FAQs
No, I’m afraid we are not licensed to hold your civil ceremony. However, we can host blessings on our beautiful jetty overlooking the lake, with views of Cothelstone church.
We will also arrange a wet weather option for you making use of the conservatory area adjoined to the main marquee.
As the marquee is put up on a per-event basis, the best time to view the venue is on the morning of a wedding before wedding guests arrive when the venue is set up for a wedding that day.. However you are more than welcome to view the site at any point during the year… it just might require a little imagination!
We are a marquee based venue and are always prepared with the great British weather in mind. The marquee is terraced into the parkland with French drains dug in along its perimeter, this means that there’s no chance of any water running into the marquee. We run a matted walkway from the car park down to the marquee, so your guests don’t have to contend with walking on the grass.
If it’s looking like the evening might be a tad cold, we’ll install a heater for the marquee and make sure fire pits are well stocked!
If you're lucky enough to have a blissfully hot summer's day we can unroll all the windows on the marquee to allow airflow and keep your guests nice and cool.
Yes, you may bring your own drinks for your drinks reception on arrival or after your ceremony, and wine for your meal and bubbly for your speeches/toasts. All glassware and empty bottles are the hirer's responsibility for this period.
A fully licensed cash bar facility will be set up and on-site and open from as early as you require, but will take over the supply of all alcohol post speeches. You can specify particular items are stocked behind this bar or you can leave it to the bar staff to run as they normally would.
Please note that the bar facility is a cash bar only i.e. no card facilities on site so please ensure that your guests are aware of this on the wedding invitation... we’re a long way from the nearest cash point!
The bar is usually licensed until 11.30 pm to allow for "drink up time" for 30 mins when the music finishes at midnight.
We usually aim to have the marquee ready and finished by Friday lunchtime and we will meet you on-site for a handover and to help you with any early decorating and set up etc.
We will be on-site for the whole of Saturday from very early, so can deal directly with your suppliers without you needing to be there.
On Sunday we ask that all guests have collected cars and left the site by Midday. We can usually allow access to the site for longer on Sunday to pack down decorations etc.
When you leave The Hidden Lake please ensure that you take all of your rubbish with you, otherwise, a charge for disposal will be levied after the event – please help us to keep the countryside clean and tidy. Your caterer will dispose of all catering waste and bottle/cardboard from the drinks you have supplied and the cash bar will dispose of all bar waste but anything else will be your responsibility to remove when you go including cigarette butts from the grass, please.
We charge £100 as a basic clear-up fee, which will only include general guest-related mess. This does not cover bags of rubbish from caterers, any cans/bottles, or decorations/packaging.
We reserve the right to charge more in line with the quantity of waste left.