Getting married in this Thameside Grade II listed building feels like stepping back in time to old London, and the two separate but connecting spaces (The Chain Store and the Buoy Store) both offer Victorian warehouse vibes and original features. You can use the Buoy Store for your ceremony and then move into the Chain Store for dinner and dancing, and the venue can take a huge variety of different design styles.

You also get access to the riverside terrace which is perfect for your drinks reception, and you can climb London’s only lighthouse for some iconic photos. If you’re up for it, you can even arrive by boat as you have direct access to the Trinity Buoy Wharf Pier. Once you’re in, you can party until 1am – so no need for a separate afterparty venue unless you’re real party people!

*Whilst the capacity of Trinity Buoy Wharf is listed as 300, bear in mind that with this amount of guests the tables need to be removed after dinner to make way for the dancefloor. In my opinion it works better for smaller guest numbers so you don’t have to move people into another room while we swap things around!

Find out why I recommend booking your wedding planner BEFORE your venue.

11. Two Temple Place

Need-to-know:

Temple, WC

Capacity 120

Reasons to love:

Two Temple Place is listed everywhere online as a hidden gem, and I’m going to double down and agree with that description – a gorgeous place for exclusive hire in Central London, its major selling points are all those incredible Victorian architectural features. I always think it feels like you’re on a grand ship like the Titanic – just look at the staircase, not to mention all that wood panelling, stained glass windows, marble fireplaces…

I planned C&F’s wedding at Two Temple Place in December, and it had the most magical vibe for a cosy, candlelit winter celebration. Explore it here and immerse yourself in the possibilities of this venue.

12. The Cutty Sark

Need-to-know:

Greenwich, SW

Capacity 240

Reasons to love:

Yes, you really can get married on The Cutty Sark, built in the 1800s to bring tea back from China. While you won’t be sailing anywhere on it at your wedding, you get to enjoy being literally surrounded by history and a gorgeous riverside setting. My recommended way to kick things off is to bring your guests from Central London to Greenwich by boat, setting the scene, then enjoy your drinks on deck and dinner in the Dry Berth.

‘Reasons to love’ don’t come much more obvious than this one!

13. The Secret River Garden

Need-to-know:

Twickenham, TW

Capacity 120

Reasons to love:

You might have guessed by now I’m a big fan of wedding venues with outdoor space in London, and Secret River Garden is (as the name suggests) a lovely riverside spot surrounded by woodland, complete with weeping willow. It really feels like you’ve travelled far outside of London into nature, but in actual fact you’re less than half an hour from the buzz of the city.

With me as your wedding planner, I’ll help you find one of the coolest wedding venues in London to get married in – whether that’s somewhere on this list, or you’re looking for something slightly different. Get in touch with some details about your wedding plans, and let’s go on this exciting venue hunt together.

For those of you still here to the end, I’ve sneaked in a cheeky number 14…Tower Bridge! Did you know you can actually dine inside the bridge? How cool! Up 120 of your loved ones can dine in the famous walkways with incredible Central London views.

If you’re planning a London wedding, you might also be interested in:

• The best orangery wedding venues near London
• London’s best hotels for weddings
• M&N’s Central London wedding at Charterhouse (featured in this blog)