Open Air Business August/September 2018

The latest news from the world of outdoor hospitality
Average Wedding
Costs Over £30k
ACCORDING TO the second annual
industry report from Bridebook.
co.uk, the average cost of a UK
wedding is now over £30k, which
is up 12% year on year. The report,
published at the beginning of August,
analyses data from nearly 3,000
British couples who married in 2017,
and is the most comprehensive of its
kind in the UK.
Interestingly, money spent on
marquee hire, food and drink, and
venue dressing has increased the
most, and London is the costliest
place to get married, while Northern
Ireland is the cheapest. A huge
44% of couples opt for weekday
weddings, which is probably due to
price incentives from venues, and the
three-day wedding is another new
trend.
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Pav Shergill, director of
Monsoon Venue Group,
with Dorothy Ingle, a
Stoneleigh Abbey Trustee
Top Choice for Asian weddings
STONELEIGH ABBEY has
signed a three-year deal
with events company
Monsoon Venue Group
(MVG) to host Asian
weddings. The Grade I listed
building, near Kenilworth
in Warwickshire, has
become a popular choice
for Asian weddings due to
its stunning landscaped
gardens, parkland and
mix of Jacobean and
Baroque style architecture.
As Stoneleigh’s exclusive
South Asian events partner,
MVG will now manage all
the related sales, marketing
and delivery.
MVG launched five years
ago to help bridge the
gap between alternative
venues and the South
Asian events market.
Working with Monsoon
has enabled Stoneleigh
Abbey’s potential for
Asian weddings. It achieved
success this year, winning
the Best Alternative
Wedding Venue in the
Midland Asian Wedding
Awards.
JOSEPH CASEY
Is ‘Champing’ the
new Glamping?
EVER FANCIED sleeping in a historic church? Well, now you
can, and it’s called ‘champing’. This new concept of camping
overnight in a place of worship has been created by the Churches
Conservation Trust (CCT) and it has actually trademarked the
term champing.
The national charity, which protects historic churches at risk,
directs all of the income raised through champing into repairing
and maintaining churches. Hundreds of happy champers stayed
overnight in these historic spaces last summer and due to its
popularity 16 more churches were opened this year, bringing the
number of venues available to 27.
The churches are not normally heated so the champing season
runs from March until September. It costs £49 per adult and that
includes the use of camp beds, with the option of breakfast for
an additional £12.50. It’s a great example of utilising unique
historic spaces while preserving heritage.
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