Wedding event hire FAQs

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What does it cost to hire the venue for a wedding?

The cost of hiring Norwich Arts Centre for a wedding reception in our Wedding Brochure HERE. We have a fixed price which includes exclusive use of the auditorium, foyer, bar and dressing room from 9am-12.30am (Bar service until 12am) and the garden until 10pm as well as bar staff, a duty manager, a technician and a member of security.

Can I get legally married at Norwich Arts Centre?

Yes! We recently gained a licence as an approved venue for Norfolk.

You can find us on Norfolk County Council’s approved wedding venue list and book a registrar to come to our venue. You should confirm registrars are available on your date before booking with us, however we’re happy to hold a date for a limited time while you arrange this.
We provide the 70 chairs for the ceremony and these will be laid-out and removed by our staff.

We are also able to accommodate ceremonies for more guests, please enquire.

What is the venue capacity?

Norwich Arts Centre works well as a wedding venue for 50-220 people depending on your plans.

Can I get in to the venue the day before or the day after my event?

The hire price covers 9am-12am plus a two hour collection window the next day or the day after that.

It is not usually possible for us to offer access the day before the event. However, for catering purposes our kitchen can be hired at a rate of £25* per hour.

How can I decorate the venue?

We are open to all sorts of decoration ideas as long as they do not cause damage to the venue. The pillars and rigging in our auditorium lend themselves well to bunting and fairy lights. You can see our auditorium dimensions floor plan here.
The pillars are 2.9m tall on one side and 3.4m on the other.

A technician will be available to hang all high-up decorations, health and safety is important to us so only trained members of staff use ladders in the venue. Should you wish to really go to town with hanging decorations, an extra technician is available at the rate of £20/hr, though this is rarely necessary.

Do you have any decorations?

We have strings of festoon lighting, that are available to decorate the venue for your day. Photos of the festoon lighting can be seen here.

Can I hire glassware or crockery, tables and chairs from you?

We have flutes and wine glasses for drinks receptions and table wine, use of these is included in our drink/corkage price.
We also have 70 wooden folding chairs and eight 3ft6in round tables (seat 4-6 ppl) and two 6ftx2.5ft rectangular trestle tables available for hire.
Unfortunately we do not have tableware or crockery but we can point you in the direction of several lovely hire companies that we have worked with before.

Do you offer arrival drinks?

Yes. To welcome your guests, we offer a Prosecco reception service, served in our bright, stylish foyer area. The cost for this is £26.00* per bottle with a minimum order of 10 bottles. This price includes 2hrs service, glassware and a free non-alcoholic alternative for the designated drivers and youngsters.

How much are your drinks and do you charge corkage?

Prices for our reception drinks, table wine and bar are the same at our usual bar menu which you can see here. Corkage is £12 per bottle of wine (75cl) and includes service and glassware. We ask that you bring no more than 40 bottles of table wine and 20 bottles of sparkling wine for arrival drinks or toasts.
Corkage prices for other drinks are available on request.

What staff are included in the price and can I employ extra staff?

Included in the hire fee is a duty manager, security guard, technician and bar staff. We do not include event staff for setting-up (including setting-up tables and chairs), serving food or to help organise on the day.

However, we are able to offer up to two extra staff for serving food or helping with the set up and cleared down of equipment/tables etc (no food prep). The cost for this is £20 per hour per member of staff for a minimum of four hours.
For larger events you may also want an extra technician, price available on request.

Is there anything I need to tell my caterers?

Caterers preparing on the premises will be asked to provide a public liability insurance certificate (they will have this) and are more than welcome to use our well-equipped medium-sized kitchen on the understanding it is returned to the original state at the end of night.

Caterers my also set-up in our garden spaces. You can see this space, including the access gate on street view here.

We’re happy to meet with caterers to show them the venue and advise them on access.

Non-caterers may use our kitchen for laying out cold food but we can’t allow any cooking/heating without a public liability insurance certificate.

What technical equipment do you have?

We have a full PA and lighting system, you can see our technical equipment here.

Can the stage be moved?

Our stage is 5m x 5m wide so we’re, unfortunately, not able to move it easily. However we are able to reduce the depth of the stage so that it is 5m wide x 2.5m deep, The height will remain the same – around 1m. This reconfiguring will take place from 9am on the morning of your event and takes around 1 hour, please enquire about the price for this.

Are there any restrictions I need to know about?

The legal bit… We cannot make amplified noise, including sound-checks, until 5pm, and live music must be finished by midnight. Our back garden closes at 10pm. Our bar can serve alcohol until 12am.

Legal wedding ceremonies include their own restrictions but these will be outlined by your registrar.

How do I book?

Contact Grace (grace@norwichartscentre.co.uk) to arrange and tour of the venue and to book your date. When you come to to book, a 20% deposit is required to hold a date with the remaining balance due 3 months in advance of the date.

*VAT included in the price, as appropriate.