NEW community wedding venues have been welcomed by happy couples wishing to tie the knot across Essex.

Essex County Council has entered into partnerships with districts, boroughs and voluntary organisations across Essex to establish nine wedding venues across the county.

The venues will ensure that couples can marry in a high-quality space at an affordable price.

The new arrangements will replace the Council’s existing decommissioned rooms with new venues available for ceremonies from the beginning of April.

Couples with ceremonies taking place before 1 April 2016 will experience no change.

Staff have been inundated with requests from couples wishing to book the new venues.

The Council has received 190 bookings this January, compared to 93 during the same month last year (Jan 2015).

Cllr David Finch, Leader of Essex County Council, said: “It is great to see couples in Essex embracing our new community wedding venues.

“Wedding ceremonies and civil partnerships are a special moment for couples, but that doesn’t mean that residents should have to break the bank to pay for them.

“We have entered into agreements with venue operators to ensure residents are offered the highest level of service on their special day at an affordable price.”

The nine new venues include:

The Lounge, Braintree Town Hall, Braintree
The Farm House, Cressing Temple, Braintree
The Committee Rooms, Brentwood Town Hall, Brentwood
The Andre Room, Essex Record Office, Chelmsford
The Town Hall Ceremony Room, Colchester Town Hall, Colchester
The Ceremony Room, Waltham Abbey Town Hall, Waltham Abbey
The Len White Room, Moot House, Harlow
The Chairman’s Room, Uttlesford District Council Office, Saffron Walden
The Atrium Area, Runnymede Hall, Thundersley