Wedding Gallery & Testimonials
We understand how important it is to bring to life the wedding reception you have always dreamed of. Simon and his staff work closely with every couple to make sure each and every wedding detail is achieved. We pride ourselves on adapting to each individual wedding and we work for you from the moment of inquiry to the last guest leaving the venue on your special day.
However, we know that recommendation is by far the best way to prove we deliver on our promise so with that in mind, here are just a handful of the testimonials we have received on TripAdvisor direct from the couples themselves and a few pictures too.
Lauren & Chris
We were lucky enough to have our wedding at The Departure Lounge Cafe. It’s such a gorgeous vintage-style cafe and when we visited it for the first time, and saw the huge beautiful field next to it, we knew this is where we would get married.
Simon and his team are incredible. He went above and beyond our expectations in making sure our big day was perfect. He was so helpful in the planning beforehand, and extremely responsive to all of our enquiries. Simon and his team made sure the day ran smoothly. He even sourced some local beer for our guests, which went down a treat!
It’s the perfect place if you want to put your own stamp on your big day. We wanted a relaxed, festival-style wedding and that’s exactly what we got! We had a ceremony in the field (after legally marrying in a reg office) – but it looked and felt like the real deal! We brought in our own caterers (wood-fired pizza!) and a band, loads of DIY decorations, hay bales and lots of wild flowers. Nothing was a problem and they helped us to set it up and pack things away, which made things so much easier.
All of our guests commented on what an amazing venue we had chosen, and it was lovely to see all of our family and friends of mixed ages having the best time.
Thank you everyone at the cafe for all of your hard work. We would highly recommend The Departure Lounge Cafe, especially for weddings. We will be smiling for years to come!
Julie & Steve
I have to say that in the seven years we have been together, choosing to have our wedding reception at this café was one of the best decisions we have ever made! It has an awesome vintage style, and although Simon was happy for us to decorate as we wanted, we actually put up no decorations as the place was simply perfect just as it was. In the time leading up to the wedding Simon could not have been more helpful in supporting us to arrange our day, nothing was too much trouble, and he was so flexible you could have probably bent him in half! With his guidance, the place worked even better than we ever could have imagined. We had requested an afternoon tea, which Simon and his team happily put together for us. The food was absolutely amazing, there was lots of different options, and with no trouble at all, he even catered for guests who were gluten free and vegetarian (… and just fussy!!). In the evening we had a hog roast. Again this was amazing and the accompanying salads/garnishes (and vegetarian option of macaroni cheese) were also brilliant. Throughout the day Simon had a great team working with him. They really do need praise, as again, nothing was too much trouble for them and anything we asked for during the day was provided straight away and with a smile! We were able to use the large field out the front for a quick game of Rounder’s before the sun went down (not bad for an October wedding!). The kids also loved the slide in the garden out the back of the café. Although we were lucky with the weather, the covered court yard was also very reassuring … just in case! When the night sadly reached it end, we all headed back to our hotels and were told not to worry about doing anything in terms of tidying up, as we could collect all our bits at a convenient time the following day. All of our belongings were neatly packed back into the boxes we had bought them in ready for us to collect. At this point we were also given the bill for the day which I really could not believe. It was such an amazing price for what was provided both in terms of the venue, food and service. I would thoroughly recommend the Departure Lounge to anyone thinking about getting married and wanting a funky, reasonably priced wedding with awesome food and service. I really cannot praise this place enough. They really did succeed in making our wedding day everything we hoped for and more! Thank you Simon and Team. xx
Kirsty & Nick
We stumbled across The Departure Lounge, hidden in the depths of the Hampshire countryside, when searching for a venue for our wedding reception. We were tired of looking at soulless, corporate, gushing hotels; the Departure Lounge was lively, with a quirky charm and we loved it. The location is stunning. Surrounded by fields – including one directly adjacent where we put our large marquee for seating our guests – it gave us the perfect backdrop to our day. I like to think that Simon enjoyed months of our endless emailing, mind-changing, requests, favours, more mind-changing… because he was incredibly relaxed, calm and accommodating – even in the face of two demanding and overly anxious brides! He gave us every faith in him and the Cafe, and allowed us to have the wedding that we wanted. Simon & his team were brilliant on the day; we couldn’t have asked for more. Their efforts into decorating the Departure Lounge were much appreciated. We brought our own caterers in, but Simon’s team came up trumps in preparing inventive & interesting vegan meals for two of our guests. The team on the day & during the evening were brilliant, and seamlessly went above & beyond our expectations. When we arrived back the following morning, Simon & the team had already gathered our belongings into one place ready for us to collect! Really unexpected, but again, thoroughly appreciated. The Departure Lounge has to be one of the nicest places we’ve found, and definitely a fantastic party venue!
See all of our wedding reception tripadvisor reviews here