Outdoor Wedding Venues near to Herne Bay/Canterbury?

A question about : Outdoor Wedding Venues near to Herne Bay/Canterbury?

Hi everyone! My long-term partner and I recently got engaged, and we've started looking at potential wedding venues in the local area. Im going spare trying to find candidates that 'fit the bill' and am appealing to the MSE community to try and help steer me in the right direction!

My fiancee and I are both fairly flexible where it comes to the type of venue, but we do have our hearts set on an outdoor ceremony, and we agree that somewhere surrounded by green spaces/gardens would be wonderful. Ceremony/reception don't have to be in the same location necessarily if you have suggestions for 2 different venues that are nearby . We're leaning towards having a smaller/more intimate wedding ceremony, so the ceremony venue doesn't necessarily have to be huge - although we are considering all options at this point. We would be inviting the majority of our guests to the reception-only, as most of them work during the day at some point or another during the week, but even then we wouldn't be looking at more than 80-100 at the reception. More than likely be 60-75 by the time guest list is finalised/you take RSVPs into account!

My partner and I are currently looking at Ј5500 as our max budget, but - being money-savers through and through - we have both agreed that the cheaper we can do it, the better (who wouldn't?) as long as we don't sacrifice too much in the way of quality. We have a florist in the family who is happy to do our arrangements for us and I'm looking into making our cake myself (as an avid baker and super scrimper).

The real puzzle that we have is trying to find a venue/venues that fit our criteria that are within a reasonable distance of us. We live in Herne Bay, Kent, and both my partner's and my immediate families live here. We also have quite large extended families who will be coming down to stay for the occasion at our respective parent's houses, and my family in particular are being quite insistent that wherever we choose not be too far away, simply so that the logistics of getting people to and from won't be a nightmare/mega expensive where it comes to hotel rooms or hiring taxis to get back to herne bay.

My partner and I have already been to see Mount Ephraim, which we both really liked, but our families had concerns about getting people to it (its not very well sign posted) and from it (after the reception). We also felt that, whilst the hire was reasonable, costs soon started to tot-up once drinks/catering packages were taken into account.

Other places we have considered are as follows:
- Winters Barn
- Littlebourne Barn (for reception only - we had concerns that it might be too basic and that the lack of flooring/catering facilities wouldnt go down very well).
- Howfield Manor Hotel (for ceremony & reception, or potentially ceremony only followed by...)
- Chilham Village Hall (Beautiful, not bad value for money on hire, but we have to sort out catering/hire bar ourselves, and apply for our own license for bar - plus distance for this/howfield has been repeatedly commented on by family. Howfield Manor does have rooms for overnight stays, but the rooms prices for wedding parties are v expensive (Ј110 per night!!) and I dont think my folks will want to pay that).
-Quex Park (but concerned about a lot of hidden costs?)

Local places we have discounted are:
- Whitstable Castle - beautiful, but can't do outdoor ceremonies.
- Preston Court - MEGA EXPENSIVE!
- Knowlton Court (Also expensive)
- Milner Court (seems expensive for what it is?)
- Goodnestone Park Gardens (too far)
- Kings Hall (for reception or otherwise - we just dont like it!)
-Artist's Beach House, Whitstable (too expensive/not quite what we're looking for)

If you could poss give us any suggestions/ideas for potential venues for our ceremony and/or reception it would be greatly appreciated - we aren't planning to tie the knot until 2017, but H2B has said we could potentially move the date forward if we find the perfect place at the right price .

Many thanks in advance! (and for reading through my essay!!!)

Best answers:

• Port Lympne Animal Park?
• One word for your parents Satnav
  You can do maps and supply SatNav co-ordinates for guests.
  I like that Mount Ephraim has contingency plans in case of rain and it's a nice venue