VENUES Sleep Easy

If wedding guests are travelling from far and wide for your big day, look into accommodation options. Remember to offer suggestions for all budgets, from B&B to five-star luxury. At the budget end, we love the funky nitenite hotels.

Call it the credit crunch, bur Mintel predict that the budget hotel sector is set to rise by 38 per cent over the next five years. Good news for wedding guests who want more splash for their cash than a B&B with too much chintz and restricting curfew hours.

Leading the way for a new budget hotel group called nitenite, the recently-opened nitenite Birmingham (0845 8909099) has 104 boutique-style rooms in the heart of the city, close to the uber-cool shopping mall, Mailbox. Rates start at £44.95 for a double room with a 42" plasma TV, en-suite power shower and Egyptian cotton bed linen. Funky natural decor is created with high quality furnishings in leather and cherrywood.

If your guests are comfortable with the idea of a luxury yacht cabin with no sea views (none of the rooms have windows!), nitenite Birmingham is a stylish bolthole for after-the-wedding celebrations - that won't cost the earth. On the morning after, guests can head to the Cafe Bar for breakfast or check out the brunchtime scene on Brindleyplace, Broad Street and The Mailbox.

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VENUES Highland Romance

We like a Scottish wedding – stunning scenery, romantic venues, roaring fires – what’s not to love! So if this ticks all your boxes, why not have your wedding at Raemoir House Hotel, a luxury country house hotel on Royal Deeside.

Set in a peaceful location, the 18th-century property is surrounded by 3500 acres of parkland and forest. The hotel is only 30 minutes away from Aberdeen by car but if you prefer to arrive in style, there is a helipad where you can park your private helicopter! Raemoir (01330 824884) has 20 individually styled bedrooms, many with views over the rolling lawns, wooded estate and fields beyond. The romantic property is reached by a long tree-lined drive, which fans out to reveal 10 acres of open lawns to the front of the house creating the ideal setting for some beautiful photographs.

The hotel can be hired for exclusive which includes all 20 bedrooms for your guests to stay in on a bed and breakfast basis. It also includes your ceremony location, which will take place in the sumptuous wood-panelled dining room and the Georgian room for the wedding breakfast. The venue will decorate the tables with flowers and arrange your place cards. You can sample the freshest, seasonal food with lamb and confit shoulder with roast carrot puree, or how about grilled fillet of halibut with risotto of crab and coriander. Then relax with your guests into the wee hours and enjoy a dram of whisky to toast your life together.

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VENUES Beside The Seaside

For a picturesque wedding by the sea, why not celebrate your big day at the Swan hotel in the pretty coastal town of Southwold in Suffolk.

Each of the 42 beautifully furnished bedrooms in this English country house is unique and offer stunning

views over Southwold, making the venue ideal for sunny seaside celebrations – and the perfect starting point for a nautical-themed wedding.

The Reading Room is available for civil wedding ceremonies and can accommodate up to 54 guests seated. It’s a light and airy room with impressive period features and huge bay windows overlooking the Market Place. As well as being licensed for civil wedding ceremonies, it’s ideal for drinks receptions and informal evening soirees. Or you can use the magnificent Drawing Room to entertain your guests during the drinks reception before making your way through to the elegant Dining Room, which can accommodate up to 80 guests for a sit-down meal.

There are also plenty of stunning backdrops for your photos – the small garden, with its lighthouse and array of flowers and plants, is a favourite with couples tying the knot. During the summer this area is also perfect for a drinks reception.

For more information call 01502 722186 or visit The Swan.

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