Barnsdale Hall Hotel sits in extensive grounds overlooking Rutland Water between Stamford and Oakham.

Both the ceremony and reception rooms (all of my weddings have been at the Edith Weston Suite) are spacious and exquisitely prepared, with the food on both occasions being top class. The icing on the cake is without a doubt the Barnsdale Hall staff who combine impeccable professional discipline with a relaxed, friendly manner, making the entire occasion as enjoyable as you dared to dream of.

Outside, there are extensive grounds with a variety of backdrops to suit every photographic need and plenty of room for the kids to run around and let off steam.

Easy access, ample secure parking, a first class venue !

An increasingly popular venue, Orton Hall Hotel is off the A605 Oundle Road opposite the Nene Park entrance to Orton Mere.

Most civil wedding services are held in the superb conservatory at the rear of the hotel. The room offers fantastic lighting and is always immaculated decorated for the big day and with spectacular grounds providing the perfect setting for post service photographs, there is little to fault the venue.

2008 saw the launch of a second, larger function room as an option for bigger weddings and that has simply made an excellent venue even better.

Great venue, great grounds and very attentive staff make this a venue for your short list all year round.

One of the area's longest established wedding venues, the Haycock Hotel is sited in Wansford, just off the busy A1 between Peterborough and Stamford.

The hotel offers a range of reception venues that will cater for some seriously large numbers if required. Not surprisingly, the experienced hosts are very professional and slick and you can bank on your reception room looking the part.

Outside, the Haycock offers a superb, if not unrivalled, range of photographic options from quiet riverside (courtesy of a short trip on the electric buggy !), through ornate gardens to secluded lawned areas.

As with similar venues, you really do need to get outside to get the best out of the venue but if the sun shines, the Haycock is up there with the very best in the area.

Barnsdale Lodge Hotel is situated just off the A606 just short of Oakham.

Over the last eighteen months, I have attended two wedding reception photo shoots at Barnsdale Lodge, one in glorious sunshine and one in driving rain. Needless to say, the venue excelled with one and struggled with the other.

The Hotel offers ample car-parking and a superb outside courtyard, enhanced with flower beds and well tended hanging baskets. Drinks and photos in the sun-drenched courtyard make this a cracking venue from a photographic perspective but if it rains and you're stuck inside, options vanish very fast.

I can't comment on the reception rooms or service as I haven't seen either but I would suggest you need the weather on your side to really enjoy this one.

The second of Peterborough's Holiday Inn's is sited at Norman's Cross, just off the A1/A15 junction.

I had the opportunity to cover the venue's first wedding on New Year's Eve 2005 and the staff pulled out all the stops to set up a well decorated and presented ceremony room along with a very nice reception area.

Check your numbers first as larger weddings may struggle to fit ....... it was standing room only for the service but, for a first wedding, they certainly made a big and commendable effort.

One big downer, as with their other Peterborough hotel, nowhere to shoot photographs outside ........ hopefully they'll rectify that in 2006.

The Cambridgeshire Moat House is situated just off the A14 between Huntingdon and Cambridge, approximately 30 minutes drive from Peterborough providing the busy A14 is moving well !

Very experienced in catering for up to 180 people at the service and/or reception. The reception room was very spacious and light with pleasant views over the adjacent golf course.

The immaculate presentation aside, the hotel scored top marks for offering a very nice lawned area immediately outside the reception room and bar for drinks and photographs ......... spot on for a relaxed, sunny summer wedding !

The Peterborough Suite is the large "Scandinavian style" building right at the heart of the East of England Showground.

The Suite is able to cater for the larger weddings, seating up to 300 people in the very spacious main room. Adjacent to the reception room is a small bar area and, all in all, the venue offers the more traditional feel of a venue dedicated 100% to your special day ......... basically, there is nothing with less than four legs within a mile in all directions !!!

Nothing too attractive on offer for photographs but for the drink/eat/dance element of your wedding, it delivers a well turned out and very easy to access option.

Based just off the A15 between Market Deeping and Bourne, the Baskervilles Hotel offers a little known reception option for those prepared to take a little drive from Peterborough.

Unfortunately, I caught the Baskervilles on a bitterly cold early season Saturday which ruled out the use of enclosed grounds at the rear of the Hotel. Although a little untidy on the day, I could imagine the lawned area scrubbing up quite nicely for a summer wedding drinks venue.

Inside, the Hotel offers a very traditional reception feel with a single large room with its own bar and doors opening onto the patio and lawned area. Tables and decorations were simple but well presented and the attending staff were very friendly.

Worth checking out as an option for the smaller wedding party.

Operating between the Key Theatre Embankment and Orton Mere, the "Mandolin" offers an interesting and novel option for the smaller (up to 50) wedding party.

Sadly, there is no option to actually get hitched on board but a lovely cruise up the River Nene followed by a well delivered "mock" service is on offer, with Captain Bob looking every bit the part as he conducts the service at an appropriate mooring on the river.

The "Mandolin" offers a comfortable all-weather interior and comes with its own licensed bar so, on a nice summer's day, it's hard to think of anything more idyllic than this and it's a sure fire hit with young and old.

Perfect for wedding receptions at the Ramada Hotel but, equally, only a five minute journey from the Registry Office ......... well worth a thought !!!

The City Club is situated at the city centre end of Priestgate and offers the upstairs Cantwell Suite as a venue room for wedding receptions, catering for between 80 and 120 guests.

The venue has undergone significant restoration work "sympathetically designed to expose the true beauty of this magnificent city centre building" but with the battered sign above the entrance hanging precariously and large parts of the wall decor hanging loose, it still came up cosmetically short for me as a venue for celebrating your big day.

There was also no air conditioning, either permanent or portable on the very warm day I worked there, leaving conditions very tough to endure or enjoy. There are some definite plus points, namely the professional and attentive staff and also the lovely and photogenic internal staircase but to establish as a successful wedding venue, I would suggest it is still in need of quite a few "finishing touches" to make the grade.

Situated adjacent to the Bretton Centre, about ten minutes north west of central Peterborough, the Cresset is licensed to accomodate civil ceremonies as well as hosting receptions in one of two spacious function rooms.

In its favour, the Cresset has made real efforts to establish itself as an all round wedding venue, even finding the space to create a cosy but attractive floral garden for post-service photographs. The staff are enthusiastic and friendly and both the service and reception rooms were immaculately presented.

The big down side is that, despite their efforts, the Cresset is an ugly, characterless building in a bleak and dour location and it's not easy to create anything vaguely resembling a relaxed wedding atmosphere. Another venue that often runs weddings/receptions in adjacent rooms simultaneously which only serves to reinforce the functional rather than special feel to the day.

10/10 for effort but a tough challenge to present the venue as an attractive wedding day option.

Elton Furze golf club is situated mid-way between Peterborough and Elton, just off the old A605 Oundle Road.

On my one experience of Elton Furze to date, the reception room was as immaculately presented as any I have seen ....... very impressive. The wedding staff were also totally tuned in and evidently eager to impress.

The big downside was the lack of outdoor options. Our one venture out was met with a request from a golfing official to "keep it quiet" which is understandable from a golf perspective but not from the perspective of a venue offering itself up as a serious option for a wedding celebration.

Could be good but they need to realise that a wedding reception is a vibrant party and not an irritation to be boxed away and kept quiet.

The Parkway Social Club was formerly known as the Railway Club and is situated off Maskew Avenue, just short of PC World.

No surprises with the Parkway ....... it's a very traditional social club setting but that means plenty of space, a decent bar, a very large dance-floor and a nice stage for your DJ or band. Add to that, the ease of access, ample on-site car parking space and the friendly staff and the venue certainly has plenty in its favour.

Hardly the most atmospheric of venues and certainly a tough challenge to decorate but, if there's enough of you, there's certainly plenty of scope for creating a good old-fashioned wedding reception knees-up !!!

Situated in the heart of Stamford town, the George Hotel offers up a classic, character filled setting for civil services and receptions.

Being a period building, the rooms are relatively cosy and more suitable for smaller weddings but, if the weather is in your favour, the outside grounds more than make up for that. The immaculately presented lawned area is simply idyllic for post-service drinks and early evening relaxation, offering up a range of photographic backdrops too.

The reception rooms are usually separate from the main hotel and service venue but that does provide you with some space to let the hair down. Wonderful staff as you would expect and an all round quality venue.

Situated just outside of Oundle, on the road to Corby, the four star Benefield Wheatsheaf nestles in a quiet village with nice rear garden views over the Northamptonshire countryside.

On the outside, the venue offers a nice relaxed setting with plenty of rear lawn space even if there is little by way of a purpose built wedding backdrop. The reception room was clearly only capable of handling smaller receptions but I'm told that the lawned area can handle a Marquee for bigger functions.

A lively team of smart hosts look after your every need and plenty of car parking space too but, for me, the venue needs just a little something extra to move from functional to special.

Well off the beaten track but if you are seeking the ultimate dream venue for your big day then an hour's drive to the other side of Northampton is well worth it for this treasure.

Everything about Fawsley Hall is out of the top draw. The location really is off the cutest of beaten tracks, the rooms are huge and full of character, the outdoor setting is fantastic and varied and the staff provide the very best care and attention throughout.

Hugely popular around the Northampton and Daventry area and rightly so, but Fawsley Hall really is good enough to be on the map for any Peterborough couple who have to have perfection !

Despite being in close proximety to a main road, a school and a major hospital. the Tudor walled gardens of Hinchingbrooke House provide a quiet oasis of peace and tranquility close to Huntingdon town centre.

All rooms are very spacious and the decor and ambience is exactly what you might expect from a building that can be traced back to the 13th century.

Outside, the grounds are very spacious with a wide choice of photographic backdrops and plenty of room for the kids, young and old, to stretch their legs. There is also a particularly nice raised patio area that is wonderful for post-service drinks on a warm day.

Plenty of parking spaces, pleasant and attentive staff and, all in all, a venue worthy of your consideration.

Ufford is situated well off the beaten track mid-way between Peterborough and Stamford and The White Hart has a well earned reputation for quality dining.

As a wedding venue, it offers a quiet location for a small wedding party but the cosy and fragmented layout would not lend itself to anything larger. The outside gardens are again fragmented and steeply tiered, making them less than ideal for young inquisitive kids and/or those less mobile. The sharing of locations with regular diners also did little to enhance the special day.

A quality venue with great staff and food but not convinced that it has the necessary key componants for a top wedding venue.

The 160 year old Great Northern Hotel is situated opposite the city's main railway station.

Despite its near city-centre location, the venue offers generous car-parking facilities and a surprisingly pleasant outside option. Another venue that climbs into the "attractive" category only if you can get outside and make use of the relaxing gardens. Great for warm summer weddings when the kids can run about on the lawn and the adults can kick back with a drink on the patio but if you get trapped indoors then it's nothing special.

If you are prepared to gamble on good weather then don't rule this one out !

The Whitwell Hotel and Conference Centre is situated in the village of Whitwell on the A606 between the A1 and Oakham.

A relatively unknown venue that really deserves to be on the radar for Peterborough weddings. The hotel is separate to the very cute service venue which in turn is separate to the reception room but all have a certain charm and it's all there ...... plus a very nice and expansive set of grounds for photographs and for your wedding party to lose itself.

Having nice weather will undoubtedly help you get the most out of the venue but if you are looking for something with a little character then keep this one in mind !

The Normanton Park Hotel is situated on the southern edge of Rutland Water, a short distance off the A606 between the A1 and Oakham.

Definitely not your standard wedding venue in appearance, looking more like a Spanish villa with it's single storey buildings and imposing clock tower but it does offer all you could need with plenty of space inside and even more space outside with a patio and lawned area. The real bonus, however, is that you can stroll out of the grounds straight onto the shore of Rutland Water where you can walk a short distance along to Normanton Church for some stunning photographic options.

Yet another venue that requires you to get outside if you are to get the most out of it !