Winchester is the ideal small city for COUPLES WANTING an intimate celebration with close family and friends
Why Choose Winchester for your intimate wedding?
As the county town of Hampshire, the city of Winchester is a perfect choice for your small, intimate wedding. It’s a city packed full of history, beautiful architecture and scenic spots. And it’s proximity to London makes it the perfect place to plan a long weekend elopement.
Winchester is also a relatively small city with an abundance of chic eateries, boutique hotels and restaurants for your party afterwards. Just a short stroll down the hill you’ll find the Cathedral, parks and the river.
Registry Office Ceremony
Winchester Registry Office (or Hampshire Registry Office as they are officially called)offers the perfect venue for your intimate wedding ceremony. It’s a grand 19th century building, and each room is a beautiful backdrop for your wedding. It certainly has a lot more personality and atmosphere than some of your more typical registry offices around the UK.
I’ve photographed lots of weddings at Winchester Registry Office, so I’ve got to know the place very well. This means I know exactly how everything works there and can make the most of every moment you have there to get you the best photographs of your day.
THE INFO
Winchester has 4 rooms for weddings. The Avalon Room, The Westgate Room,The Basing Room, and The Castle Room
LOCATION
Castle Hill, High Street
Winchester
SO23 8UH
HAMPSHIRE REGISTER OFFICE
01. How to Book a registry office wedding
First get in touch with the registrar and schedule a meeting. They will go through the process of giving notice and what happens during the day. For example, you will both need to have a face to face interview before the actual ceremony. You can choose to have readings (just not any religious ones) and will you also want music? I have had a couple who chose to have a musical shout out during their ceremony! I will link the post here when I’ve done it. Ask them your questions at this meeting. You don’t need to have your actual choices at this point though, don’t worry.
02. what happens on the day of your wedding ceremony
You and your partner have to have a meeting with the registrars before your actual ceremony time. Most people allocate 20 minutes for this. I would suggest that guests start arriving around this time too. I know that there might be some who would want to get there really early (Winchester does have a one way traffic system and there may be a walk from the parking) but be aware that there will be several weddings taking place and they may catch the previous one if they arrive too early. Your wedding car can park in front of the venue but everyone else will need to park elsewhere (The Tower Street Car Park is closest). The train station is only a few minutes down the road too for those travelling by rail. For those arriving a bit earlier, The Westgate Pub is directly opposite and is used to hosting waiting wedding guests!
Most registry office weddings last around 20 minutes with a couple of short readings and a little time to take some photos after you sign the register and then another 10 minutes outside for quick group shots and maybe a colourful confetti shots.
03. the party afterwards
Having an intimate wedding doesn’t mean that you can’t have a big party afterwards – it just means that you’ve chosen your nearest and dearest to witness the legal part of your wedding. I’ve photographed many couples who have had a small ceremony at Winchester Registry office, who have then had a bigger celebration the next day or even a few weeks later with the wider friends and family. I’ve even had couples who have travelled into Winchester for the ceremony then had their bigger party elsewhere in the Country. The Winchester Registry office rooms are that nice! In fact if you Google the best registry office to get married in Hampshire – Winchester will come out on top!
Here I have included some of my favourite spots and wedding photos to hopefully inspire you and let you visualise what your own wedding photos could be like.
READY TO
CONNECT?
Let me know if you have any questions about getting married in Winchester. I also offer bespoke quotes for small intimate weddings throughout the year so do get in touch with your plans whether is just the ceremony you want photographed with a few photos outside or if you want a couple of hours or more exploring the city or going to your drinks reception / celebration.