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London is certainly not short of impressive wedding venues. Whether you’re looking for spaces that exude modern chic, classical elegance or rustic charm, you should be able to find the perfect location for your big day.

To get your creative juices flowing, here are some of the English capital’s best venues.

♥ The Landmark London

If it’s elegance and grandeur you’re after, it’s hard to beat The Landmark London. This five star hotel boasts magnificent banqueting rooms complete with original Victorian features, high ceilings and plenty of natural light.

As well as providing a truly romantic setting for your nuptial celebrations, this luxurious hotel offers the utmost convenience. Its wedding and civil partnership coordinator will help you to plan each stage of your celebration to ensure it runs smoothly, from the decorations and flowers to the menu and entertainment.

Because the venue benefits from 300 bedrooms, your guests won’t be short of a place to stay either.

♥ The Painted Hall at the Royal Naval College

Sometimes referred to as the “finest dining hall in Europe”, the Painted Hall at the Royal Naval College will certainly make an impression on your wedding guests. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor, it was originally created as an eating space for naval veterans and it is characterised by its lavish wall and ceiling decorations.

♥ Amadeus Centre

If you’re planning a themed ceremony and reception, the Amadeus Centre may be ideal for you. Here, you can really let your imagination run wild. Whether you want fire-eaters, an ice cream van, a big top circus tent or anything else, you can see the venue as a blank canvas.

This former Welsh Presbyterian chapel features a wood-panelled gallery and its own pipe organ. The building contains an Upper Hall and a more intimate Lower Hall, which was originally a crypt.

♥ Bleeding Heart Tavern

To immerse yourself in the city’s history, you can book a reception at the Bleeding Heart Tavern. This venue has real character and it's highlight is a 600-year-old crypt complete with exposed beams, which was once the setting for a three-day feast hosted by Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. The bash was thrown to celebrate the couple’s wedding.

♥ Chelsea Physic Garden

If you’d like to enjoy some fresh air on your big day, the Chelsea Physic Garden could be just what you’re after. Established in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries as a place for its apprentices to study the medicinal qualities of plants, it became one of the most important centres of plant exchange and botany in the world.

Are you going to be getting married in London? What would make your dream venue – let us know over on the Facebook page.

When you've organised, paid for, and participated in your wedding ceremony, you will want your reception to run as smoothly (and as cheaply!) as possible. To assist you with your planning, some of these tips (provided by Gregory Pennington) could help…

Choose an inexpensive wedding venue

Venues that are tailored specifically towards weddings can be expensive, and will typically charge you per head for your reception. Many venues also insist on providing the catering, sometimes tying you in with their preferred catering company.

It may therefore be cheaper to choose an alternative type of venue to hold your reception. You could look into local pubs, village halls or even (if the weather allows) holding your reception outdoors in a marquee! This will mean that you are in charge of the suppliers that you use and this can give you more control over where you are spending your wedding reception budget.

The food

Not everyone expects a three-course sit-down meal when they are guests at a wedding reception. It's likely that a tasteful buffet, with a wide variety of foods and some more filling options will be a great cost saving solution.

Your guests will be able to serve themselves (which cuts down on the cost of having waiting staff) and they will be able to take as much or as little food as they like. It doesn't have to all be cold dishes either; you could ask your family and friends to chip in to make a large pots of curry, chile or pasta dishes to share on the buffet table.

Skip the free bar

Having a free bar is a wonderful and very generous gesture, but most of your guests will come fully prepared to pay for their drinks. If having a free bar is really important to you, consider limiting it to a certain timespan - or a certain number of beverages per guest.

Entertainment

If you are going to be having a lot of guests at your reception, it is quite likely that at least one of them will know of a good wedding band or DJ. Why not make the most of this and find out if you can set up a discounted rate for the entertainment? Or even better, perhaps one of your close friends is a talented entertainer and would be able to provide their services as their wedding gift to you! It is always worth asking…

Limit your guest list

It’s easy to get carried away when drawing up your guest list for your evening reception. This is the time to be super strict with yourself and really only invite the people that you want to be there. It’s too easy to end up inviting your Mum’s best friend’s hairdresser, or perhaps some acquaintances who you went to school with but wouldn’t really class as friends... It’s your party, so only invite the people who you want to celebrate with!

If you have any relatives or friends who would have to go well out of their way to make it to your reception, consider setting up a Skype account. That way you can say hello and they'll get to see you on your wedding day - without actually having to be there!

With a bit of creativity and some organised forward planning, you will be able to throw a great wedding reception for your friends and family. Let us know what you will be doing to make your wedding budget stretch further at your reception!

Top wedding venues in London