How to transform an unusual and quirky space into a stunning wedding venue for a ceremony and evening reception

Here at Sunninghill Weddings HQ we are super excited to be spending the week ahead video filming and photographing part of the transformation of Sunninghill Prep School into a stunning wedding venue for the perfect wedding ceremony, wedding breakfast and evening reception party space. 

'Good Bones' to work with: A Grade II Victorian Gothic Villa

At Sunninghill Weddings venue in Dorchester we are fortunate that all the rooms used by wedding couples and their guests are south facing and overlook the main lawn area. The building also has a regular scheduled maintenance programme to ensure it remains in tip top condition which includes things such as regular cutting of the grass through to larger tasks such as painting the window frames. In 2017 for example the Drawing Room Verandah and Garden Rom Conservatory were painted together will all first and second floor rooms, followed by the west face main entrance. This year the north side of the main house will also be clad in scaffolding for its scheduled 'face lift' but thankfully this doesn't impact on any of our planned weddings. Most important of all however, is that the house and grounds have a warm and welcoming feel for wedding couples and their guests who  are free to use (and often admire) the arts and crafts furniture and decor of the main house..

Newly varnished doors at Sunninghill Weddings venue main entrance for wedding guests

All south facing paintwork at Sunninghill Weddings venue were repainted in 2017

Creating the Old Music Room Bar

Quirky and unusual wedding venues are the latest trend in wedding couples online search for their perfect wedding venue.   Once found, finding a venue stylist to transform your wedding vision into a reality is a whole new ball game. Unusual venues require more than chair covers and sashes; yes furniture hire is an integral part of making the space useable for your wedding, in addition however it is most likely you will also need to address some fundamental structural issues such as hiding ugly areas or functional items for example fluorescent tube lighting. A venue stylist with access to a team of skilled crafts folk becomes quite important as you may find your unusual and quirky wedding venue requires an element of bespoke dressing. At Sunninghill Weddings venue in Dorchester we work with a number of different stylists to create different styes, look and wedding themes. Built in the late 1800s Sunninghill architectural style is described as Victorian Gothic and many rooms in the house lend themselves to be decorated in the eternally popular vintage style. Year on year the Sunninghill Weddings Team work hard to keep on top of wedding trends to add a modern twist to the venue decor to keep the venue fresh.

Unusual Wedding Venues Often Include Venue Styling As Part Of Their Venue Hire Fee

Creating bespoke wedding decor for a venue is an expensive commitment for either the wedding couple or the wedding venue. As bespoke decor is unlikely to be able to be used directly in another location (an element of modification is often required e.g. re-size), unusual and quirky wedding venues such as Sunninghill Weddings venue in Dorchester will include the venue decor as part of the venue hire fee. In our own case we have to remove all the school furniture in order to hire in more appropriate items and, because these items are on hire we are able to offer our wedding couples a high degree of customisation for example, in choice of chair style, table shape and wedding venue decor props. Having a venue dressed in this way might appear to cost a little more up front but in the long run often proves to be a great saving in both money, time and tears!

Team Magic at Sunninghill Weddings

The first transformation to be filmed at Sunninghill Weddings unusual and quirky wedding venue is the Old Music Room. Currently used as the staff room this will become an evening bar area for wedding guests. We look forward to sharing the post production images needless to say it requires much muscle-power to remove the commercial furniture from the room! 

We are video filming with:Dave from Hedgehog Video @HedgehogVideo
​Stills Photography by Mark of Cornwell Photography @CornwellPhotography
Bar Services provided by Luke at  Perfect Day Wedding Services @PerfectDayWeddingServices
​Venue Styling and Prop Hire from Christine and Dawn at Winterborne Vintage @winterbornevintage
Lighting from James at Basement Hire @BasementHire