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Member since 2022

Butley Priory

From £15,810

Based on a weekday wedding in November. Includes 2-night venue hire, accommodation, food and drink.

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In the wilds of the Suffolk countryside, you'll find the romantic Butley Priory, an exclusive-use venue offering three-day weddings with overnight accommodation for up to 47 guests across four charming properties.
Key Info
Butley Priory
The Clumps
Woodbridge
Suffolk
IP12 3NR
Website: www.butleypriory.co.uk
Tel: 01394 450 046
Email: info@butleypriory.co.uk
 
 
Capacity
Ceremony:95
Dinner:80
Standing:120
Facilities
Licensed For Marriage:Yes
Accommodation:Sleeps 47
Exclusivity:Yes
Food & Drink
Catering:Preferred Supplier
Bar:In-house
Licensed Until:Midnight
Other
Pets Welcome:Yes
Disabled Facilities:Yes
Child Friendly:Yes
Contact venue for late availability and exclusive offers
Pricing
From £15,810

Based on a weekday wedding in November. Includes 2-night venue hire, accommodation, food and drink.

Starting price includes:
  • Includes exclusive hire of Butley Priory for two nights.
  • Canapés and three course wedding breakfast for 60 guests.
  • Three welcome drinks, half bottle of wine and a glass of fizz for the toast - per person.
  • Accommodation for up to 17 people (Butley Priory and Butley Priory Cottage).
  • Table linen, tableware, glassware and waiting staff plus fully serviced bar.
Additional costs:

These items are not included in the price above but can be added for an additional fee:

  • Ceremony fees.
  • Additional accommodation in the Farmhouse for up to 24 guests.
  • Additional accommodation in Paddy's Cottage for up to six guests.

Please contact the venue for detailed prices.

About
Setting

Yours exclusively, Butley Priory is a Grade I listed former gatehouse that is now a privately owned luxury wedding and events venue in Suffolk. Surrounded by magical woodland and with the Suffolk coast on its doorstep, it is close to the pretty market town of Woodbridge.

Butley Priory offers a versatile space for your wedding, from the intimate Great Hall with its vaulted ceiling and magnificent stonework, perfect for your ceremony, to the South Garden, an enclosed setting for your drinks reception. The space can seat up to 80 guests for the wedding breakfast and is magically transformed for the evening celebrations, making it the ultimate party house. And don’t forget the secret bar, a delightful surprise for your guests!

If you’re seeking a beautifully intimate, light and airy venue steeped in history for your celebration, Butley Priory has it all in abundance. With the help of a professional and friendly team, you’ll be expertly guided from start to finish, ensuring your day is as wonderful as you imagined.

Ceremony

The Great Hall within Butley Priory will delight and wow your guests in equal measure. Its soaring vaulted ceiling, together with stone pillars and beautiful arches, resembles a church. It is a wonderfully intimate space with light and neutral interiors in which to exchange vows.

If you prefer the outdoors, the pretty South Garden can host outdoor ceremonies against the backdrop of the Priory. After the ceremony, the bell on the church gate is rung to welcome you back to your guests via a welcoming shower of confetti.

Reception

For Priory weddings, your reception takes place within the Great Hall. Seat your guests at long tables for the perfect intimate dining experience. Their chef will help you design and create your own wedding menu, using seasonal fresh ingredients from the finest producers in Suffolk. Once you’ve finalised your delicious menu, you’ll be invited to a private tasting to sample your creations!

Introduce a cocktail hour after the wedding breakfast to excite your guests for the evening reception. Dance the night away under the vaulted ceilings of the Great Hall. Live bands and DJs are welcome, with carriages for midnight.

For larger weddings, add a tipi or marquee on the front lawn-all expertly coordinated by the most friendly and professional team.

Accommodation

Arrive the day before and depart the day after your wedding, allowing a two-night stay for a relaxed wedding celebration. The estate has four charming properties, all closely located to the main venue, meaning you’ll have your very own wedding village!

Butley Priory is the most unique and special place to stay in Suffolk, featuring incredible architecture and whimsical charm with four charismatic bedrooms (sleeping 7-11), wonderfully appointed and luxury furnished rooms with roll-top baths, and a four poster bed in the wedding suite.

Butley Abbey Farmhouse overlooks its large garden, tennis court, thatched summerhouse and croquet lawn, with meadows and woods beyond. With twelve charming bedrooms (sleeping 24), it is the ideal setting for gathering friends and family for your wedding on the Suffolk coast.

Butley Priory Cottage is an 18th-century flint cottage beside the Priory. It was once used as a stable for the Priory and later as a summerhouse. It has two double bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open-plan kitchen/dining room, and a double sofa bed in the sitting room.

Paddy’s Cottage adjoins the Farmhouse and offers the only ground-floor accessible bedroom with a spacious and contemporary wet room. It has two double bedrooms, two bathrooms, an open-plan kitchen/dining room, and a double sofa bed in the sitting room. There is also a pretty courtyard garden for sunsets and daiquiris.

Butley Priory has ground-floor accessible toilets. However, it does not have accessible bedrooms or disabled access to the first or second floors across its three properties.

Local Area

Woodbridge voted one of the top 10 high streets in the UK, is a 15-minute drive away. It boasts a pretty market town full of independent shops and restaurants and glorious walks along the River Deben.

For music lovers, Snape Maltings is nearby. It offers music all year round, a Saturday Farmers Market, and a range of irresistible retail shops.

Aldeburgh is 25 minutes away. It is a handsome Victorian resort perched on the seafront with a wide range of shops, pubs, cafes, restaurants, and the famous fish and chips. Aldeburgh has an excellent golf course, as does Thorpeness and Woodbridge.

Thorpeness boating lake and the famous ‘House in the Clouds’ are nearby too. The Suffolk coast has deservedly become a popular destination for holidays in the UK.

Much of Ralph Fiennes’s film The Dig, about the discovery of Sutton Hoo, was filmed at Butley Creek, just over a mile away from the Farmhouse. The ancient boat burial grounds at Sutton Hoo are a 15-minute drive away. The cult TV series The Detectorists, with Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones, was also filmed in the countryside around Butley.

Getting There

By Air: Stansted, Norwich and Southend – approx 90 mins by car

By Rail: From London Liverpool Street or Stratford, take the train to Ipswich. At Ipswich, change for a train to Woodbridge or Melton. You’ll need a taxi from either to take the 15-minute journey to Butley Priory.

By Car: Whether travelling North or South on the A12, take the exit A1152 signposted to Melton. Continue on the A1152 towards Rendlesham. Take a right-hand turn into ‘The Clumps’ and continue for about a mile. After a sharp bend to the left, the entrance to Butley Priory will be visible on your right-hand side. You’ll see a white sign saying Butley Priory.

“

The most amazing wedding venue! Donna, Libby, Daniela and the team were fantastic in the lead-up to and during our wedding, and made sure everything ran smoothly. Their service was exceptional, and the venue itself is the most stunning place for a wedding. We can’t thank them enough for a wonderful few days and for all their help and expertise in coordinating the perfect wedding day for us. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Butley Priory as a wedding venue.

 

Married August 2024

Toni & Matthew

We couldn’t have wished for a more perfect wedding weekend at the beautiful Butley Priory. Within seconds of arriving for our first viewing, we fell in love and we just knew it was the one! It’s a little haven in the most stunning grounds surrounded by beautiful woodlands which makes it feel so intimate and magical – the most wonderful setting to tie the knot with all our favourite people.

We loved having exclusive hire of the venue for the weekend staying on site with 35 of our family and friends across the Priory, two cottages and the epic Farmhouse. Such beautifully decorated accommodation which everyone spoke so highly of – and the Priory bridal suite is just to die for, I wish I could wake up there every day!!

And the team…well, they are simply flawless! They were so reliable across every single detail, and nothing was too much trouble. A big shout out to Donna who is exceptional and an absolute delight to work with. Thank you for making our dream wedding day come true!

We had the most memorable and special few days celebrating at Butley Priory – it will forever hold a very special place in our hearts, and we are very grateful to the entire team. We will most certainly be back for a weekend visit and hopefully another big party in future!

 

Married July 2024

Laura & Tom

We can’t even begin to thank the wonderful team at Butley Priory for making our wedding day so special and memorable for us and all our guests. On the day, we didn’t have to worry about anything – Donna and Daniela were brilliant and took care of everything, so things went seamlessly without us having to worry and we knew we were in safe hands.

Our guests, most of them coming from France and abroad, as well as our suppliers, were very impressed by the venue, the food and the team on the day, and we can’t recommend Butley highly enough. Now we just have to find a good excuse to come back!

Marie & Emily

We are writing this from our honeymoon in Porto! Formal thanks will follow but we wanted to get in touch at this point to say a huge thank you for our wedding on Saturday. We had the perfect day! The Priory and its grounds looked absolutely stunning but what really stood out for us was your kind attentiveness and personal touches throughout the whole day from the buffet for the girls getting ready, to our wedding gifts being placed up in our room. Our guests have commented on how friendly and helpful everyone was.

Michael & Melissa

I just wanted to drop you a few words to say how wonderful we thought you were on Saturday. You were so kind, attentive and helpful and made the day an absolute joy for us. Butley was stunning in the sunshine and loved by all who came.

Yvette, Mother of the Bride

We hired The Priory and the surrounding on-site accommodation for our two-day wedding celebration. The venue clearly speaks for itself. It is a special and unique place in a beautiful area of the country, and we fell in love with the Great Hall from our first viewing. But Honor and her team were exceptional at helping us plan our wedding. We’re so grateful for all their help, which ensured we got hitched without a hitch!

Credit goes to Honor for all her patience, kindness, calmness and help throughout our planning, the day could not have gone better thanks to her, and a special mention to their amazing chef Peter Harrison and to Tor for all their help with the menu and food too. We can’t wait to return!

 

Married August 2024

Harry & Rachel

We had the most amazing day; everything was just perfect and so very special in every way – we could not have asked for more.

Butley Priory is a magical place, steeped in history yet captivating with an elegance and softness. The vaulted ceilings in the Drawing Room where our ceremony took place and the Great Hall for our lunch provided the perfect backdrop to our small and intimate wedding. We even got to have our drinks in the South Garden when the sun shone through.

Butley Priory is set in beautiful grounds and woodlands with an approach through Rendlesham Forrest that adds to the charm of this very special place. Donna, Daniela, Libby and all The Team are superb, caring and extremely professional. Nothing is too much trouble and they are all a delight to work with. On the day everything ran smoothly, both Donna and Daniela were on hand to ensure that we, and all our guests had the most enjoyable time – and we did.

We had the most memorable day, and Butley Priory holds a very special place in our hearts, but we knew it would from the moment we arrived on our first visit. Thank you so much!

 

Married September 2024

Susan & Victor

Butley Priory is a truly special place. Full of history and character, the priory makes a fantastic setting for weddings, parties and celebrations. Superbly managed, you’re in safe hands and they’ll help you every step of the way in planning your event here. I’m a professional photographer and have seen lots of venues across East Anglia and beyond. In my eyes, the Priory and surrounding grounds are unique. This, combined with the fab staff make every return visit a real treat. Thoroughly recommended!

Dominic W.

We recently had the pleasure of celebrating our wedding at Butley in August, and we cannot express enough how incredible the entire experience was. From start to finish, the team were simply outstanding. They made everything seamless, allowing us to truly enjoy every moment of our special day without any worries.

In the lead-up to the wedding, the team’s attention to detail was amazing. A shoutout to Libby who was our lead coordinator. They all invested so much time and effort into ensuring that every single detail was thought through, and it completely paid off. The venue itself is absolutely stunning—its remote location gives it a magical feel, as if you’re in your own little romantic world surrounded by beautiful forests.

The styling of the priory and on-site accommodations was gorgeous, and the gardens were also spectacular. Every corner of Butley exudes beauty and charm. We couldn’t have asked for a more idyllic setting for our wedding – all of our guests have not stopped talking about it!

If you’re looking for a venue that combines exceptional service with a stunning, romantic atmosphere, Butley is the place to be. We are forever grateful for the unforgettable memories created here!

 

Married August 2024

Sancha & Manny
FAQs
How many guests can be seated for the wedding breakfast inside Butley Priory?

Up to 80 guests.

What are the catering arrangements?

When you choose to book Butley Priory for your wedding, we'll introduce you to our catering team, where you'll be able to discuss your menu. We prefer that each couple has the option to create something entirely personal and bespoke for their day. Allow our chef to guide you with the best locally sourced, seasonal produce available for your wedding date, ensuring a delicious and memorable feast for your guests.

...and drinks?

We offer a choice of drink packages and have partnered with a local wine supplier who can help you create a more bespoke selection. If you prefer to supply your own, we also offer a corkage option.

What are your access times?

- Arrival for the couple and immediate wedding party is from 2pm the day before your wedding (Guest bedrooms from 4pm)

- Depart by 11am the morning after your wedding

Do you allow dogs?

We absolutely do! Up to two dogs to attend your wedding day, along with a responsible, designated carer.

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