Wedding venues in East Flanders

East Flanders has many faces. Around Ghent and along the Leie you will find castles with parkland and hotels on the water. In the Meetjesland, between Ghent and Bruges, venues are more often repurposed buildings and spacious party halls in the countryside. The Waasland has a few castle estates, and the Dender region around Aalst and Dendermonde has classic party halls and an old watermill. In the Flemish Ardennes, around Oudenaarde, it is mostly restored farmhouses and barns in a hilly landscape.

The civil wedding takes place in your own municipality: at the town hall or at another location the municipality designates. The party venue can be elsewhere. If so, think about the distance between the two, especially if guests have to drive between the ceremony and the reception. If you want to keep it simple, choose a venue where the (symbolic) ceremony, reception and dinner can all happen in one place.

If guests are coming from far away, look at overnight stays as well. Only some venues have rooms on site; others refer to hotels or B&Bs nearby. Ghent, Aalst, Dendermonde, Sint-Niklaas, Eeklo and Oudenaarde have a train station, but most rural venues are easiest to reach by car or shuttle bus.

How to choose

Count your guests per moment first: who comes to the reception, who stays for dinner. A venue for 200 at a reception is not always a venue for 200 at the table. Then ask how the venue handles catering, how late music may play and what the hire price includes. The overview page lists what to look for and which questions to ask on a visit.

Choosing a wedding venue: what to look for →