There are many reasons as to why you might want to find a country house to rent including weddings, short getaways, hosting an event and more. But, with everything comes a price and you might be wondering how much it costs to run a country house. First, let’s look at the details so that you can work out how much you’re going to be spending.
How long are you staying for?
Obviously, different lengths of stay will equate to different prices, so it’s important to work out how long you need to rent the country house for. Remember that for most places, with a longer stay you may end up saving some money. However, if you only need it for say, a weekend, there’s no point in paying for a weeks worth!
There are many different UK country houses available for rent, and you should take the time to compare prices for the length of time you want to stay for. You’ll soon find the right price, but not before taking these things into consideration too…
How much space do you need?
If you’re planning on having your wedding at a country house, then you’re going to need to equate how much space you need for the event, and how many people you can invite will depend on the space available. Ask yourself these questions when looking at properties:
- Will you need space to entertain children at your wedding?
- What time of the year are you having your wedding?
- Are you likely to be spending time outside, or will you be inside?
- Could you hire staff to help tend to your guests?
- Will you be allowing pets at your wedding/event?
- Do you need space for entertainment such as a band or DJ?
- Are you getting married at the venue? Does it have space for you to do that?
Calculating how much space you need will also help not only choose the perfect venue, but give you an idea on how much you can expect to spend on your event in it’s entirety.
What facilities do you require?
No matter what you’re going to be using the country house for, it’s likely that you’re going to need facilities to make your stay easier. Take these things into consideration:
- A place for all of the ‘behind the scenes’ such as a cloakroom, gift space, and also luggage storage.
- A catering company to provide you and your guests with food
- Entertainment to keep everyone happy and provide you with some fun
- A bar/lounge area for guests to relax and have a drink
- An area to turn into a restaurant/reception room
- Can it facilitate space for you to get married on site?
- Ballrooms for dancing and celebrations.
Asking yourself these questions while choosing a country house can save you time and money. Not only that, but finding a venue that can cater to all of the needs for your event will help save you on massive amounts of stress too.
Who is staying with you?
You’ll also need to think about who is staying with you to help you equate the price of your event. If you’ve got people attending that will need a place to stay for the night because they’ve travelled a significant distance, then you could let them stay with you there. Many country houses offer in excess of 9 bedrooms, meaning that you’re able to offer your guests accommodation.
This can help with pricing because you’d be able to charge them as if it were a hotel nearby, meaning that their payment can contribute towards your end cost. For example, say your country house was going to cost £3000 for the weekend and you had 10 people staying, you could split the cost and you’d end up paying only £300 for the venue alone.
So, as you can see, renting a country house isn’t going to be cheap, but choosing the right amount of space, calculating the right length of time, and offering accommodation to your guests can help save you a lot of money. Yes, you might be looking at prices that go well into the four digit numbers, but if you plan things carefully, you could be looking at a fantastic weekend with everyone you care about, for much less money than you think!
Most importantly, enjoy your stay at one of the UK’s beautiful country houses! Don’t forget to take your camera!