When you stop to think about it, it does seem strange that the only decision many brides and grooms-to-be think they have is whether to go for their nearest registry office, or whether to have a church wedding in their local church. But why do these need to be the only choices?

If you think about it, you could get married anywhere in the whole country and there is nothing stopping you getting married in Scotland just because you live in London. Now, choosing a location away from where you live will likely involve more planning to make sure everything is arranged properly, but the extra effort can be worth it to get married somewhere that is a little bit different. And if you live in a major town like London, Manchester or Birmingham, then moving your wedding further afield to a more remote location can also lead to overall cost savings from suppliers who are not city based.

A simple Google search for the phrase 'wedding venues' will turn up a number of useful websites that can help you in your wedding venue search. Most of these sites list out venues throughout the UK for all occasions, including weddings. They are generally organized by city (including several sections covering London), county and country and you can also narrow down the type of venue you are after by selecting the weddings option.

Such sites are also packed with additional information and you can get plenty of ideas if you know you want to have your wedding ceremony somewhere different, but you don't know quite where. For example, you could celebrate your wedding by Loch Ness, hold a stunning wedding reception at Kew Gardens, or select from any one of hundreds of other venues on the sites.

Your wedding day will be one of the biggest days of your life and you of course want to make it a day to remember. Be aware that some venues will only be suitable for celebrating after the wedding ceremony itself, whereas others will have the required licence to be able to actually marry you there as well.

It's clear that you need to devote a fair amount of time time to thinking about the venue, instead of going for the 'local norm', because you don't have to automatically opt for what everyone else will expect you to do. If you try something different you could end up with a wedding that will take your breath away when you finally get to walk down the aisle.