About Cardiff
Cardiff City is the capital of Wales and the 11th largest city in the UK. You’ll probably remember it in the history books as being the hub of coal production and exportation during the Industrial Revolution. This of course helped set the stage for one of the most impactful changes in human history and secured the UK a spot as a global superpower today.
Fast forward to the present, Cardiff is a popular choice for couples tying the knot. This is in part thanks to the stunning views the beautiful Welsh countryside has to offer, as well as its modern hotels and historic castles. Whether you’re looking for the perfect venue to celebrate a civil ceremony, an intimate wedding, or a large wedding celebration, this South Wales city will leave you spoilt for choice.
Wedding Venue Options in Cardiff
Putting the most popular choices aside (think flowers and your wedding dress), Cardiff has a number of quality services that will perfectly complement the look and atmosphere of your wedding day. The average couple getting married today hires around 14 different services to help make their wedding day special and memorable. So it’s likely you’ll need more than just the most known options. Here are a few that you may not have considered yet:
- Event Lighting
Even if you’re holding your wedding ceremony or wedding reception outdoors, there’s a good chance you’ll be in need of some top-quality lighting options. What makes the perfect lighting selection for your big day is wholly personal and based heavily on what theme you’re looking to create, in addition to the shape and dimension of your chosen venue.
A quality event lighting company will be able to help you choose the best lighting to suit your needs. They'll be present before everything kicks off to ensure it's properly installed, and to collect everything after the celebrations have ended. Cardiff has great wedding lighting options to choose from, with many even offering mood lighting and giant, white, LED letters to help you turn your event space into your dream wedding venue.
- Videographer
A Cardiff wedding videographer is a pretty popular choice for many couples tying the knot here. In fact, these services have actually been growing in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic making it difficult or impossible for relatives to attend in-person celebrations. What’s more, the demand for video footage is expected to rise by a further 12% between 2021 and 2026.
The other big reason why wedding videographers are so popular is that they provide you with one of the only things from your big day that you’ll be able to keep and enjoy for years to come (wedding photos aside). Because of this, they’ll likely be the best investment you’ll make to celebrate your upcoming marriage.
- Wedding DJ or Live Band
You’ll likely want to hire the services of a professional DJ or live band for your special day. Your choice between which of the two will be completely dependent on how much you’re willing to spend on your big day, and which of the two you prefer. Some couples even choose to have both.
Your chosen DJ or band will perform an agreed-upon mix of songs at your wedding reception, helping to create the romantic setting you’ll remember for the rest of your married life. They’ll also be the ones who’ll play your very special first dance song when you hit the dance floor together for the first time as a married couple. Thankfully, you’ll find many quality DJ and band hire options in the Welsh capital who specialise in a plethora of music genres for different age groups, cultures and tastes.
Wedding Venue Companies in Cardiff
- Lighting Up Events
Lighting Up Events is a Cardiff-based lighting company that is the extension of SP Entertainment. They specialise in giant LED light-up letters and numbers that are sure to catch everyone's attention in any event, including weddings, birthdays, intimate parties and corporate events. Other services include indoor sparklers, neon signs, LED dance floors, and mood lighting. So if you want to put a memorable twist on your wedding through unique and captivating lighting, enquire at Lighting Up Events!
- Time and Oath Wedding Videography
Cardiff-based Time and Oath specialises in making classic, elegant and cinematic wedding videos that are professionally colour-graded. Not only do they capture the big moments of a wedding such as vow exchanges, but they also film the little moments that make each wedding unique. Time and Oath's wedding video packages start at £1800 and include the edited cinematic video which contains a social media preview, the start of the bridal preparations until an hour after the first dance, separate speeches video and drone footage.
- Entertainment Nation
Tom founded Entertainment Nation with the hopes of making entertainment booking convenient for the public. Through their user-friendly website, you can choose your event type, the county where you are based and the type of entertainment act that you're looking for. Though based in Warwickshire, Entertainment Nation lists performers that are available nationwide. Choose wedding bands from various genres such as pop and rock, folk and acoustic, soul and Motown, indie and Britpop, jazz, swing, rock 'n' roll and more!
Pros and Cons of Wedding Venues in Cardiff
With a range of perfect venues and accompanying backdrops to choose from, Cardiff can easily help you create your dream wedding day. Like anywhere, however, there can be some things to look out for here if you’re to successfully create the perfect wedding you and your partner desire.
Advantages
- Cheap wedding reception drinks
Compared to most places in the UK, Cardiff is particularly cheap on the alcohol front, especially given the fact that it’s a capital city. Open bars and bar tabs for wedding guests are known to be affordable here.
- Beautiful location
Cardiff is perfect for a beach wedding or even a gorgeous beach-themed wedding photoshoot. While you won’t have any palm trees flowing in the background, you will get some great shots of the clear sand and quite possibly a castle here as Cardiff City is right on the coast.
- Easy to find great performers
Depending on your budget, you may be interested in hiring the services of one of the many performers here. Cardiff has many touring performances and local artistic talent if you want to enjoy a live performance at your wedding.
- Low cost of local services
The general cost of living in Cardiff is lower than the UK national average and a lot lower than in cities like London. If you plan to get married in the Welsh capital, expect to save quite a bit here on additional wedding services and venue costs.
- Small and relatively car-friendly
This makes getting from place to place very quick and easy by car, foot or bike.
Disadvantages:
- The Welsh weather
It can be particularly cold and wet for most of the year. You can also expect a lot of foggy weather here, too. July is the hottest month of the year in Cardiff, so if you're very particular with the weather, you may want to factor that into planning your wedding schedule.
- Language barrier
If you’re not familiar with the accent, and you don’t speak Welsh, you may struggle to communicate with the Cardiff locals.
- The grey colour scheme
This is only a problem if you’re someone who would prefer brightly coloured buildings and backgrounds for your wedding and wedding photographs.
Famous Wedding Venue Locations in Cardiff
- Cardiff National Museum
Cardiff National Museum is a must-visit if you’re in town. The museum frequently hosts exhibitions on many interesting topics and time periods and has a huge range of cool artefacts and historical facts to see and learn about, too. Their most recent exhibition questions the rules of art and showcases many different art pieces from different time periods. If you and your partner are big art fans, this may make a great honeymoon activity for both of you to enjoy after your upcoming nuptials. Cardiff National Museum also hosts weddings, making it a great option if you’d like a unique and quirky wedding venue.
- Cardiff Market
Cardiff Market was established in the Victorian times and has been trading in one form or another since then. It offers its visitors beautiful flowers and high-quality foods, making it a good option to find your wedding flowers or ingredients for your caterer to use for your wedding breakfast. There are also a number of tasty cheese stands to try too—perfect for serving on a cheese plate after your meal is finished.
- Wales Millennium Centre
The Wales Millennium Centre is the hub of everything arts in Wales. And it’s another wonderful honeymoon activity for you and your new husband or wife to enjoy after your wedding day celebrations are finished. Enjoy an exciting evening of the best Welsh National Opera performances which play all year round, or buy a ticket to see one of the dozens of live performances that play there, too. Bonus: If you’re honeymooning in Wales in December or January, you’ll also benefit from the ability to choose from a wide selection of pantomime performances that play here. If you’re coming from abroad, and have wanted to experience the Great British culture at Christmas, a pantomime is likely one of the most fun ways to do so. Plus it will add to the existing magic and excitement you’ll likely both be feeling around the new journey you’re about to embark on together!
