For a small wedding, the meal can carry most of the celebration. There is time to talk to everyone you invited, room for a few words, and the pleasure of sitting down together after the ceremony rather than standing around waiting for it to be over.
Decide which part of the wedding you are booking
Be specific in the first message. A meal straight after a ceremony has different timing needs from a dinner the evening before, and a gathering the next day wants a gentler start and some give for guests with ferries. Tell us your proposed arrival time, numbers and which part of the celebration you would like to hold here. If something is undecided, say so; that is normal.
This guide is about the meal. Arrange the ceremony separately and work out how everyone gets from one to the other. Booking a dining room does not include ceremony facilities or the services of a full wedding venue, and it is better to know that now than in the planning spreadsheet.
Choose the room around your guests
One long table with a window onto the kitchen and a view into the wine cellar. Close, quiet, better for a table that wants to talk across itself.
The larger room with its own bar and sliding doors. Better if there is a toast, a speech, or a couple who want to move around the table between courses.
With one long table the plan is part of how the meal feels. Put the people who will enjoy each other together; there is no obligation to copy a convention that makes the table less comfortable.
Both rooms are on the lower ground floor and there is no step-free access. Ask your guests before you confirm, and tell us at the start of the enquiry.
Give the meal a clear shape
Agree when guests arrive, when you expect to sit, and where any speeches fall. If photographs happen between the ceremony and the meal, put them in the timetable you share with us; the kitchen paces service to it.
Talk through the menu and the drinks together. A clear budget helps, especially if it has to run from the first glass to coffee. Ask for the agreed details in writing: price per head, what is included, extras, and the terms that apply to your booking. Our wine guide will make that conversation easier; think about styles your guests enjoy and how you want drinks offered, and choose the bottles once the menu is settled.
Make the personal details easy to arrange
Flowers, a cake, place cards: ask how and when they can be delivered and whether anything needs storing before guests arrive. Confirm what can be provided and whether there is a charge. Collect menu choices and dietary requirements in one list; we need them five days before the booking, so give your guests a deadline a week earlier than that.
Our milestone dinner guide covers seating and speeches in more detail, and the group dining guide covers numbers and budgets. If you are still at an earlier chapter of the story, the proposal guide is there too.
Begin with a conversation
Send your preferred date, approximate numbers and a short description through The Cellar enquiry page, and ask about availability for the event rather than assuming the restaurant’s seasonal hours cover every private booking. A small wedding meal deserves careful planning; once it is agreed, the aim is simple. A table where the people closest to you enjoy being part of the day.
Questions we get asked
Can we hold the ceremony at Royal Maritime House?+
No. The Cellar is a private dining room, not a licensed ceremony venue. Hold the ceremony elsewhere and come to us for the meal.
How many guests can you seat for a wedding meal?+
8 to 16 in The 1982, 10 to 20 in The 1945. For more than twenty, tell us and we will suggest what is possible on your date.
Is there a hire fee or minimum spend?+
No room hire fee and no minimum spend. A £10 per guest deposit, not refundable, and menu choices five days ahead.
Can guests with limited mobility reach The Cellar?+
Both rooms are downstairs and there is no step-free access. Please tell us about any requirements at the start of the enquiry.