There are few locations as unusual as the local zoo to have your wedding reception. However, you forget that Bristol Zoo’s wedding venue is anywhere near a zoo once you’re inside. Everything is reasonably classy including large wood doors, marble floors and big windows. Whilst the main meal is served in an upstairs room (has disabled access) the evening party hall is on the ground floor and is certainly large enough to accommodate a hundred and fifty people, and the room opens out onto a terraced area where a buffet or hog roast can be served.

For a wedding party, it’s pretty good, and there’s the added bonus that guests can take a quiet stroll around parts of the zoo itself if there are any lulls in the programme.  A downside would be the acoustics – it’s not the best venue for a band – we’ve been shoved in the corner at Bristol zoo on more than one occasion (because of access to the main door) and acoustics leave a lot to be desired due to the hard floors and lack of soft furnishings. Little can be done about that, and you just have to hope all the bodies soak up the echoes!  On the plus side, there’s plenty of room for dancing as well as tables dotted around for those who want to sit down.

Plus, very convenient for those living in Bristol, but also for visitors as there’s no shortage of nearby accommodation. In fact you could make a weekend of it and take in the sights.

The Matara Centre is an unusual wedding venue near Tetbury in Gloucestershire. It’s really quite beautiful actually. There’s a Japanese theme to the grounds and gardens that is tastefully done. The surrounding gardens are a great place for interesting photos and there is an amazing water garden right in the complex.

The main room is ample to accommodate most weddings – it’s large and square with a really cool dome in the ceiling. One whole wall is perpetually lit with a mesh of fairy lights – it’s a nice touch!

Halflight have played at this venue several times and are booked for a good few more weddings this year at the venue. Although the evening entertainment room is the same one as the wedding breakfast room, because it’s so large, it’s never been a problem moving a few tables aside and getting set up in time for the evening.

The acoustics are a little strange, most likely because of the dome, all the flat hard surfaces and lack of soft furnishings, but it does the job and there’s plenty of room for a large dance floor area and for there to be tables around the edge of the room for those who want to talk.  Then there’s always the water garden with its covered areas to escape the noise of the party.  There’s also a small garden at the back of the main room where hog roasts and bbqs are sometimes held, with a small copse beyond that with paper lanterns hung from the trees.

It’s a bit of a drive for most people, but it’s not too far from Cheltenham, Gloucester and Bristol. One of our favourite venues.

Besides being a little bit of a trek through the winding b-roads of the area, it’s worth it. The grounds are lovely, and particularly in summer when guests can look over the gardens toward the lake outside.

Inside, it’s all nicely compact which is good news because the last thing you want at your wedding party, is everyone spread out across dozens of rooms – kinda kills the vibe a bit. There is one large main room that’s a good size for most wedding breakfasts, a large hall runs adjacent to the room where there is a bar in a separate room, and a kind of foyer area with a grand piano and an open fire.

A small drawback as far as having a band is concerned is that the wedding breakfast is held in the same room as the evening entertainment – this is a frequent issue with a lot of venues though and a good band should be able to work with the timings, slipping in after the speeches and having everything ready to rock in about an hour and a half max.

The acoustics are ok. It would benefit a lot from more soft furnishings to absorb echoes, but the company who runs the venue are new to the place, and are currently restoring / re-fitting the upstairs as accommodation, so things may still change downstairs!

In summary, as far as stately home style wedding parties go, this is a great venue. The number one factor for keeping the party vibe going is keep everyone in one place as much as possible – it’s compact enough for that to happen here and not so large that smaller wedding parties rattle around in it.

Visit their website at http://www.coombelodge.co.uk/

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