This is a fact: the Cotswolds really are beautiful. From bucolic, bounding hills and green pastures new to honey-coloured stone cottages, it’s easily one of the most storybook counties in the UK. I can vouch – I’m a local and a countryside resident, so it was a natural move to choose my village church and one of the best restaurants in Oxfordshire (read on) to feast into the night at my wedding in 2025. And yes, celebrities have long cottoned on. Kate Moss married guitarist Jamie Hince in 2011 and celebrated at Southrop’s The Swan pub, Eve Jobs married Harry Charles this past summer with a book-out of one of the biggest hotel openings of late, and Jade Jagger (daughter of Mick) wed Adrian Fillary in 2012 at Aynhoe Park, now run by US interiors powerhouse Restoration Hardware. Big stars are flocking to the Chipping Norton triangle, the see-and-be-seen corner or quietly scooping up acreage nearby, so for all the attention it’s getting, it’s important to secure your day early. There are generally two routes to a Cotswolds wedding: the small-town church, which can be tricky to access without local ties, or booking a hotel or private house venue, perhaps on an estate. From destination-worthy hotels to standout restaurants and takeover-as-your-own spaces, here are the Cotswolds’ main contenders, and they’re seriously smart at that too.
9 best wedding venues in the Cotswolds
Cornwell Manor
Possibly one of the most glamorous places to say “I do”, Cornwell Manor sits on a 2,000-acre estate near Chipping Norton, right on the Oxfordshire-Gloucestershire border. It’s picture-perfect Cotswolds, but on a serious scale: rolling parkland, woodland, lakes, and a Norman village church just a short walk from the house. Weddings tend to take over the place for a long weekend, which is exactly the appeal – time for drinks on the lawn (weather permitting), long, styled dinners and dancing that runs late without anyone needing to leave for the night. The house itself is grand, with just enough bedrooms to keep your closest crew nearby. It suits couples who want the romance of a village church or garden ceremony, but with space, privacy and a sense of well, Sense and Sensibility occasion (or The Holiday for those who know Cameron and Jude coquetishly ran around these grounds).
Guests: Varies by set-up
Address: Cornwell Manor, Cornwell, Chipping Norton, OX7 6TT
Website: cornwellmanor.com