A wedding in a windmill, and it’s even near the beach. Cley Windmill in Norfolk is a strictly bijou option, with a maximum capacity of 20 people for a ceremony in the round sitting room. Bedrooms are also available, should you be making a weekend of it.

Sitting your guests in a swimming pool sounds slightly bonkers, but when it’s as fetching and, importantly, devoid of water as Victoria Baths in Manchester, one is forgiven. The ceremony can take place on the bottom of the Gala Pool, while there are five different spaces in total for receptions. Swimming caps not necessary (unless that’s your thing).

Image courtesy of James Tracey Photography

A truly unusual venue presents itself at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Hampshire –the opportunity to get wed on the submarine HMS Alliance. The ceremony can be onboard or you and your guests can have a guided tour, while there’s room for a reception in the futuristic John Fieldhouse building with harbour views.

Forgive us, but a lot of hotel weddings can end up a little… beige. The Aviator in Hampshire, however, is a boutique hotel specialising in jet-set glamour – the stunning contemporary design draws from an aeronautic theme. 

There’s an atrium and sky lounge, and a wedding service that can go as luxurious as you want, including a car and chauffeur for the whole weekend, a hotel room full of high-end gifts and even a private jet to whisk you away on honeymoon, should your budget stretch to that of course.

Castell Coch is a gothic Revival castle in Cardiff surrounded by woodland. The colourful interior, OTT furnishings and fairy-tale setting will definitely make any bride or groom feel like royalty. Ceremonies take place in the drawing room, though with room for only 30 people and no space for a reception, the party will have to move elsewhere.

Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire dates back to the 11th century and boasts some fantastic ruins and stunning views for your wedding pictures. Don’t worry – there’s also a great hall that even has a roof and everything. The site is not short of reports of ghosts mind, so if that’s your bag, look into the torchlit midnight weddings now on offer.

Cornglaze Caverns in Cornwall offers four locations to tie the knot, one being on the shores of a dramatic underground lake in a candlelit chamber. It’s only licensed for up to 35 guests, but there’s a larger cavern with space for up to 400 people. Prepare yourself for a walk to meet your beau with the latter though – the aisle is 80 metres long.

Yes, you can wed in an actual palace. There are four venues in Hampton Court Palace just outside London, including The King’s Guard Chamber, which is adorned with 3,000 swords, bayonets, muskets and pistols (not for battling the new in-laws, we hasten to add). The spaces are luxurious and regal, there’s 60 acres of garden for incredible photo ops and a maze – what wedding doesn’t need a maze?

The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland is home to this impressive treehouse which offers a beautiful, fairy-tale setting of wood, greenery and twinkling lights, private decking, rope walkways and log fires. Up to 85 seated guests can enjoy proper storybook surroundings.

If it’s the wow factor you’re after, this iconic London landmark will surely deliver. The Gherkin offers wedding ceremonies up on level 39 with sweeping views of St Paul’s Cathedral and the rest of the cityscape. Champagne under the glass dome at sunset sounds pretty unbeatable.

There are several lighthouses available for weddings in the UK, but Nash Point Lighthouse in Glamorgan is actually still operational. It’s ideal for intimate ceremonies – there’s a maximum of 25 guests over two floors.

Dine in style at The Scotch Whisky Experience, surrounded by an impressive selection of whiskies on all walls. The private vault can cater for 10 guests total with an intimate, exclusive and wholly VIP experience, but there are larger locations on site too with access to the same overwhelming choice of fuel for your ceilidh.

The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth can seat up to 130 guests (on dry land) with a serene sea-life backdrop in the form of the Eddystone Reef exhibit. The ceremony can’t be done here, but you can have a reception complete with watery well-wishers.

Plymouth, Devon national-aquarium.co.uk

Whether just for the ceremony or for a full reception, a stunning beach wedding on your own doorstep can’t be bad – judiciously timed of course. Bournemouth Beach is the first beach in England and Wales able to host legal wedding ceremonies, and the following party can be as big or small as you like, and continue the theme with fish and chips or a beach barbecue.

130 guests can watch you marry in a Norman keep, built in 1140, in the heart of the Essex countryside. Couples can wed in a candlelit ceremony in the banqueting hall, before either a marquee reception on the lawn or a castle reception in the keep (from February 2016), before ambling along to a cottage set in its very own orchard.

The ever-raucous Cafe de Paris, where Orson Welles and Vivian Leigh took a spin on the dance floor, opened in 1924 and can be hired for your very own show, ahem, wedding reception. The club is well used to cabaret and burlesque acts, so make use of the stage and the flamboyant sweeping staircases to host a super-glamorous, decadent bash in the capital.

Forget stately homes: this National Trust property involves a neoclassical 18th-century rotunda. Set in Downhill Demesne and Hezlett House in Castlerock in Northern Ireland, Mussenden Temple was built in 1783 as a library for an eccentric Earl to gift his niece and perches in picturesque fashion on a cliff top. The space is available March to September.

Fancy a wedding in a real Napoleonic fort, complete with cannon, drawbridge and walls eight feet thick? While that might sound imposing, Polhawn Fort in Cornwall is set in a beautiful secluded spot, and inside it’s all spiral staircases, vaulted ceilings and windows with incredible sea views. 

Choose between The Grand Napoleonic Hall or an outdoor summerhouse, and nip to the beach for pictures. No corkage charges and a dog friendly policy make for an all-too-rare flexible venue.

This East London warehouse (previously a mechanics, hence the name MC Motors) comes minus a wedding licence, but with masses of space and an Aladdin’s cave of vintage props. Don’t be put off by the idea of transforming a warehouse – the skylight roofing, textured walls and photo-shoot leftovers are all part of the industrial charm.

Moving onto an underground theme, Wookey Hole Caves in Somerset can accommodate intimate weddings and larger ceremonies of up to 100 people. The acoustics for live music are said to be amazing, and there’s a restaurant (above ground) for receptions too.

You can marry on this ship in London, though it’s permanently moored (which might be a good thing where more lubricated guests are concerned). HMS President (1918) has a presidential suite, a gun room and a ballroom available, while higher-end packages even include a saxophone soloist and speedboat rides. 

The ship is currently decked out in eye-catching dazzle camouflage, a technique used in WW1 that didn’t avoid notice, but made it difficult for enemies to judge distance and direction. An effect we’re all familiar with at weddings.

Borough Market is London’s oldest market and licensed for weddings. The impressive, high-ceilinged Market Hall has a 250-person capacity, while Three Crown Square can host up to 200 people, and has a fully restored Victorian glass and ironwork roof. And of course, what better location for fans of street food? Fabulous.

While we wait for actual orbit weddings to become a thing, geek out with the National Space Centre in Leicester. Celebrate your union surrounded by unique exhibits and space-related artefacts, explore the Rocket Tower and dance your first dance under the stars in the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium (the UK’s largest planetarium). Excellent photo opportunities guaranteed.

This charming clapperboard house on the Kent coastline is a licensed venue, and weddings can take place on the veranda or in the summer cabin. Built in 1906 with New England-style features, it can host 60 guests for ceremonies and 80 evening guests. Colder weather calls for the log fire in the sitting room. The location means fish and chips or the beach or a meadow picnic are sweet, relaxed wedding breakfast options.

If your dream has always been the strangely specific fantasy of exchanging vows in the vicinity of a Tyrannosaurus rex, the Great North Museum is happy to oblige. All of the rooms and galleries are licensed so take your pick of ceremonies, buffets and drinks receptions across the venue.

Marquees, tipis and yurts are well-known wedding options, but The Arabian Tent Company offers something different. As well as their themed interiors, bell tents and boudoirs, they now offer stretch tents – canvas palaces to fit pretty much any location. Ideal for difficult patio or garden spaces as they can be attached to buildings, and the company will dress and drape them as you see fit.

While you can’t actually wed inside the Cutty Sark itself, you can have the ceremony under the hull in what definitely makes for an unusual venue. For the reception, there’s the Queen’s House, a 17th century classical villa, or there’s the Royal Observatory Greenwich or National Maritime Museum to keep every part of your wedding day in the heart of a world-famous UNESCO site.

As one lucky bride asked, “How many places can you have dinner right next to Rembrandts, Gainsboroughs and Canaletto?” Have your wedding ceremony and reception surrounded by fine art at the Dulwich Picture Gallery: more than 300 old masters adorn the walls of the Soane Gallery, and up to 120 people can dine at one long table running the length of the room, while marquees in the landscaped gardens can also be arranged.

Marrying at The Little Theatre in Bath is a cinematic experience, from the personalised old-school tickets for your guests (that you can use as invitations) to faux film trailers on the big screen and drinks and popcorn served by usherettes. It’s a little cosy for a reception, but as a ceremony venue (you say your vows on stage in front of the screen) it’s a picture-perfect start to married life.