If you want your vows said outside proper outside, with fells or water or open sky behind you the Lake District is about as good as it gets. Here’s where you can actually make that happen, and what to know before you fall in love with a spot.
The Legal Bit First
In England, a legally binding ceremony can only take place at a location holding an approved civil ceremony licence which means fully wild, anywhere-you-fancy ceremonies aren’t legally recognised yet, even in a place as beautiful as this. Most couples handle it one of two ways:
- Get married at a licensed outdoor space: a growing number of venues here have council-approved outdoor licences, so you get a legal ceremony and the open-air setting in one.
- Split it: a legal ceremony in a venue you love, followed by a symbolic ceremony outdoors wherever you actually want to say your vows, with a celebrant. This is what a lot of our elopement couples choose, and it means zero compromise on location.
Both routes work beautifully.
Licensed Outdoor Ceremony Spots
Town Head Estate, Windermere — A genuinely licensed lakeshore spot right on Windermere, plus a woodland circle and open parkland options within the same grounds. This is one of the strongest choices in the Lakes.
Storrs Hall, Windermere — Lakeside grounds with two outdoor ceremony option looking straight across Windermere. Classic Lake District backdrop, and a venue we know well. Choose from the pretty pavilion or the intimate boathouse.
Broadoaks, Windermere — Licensed for outdoor ceremonies in manicured gardens with woodland behind. Softer, more sheltered feel than a full lakeshore setting.
Lindeth Howe, Windermere — Hillside gardens above the lake, licensed for outdoor ceremonies, with views that do a lot of the work for you.
Askham Hall — Walled gardens and grounds with a more grown-in, less manicured feel if you want outdoorsy without full wilderness.
Eden Barn, Upper Eden Valley — Licensed barn wedding with outdoor ceremony space in 100 acres, further east than most Windermere venues if you want somewhere quieter.
Brathay Hall, Ambleside — Grounds running down toward Windermere and the fells behind, good for couples who want mountains as much as water in the backdrop.
Silverholme Manor — Lakeside grounds on the Windermere shoreline with a more private, less “hotel wedding” feel.
Lodore Falls – One of the few wedding venues on Derwentwater, Keswick. The outdoor space at this Lake District hotel is a pretty pavilion surrounded by flowers.
If You Want Something Wilder
For couples who want the actual fells: a summit, a tarn, a stretch of open fellside with nobody else around, that’s elopement territory rather than a licensed-venue ceremony. We shoot these regularly: legal bit done quietly beforehand (or after!), then the real ceremony wherever you’ve chosen, just the two of you (or a handful of guests) and the landscape. If that’s more your pace than a manicured garden, have a look at our elopement photography — it’s most of what we do.
Choosing Between Them
Licensed outdoor venues give you certainty. A legal ceremony, a marquee or indoor backup a few steps away if the weather turns, and everything handled by one venue team. Fell and lakeshore elopements give you the wildest version of the Lake District, but need a bit more planning around weather, access, and timing.
Either way, get in touch and we’ll talk through what you’re picturing. I know most of these spots well enough to tell you honestly what works and what doesn’t.
