Dry hire: the secret to affordable wedding venues
Planning your wedding might be your first real foray into the world of venue hire. Especially if you’re looking for an affordable wedding venue, you’ll be learning about all sorts of venue propositions that promise freedom and flexibility at a lower price point – such as “dry hire”.
Dry hire is a simple concept which offers a range of opportunities, but understanding what dry hire really means for you is the key to creating the wedding of your dreams, whatever your budget.
What does dry hire mean?
First of all, a dry hire wedding venue is not a venue that doesn’t permit alcohol. If you want an alcohol-free wedding, that’s up to you, not your venue!
A “dry hire” is a venue hire arrangement where you rent a space and its facilities without any additional services. Think of it as renting an unfurnished home; it has everything it needs to function as a dwelling, but it’s up to you what you bring into it.
How is dry hire different to other wedding venues?
Dry hire wedding venues can offer spaces which are just as beautiful, charming, rustic, and romantic as regular wedding venues. We think our 19th century heritage wedding barns, courtyard, and countryside grounds can rival any other venue out there!
The difference is that while many purpose-built wedding venues have exclusive arrangements with certain suppliers, or offer package deals which incorporate multiple services, a dry hire wedding venue comes with no additional services or suppliers included.
What are the benefits of dry hire?
Affordability
You may have already heard that dry hire venues are cheaper, and you’d be right! One of the reasons for this is that dry hire of a venue is exempt from VAT, so dry hire venues can be offered at a lower price point – which is great news if you’re planning a wedding on a budget.
You also know more about what you’re getting with a dry hire venue. Some purpose-built wedding venues have exclusive arrangements with their suppliers, such as caterers. These arrangements may offer couples the convenience of not having to arrange your own catering, but it’s difficult to know whether you’re really getting good value for your money. When you’re vetting suppliers for yourself, you can be more certain you’ll be happy with your choices.
Flexibility
One of the best things about dry hire is flexibility. When you book a dry hire wedding venue, you have absolute freedom of choice over every part of your wedding, from catering and drinks, to decorations and more. If you’re the sort of person who’s been dreaming of your wedding for years and have a specific vision in mind, then dry hire is definitely for you.
Package wedding venues often have pre-organised ways of doing things which might not align with your vision, or arrangements with suppliers you wouldn’t choose for yourself. This rigidity makes it harder for these venues to adapt, so it will be more difficult to create a wedding experience that’s more authentic to you as a couple.
What are the drawbacks of dry hire?
Overwhelm
The flipside of a dry hire with no additional services is that you’ll need to organise your suppliers for yourselves, and that’s not for everyone. If you’re not too sure what you want for your wedding, or you’re not committed to a specific vision, it can be far more tempting to opt for a venue that takes some of the heavy lifting off your hands.
For this reason it’s in the interest of dry hire venues to really take care of the couples wanting to get married at their venue. You won’t be abandoned to a sea of admin when you book your wedding at Earth Trust’s barns – our events team will be on hand to support throughout the entire process, with helpful recommendations, supplier suggestions, and more.
Pressures of time
Since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many weddings back considerably, wedding suppliers have been racing to get back up to speed. That means that calendars are often still booked a year or more in advance. Especially if you don’t want a long engagement, finding individual suppliers with availability on a shorter time frame can be difficult. A full-service wedding venue with a chance gap in its calendar can take away some of that pressure, though probably at the expense of your budget.
If you’ve fallen in love with a dry hire wedding venue, broadening your options is the best way to get around this. Street food vendors, hog roasts or hot buffet caterers may have more availability than fine dining suppliers, or if you can’t get a venue styler in time, you could dress your chosen spaces with homemade decorations to give your wedding a more personal touch. Remember – the opportunities of dry hire are endless!
Your wedding at Earth Trust
Our heritage wedding barns are only offered to couples exclusively as a dry hire wedding venue. Both barns and the enclosed courtyard are entirely yours for the day before, of, and after your wedding, so you have all the time you need to coordinate your suppliers and decorate your space, as well as time to relax and revel in your wedding day.
If you have any more questions about dry hire wedding venues, or if you’d like to learn more about your wedding at Earth Trust, please send us an enquiry, drop us an email at [email protected], or call us on 01865 407 792. We’d love to hear from you!