Balcombe Place - Haywards Heath

Ben K.

What a wedding venue! Start to finish the owners, the venue and experience was 10/10.

The vibe we were after was a something that felt special and unique that had a welcoming and warm feel to it. What makes Balcombe Place so special is how Grace and the owners truly make you feel like the house is your own home for the weekend, with more than enough on site accommodation and the most incredible cooked meals by the house chef. We’d been to a few venues where it was very much ‘one in, one out’, which is the opposite of what Balcombe is where you have the venue from Friday to Sunday. Looking back, arriving on the Friday with our families and bridal/groom party and leaving on the Sunday made our wedding feel like it extended over the whole weekend and not just finished in a flash, enabling our families and closest friends time to mingle and mix but also enabling us time to spend with them too. Some of our fondest memories of the weekend are from these peripheral times.

The in-house catering is excellent. You have a large menu to select from, real proper home cooked food that you will not want to stop eating. Let alone to mention the brownies! They also were incredible in working with dietaries, notably coeliac, avoiding any possibilities of cross contamination of meals.

You’ll work closely with Grace through the whole process, the wedding coordinator who is flexible in helping you make the day completely as you wish. We had a handful of in person meetings at the venue where we ran through her mega spreadsheet of the day to plot everything in, which she then used with our MC on the day to keep everything running smoothly. She was so discrete in doing this during the day that had we not known she was doing it, we would’ve just thought it was all running itself!

Photos do not do the warmth of the venue justice - you walk in and is just has this air about it that feels special but welcoming. Getting married in winter we were eager for a venue that was just as special inside as the grounds are outside and Balcombe ticked this. Having enough space that we had a nice natural flow to the day instead of feeling like we were in and out of the same room over and over again. We had somewhere around 125 to the ceremony (on the upper limit you’d fit in), 130 to the dinner and 145 to the evening.

Another huge benefit with Balcombe is the drinks staff are sorted by the venue. This meant that during the wedding breakfast the catering team can provide an uninterrupted meal service, whilst the drinks are constantly flowing and being monitored. The waiting staff were all super friendly, professional and attentive. This was something complimented on by our guests multiple times. Grace was great to work with in letting us pick our own his/hers cocktails, using a photo from Pinterest for the bar staff to ‘design’ these cocktails to.

The amount of space is also unique, enabling our day to have a brilliant flow and not feel like it was in and out of the same room.

We would not hesitate to recommend Balcombe Place for your wedding venue.

Laura G.

Balcombe Place really is a magical wedding venue and we are so lucky and pleased that it's on our door step, as it’s truly stunning and I think every single one of our guests said the same thing!

Grace was amazing throughout our wedding journey, she made us feel at ease during every meeting and whilst I work in events, it was so great to have her there to support and guide us from a wedding perspective.

All the house staff, bar staff and suppliers were also so lovely and helpful! And the house food was amazing throughout the weekend, even making our specific request of “Gamon”, eggs and chips for our night before meal!

They truly do look after you and we couldn't recommend the venue enough. We have the most amazing memories from our special day and just wish we can go back and do it all again.

Megan H.

We chose Balcombe Place for our March wedding this year and we couldn't be happier with our choice. Grace made the planning process so easy and enjoyable from the very first planning meeting. She gave us direction and invaluable advice when needed, but was also so open and accommodating to our ideas and preferences.

We loved the fact that Balcombe was our home for the weekend, and that our closest family and friends could stay on site with us after an intimate rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding. The whole weekend had such a relaxed and homely feel.

The house and grounds were the perfect backdrop to our drinks reception in the glorious sunshine, all the bedrooms were spacious and comfortable, and house meals were delicious.

The day ran smoothly from start to finish, thanks to the amazing team at Balcombe, and all our suppliers commented on how well looked after they were all day!

It really did exceed all our expectations, and we just wish we could do it all over again!

Beckie

Got married here a couple weeks ago and honestly the most amazing venue! It’s so beautiful with such unique detail and interior that you don’t even really need to decorate much for your wedding, all our guests thought it was so beautiful too. There is so much room and the bedrooms are amazing and huge for any people staying! The staff are all so brilliant, especially Grace who was lovely and made all the planning and organisation run perfectly and made us feel so relaxed on the day. Couldn’t have asked for a more perfect venue to get married at!

Steph I.

Wow what a place, our wedding was incredible. The venue, the team and the suppliers were absolutely wonderful in every way. We were fully supported from the first meeting to the actual day. I can’t recommend this place enough and I am so glad we chose Balcombe Place and had the experience we had We are eternally grateful

Keri N.

There just aren’t the words to express how incredible Grace, Fo and the team at Balcombe Place are.

Our wedding day on 25th November 2023 surpassed all of our hopes and expectations, and we truly had the time of our lives. We could not recommend Balcombe Place more highly.

Balcombe Place itself is absolutely spectacular. We instantly fell in love with it, and once we had visited for the first time, we couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else. There is such a lovely feel to the house and gardens; it is magnificent but cosy all at once.

Having our ceremony in front of the marble fireplace in the Drawing Room was really memorable and special, and in the evening, there was somewhere for everyone to feel comfortable - from the dance floor, to the bar, to the sofas & open fire in the library.

What really made our day extra special though, was our brilliant co-ordinator, Grace. I cannot imagine that there is a more organised, proactive, thorough and knowledgeable wedding co-ordinator out there - Grace has to be one of the best in the industry at what she does.

On the day itself, Grace was amazing. She was genuinely invested in making sure that we were having the best day, and there were a few exceptional moments where she went completely above and beyond. My family and bridesmaids all commented on how fantastic she was. Thank you for everything Grace!

Throughout the day, the staff serving drinks were also just lovely.

To finish this review, here are some messages we received from our friends and family in the days after our wedding:

‘That was a belter of a wedding’
‘When’s your next wedding?’
‘Same venue next weekend?’
‘What an incredible party’
‘What a wedding!!!’
‘I just have to say that’s been one of our best family weekends ever’

We could not have asked for a more amazing day and we will be reminiscing for many years to come.

Keri & Mark Nelson.

Photo copyright: Imogen Eve Photography

Francesca V.

Cannot begin to explain how perfect of a day we had for our wedding at Balcombe Place. From our first visit until the Sunday after we were treated amazingly. Grace was an absolute dream to work with. She was so helpful on the day without being overbearing, it was so lovely to have it all come together and feel like she was genuinely invested in our special day and making sure everything went smoothly. Everyone who attended has continued to message us to say how brilliant of a day it was and how beautiful the venue was. So glad we found this special venue. It really feels like such an intimate weekend when you get to stay at the house and have the family team from Balcombe.

Beth H.

Huge thanks to Grace and the team for the most perfect wedding day at Balcombe Place. We fell in love with the venue immediately, and it provided the most beautiful backdrop for our photos, as well as an equally glamorous and comfortable venue to share with our guests for the whole wedding weekend. The food was delicious and the house team were incredible hosts, thank you so much for making our wedding day so fantastic!