All the team were able to meet our dreams of the perfect reception for us with professional, can do but caring attitudes that made all the difference.
We were able to bring our unique ideas and Simon and the team achieved them.
We had afternoon tea with amazing home made cakes, scones and sandwiches then in the evening BBQ for 100 that was again the best butchers quality meat, vegetarian options and delicious side dishes.
The value for money booking here is in the professional, kind team, beautiful setting, quality and the additional touches They all do!!

Wow. Where do I even begin? We got engaged 15 months ago and as soon as we viewed The Departure Lounge as a potential venue, we cancelled all other future venue viewings. From the moment we saw it, we just knew it was the one, and Simon was fantastic. Simon kept in regular contact, happy to answer any questions and amending the invoice as and when. We had exclusive access to the venue 3 days prior to decorate which was handy, and Simon and his team took all decorations down for us, so we didn’t need to stress about doing it! Our big day was yesterday, and it was honestly the most amazing, beautiful and smoothly run day. We have had so many compliments on the venue and food, which was absolutely delicious!!!!! I honestly cannot rave about this place enough, it was truly perfect, everything we ever imagined and SO much more. A massive thank you and shout out to Simon and his team, you are absolute angels and The Departure Lounge Cafe will always have a place in our hearts. 🤍

We had our wedding at The Departure Lounge Cafe and it was the best decision we made! Simon was so accommodating to all our wishes and needs for the day, we were able to create the day we had hoped for! Being able to have the venue three days prior then if day was really ideal, we were able to decorate and take our time setting up our wedding the way we wanted, Simon and his team did do a lot to help too! Our guests have not stopped talking about how amazing our day was from the food to the location to the atmosphere. We also got the cutest handmade gift, which was placed at our table setting. Thank you Simon and your team for helping create the best day ever!

Absolutely stunning venue with the most amazing team making our special day flow without fault! Couldn't recommend more!

I can’t begin to explain how incredible the team at the departure lounge are! We met Simon and the team nearly a year ago when we found the DL online as a wedding venue. We knew as soon as we stepped foot there that it was the only place we wanted to get married. It was the best news for us when Simon got his licence for wedding ceremonies!
Everything leading up to the big day was so relaxed and easy to organise. Simon made the day so personalised to us, allowing us 3 days to decorate the marquee how we wanted, and giving us plenty of opportunities to meet to discuss any questions we had. They also packed everything away for us to pick up, making the day after the wedding so easy!

On the day and leading up to it, no favour was ever too big! The girls were so kind and accommodating and the whole team worked so hard to make sure the day ran smoothly. We opted for the hog roast which was so very tasty…many people commented on the high quality of food! I would not hesitate to recommend the DL as a wedding venue to anyone I know. We’ve had so many messages from our guests saying how beautiful the day was, and this is all thanks to the DL. On top of all that, Simon gifted us a beautiful personalised wooden house that the DL sell in the cafe. We loved our day and hope many others can have the best wedding experience like we did there.

We can’t wait to continue visiting for your amazing cakes and breakfasts!!

Harry and Dominique

We had our wedding celebration here and we could not have chosen a more perfect location. The staff were kind, happy and so helpful. Simon was easy to contact and made the whole experience really enjoyable. We will never forget our day here and cannot thank the team enough for their hospitality and the beautiful venue!

From the initial viewing stage Simon was very relaxed and answered my many many questions that I kept firing at him, there was no rush to look and it had a very chilled atmosphere. When we confirmed he promptly sent us the invoice and we paid our deposit. We were allowed to go in a couple of days before the big day to set up the marquee how we wanted it and there were barely any limitations on what we could have. We had complete creative control which was nice. Fast forward to the day and it was beautiful the lawn looked lovely with our arch on and the hay bales. Once the ceremony was over the reception drinks were ready and Simon and his team discreetly took down our arch and moved the hay to around the fire pits. He checked in and you knew he was there if you needed him but he wasn't pushy or in your face. After lunch they quickly removed some tables and the Dj was moved in it was pretty seamless, the team they have there go out of there way to help when you need and always had a smile. At the end of the evening we didn't have to help tidy or take anything down it was all done and packed for us ready to collect Sunday morning when we went for breakfast. I cannot recommend them all enough.

We had a wonderful wedding party / all round celebration at The Departure Lounge on Saturday and we honestly don't have a bad word to say about the whole experience. It was absolutely perfect and so many guests commented on how lovely the venue was.

From start to finish Simon and the team were absolutely amazing and so lovely, it felt like nothing was too much. The whole vibe at the venue was relaxed, friendly, positive and helpful every time we visited to look at the cafe and marquee and also when we came to set up.

We weren't manically running around trying to set up because we had the venue from the Wednesday, which gave us plenty of time! When the party was finished, Simon and the team took everything down for us so all that was left to do was collect everything.

We had such a fun evening - it was relaxed and there was plenty of dancing, which is exactly what we wanted. We honestly can't thank Simon and the team enough. Even the rain didn't dampen the mood!

If you are looking for an alternative, laid back and fun space that you can bring your own stamp/personality to without having to worry about every single logistic as with blank space venues, this just might be the perfect venue for you.

We’re still buzzing from our wedding at Departure Lounge Cafe, we could not have asked for a better day or for the Departure Lounge to be a more perfect place to host it.

The cafe/bar is decorated with quirky, vintage and antique memorabilia, with a fully stocked bar (we heard compliments on the gin selection and quality of the wine during the day). The marquee was great, more than plenty of room for our 60 guests to sit and dance and the grounds are very well maintained.

It was the perfect middle ground between a blank canvas venue and a standard venue. Plenty of freedom to make the day what we wanted and put our personalities into it, but with a helping hand. There was a lot of flexibility but the venue had so many optional add ons from cakes to decorations to catering if one would like.

I especially loved that this place is not a wedding factory, they only do one wedding a week which meant we got to set up the marquee in advance, weren’t having to clear everything up at the end of the night, and it meant we could feel relaxed making the space look the way we wanted and also felt like there was focus on our day.

We were able to the marquee ourselves with mostly handmade decorations but owner Simon was on hand to answer questions, lend equipment, and make sure all the last minute details were checked off. There were also a lot of cute details that came with the space, from the gardened marquee entrance to a vintage clock near the food area, fairy lights already up in the marquee, fire pits and hay bales for hire, to name a few. All our vendors were able to set up and operate seemlessly and the DLC team were great at making sure people and things were in the right place.

Simon and his team could not have been more accommodating, friendly, helpful, easy going but detail-oriented. We felt incredibly relaxed the entire time dealing with them.

We had the freedom to choose a caterer we had already really wanted for our day food but had our evening food catered by the Departure Lounge and we got lots of compliments on the delicious hog roast, salads and mac and cheese. Our guest left very full and happy!

We had the good fortune of beautiful weather and while we would have loved this place still in the rain, the space was just incredible fully set up. We loved seeing our friends spilling out from the marquee onto the lawn, sitting around the fire pits chatting, playing lawn games, ect. It felt like a very VIP festival and was just the atmosphere we wanted. As one of the marquee’s sides were up on our day, it all felt like one space, apart from the bar area which I was really pleased became a spot for people to have a quiet moment out of the sun and didn’t feel like guests were between two places.

Cannot recommend enough and thank you again to Simon and team for an even better day than we anticipated!

I can hand on heart say this venue made our wedding so amazing. Simon and team are so lovely and helpful. Nothing is too much. Food was amazing, the hog roast is not debatable GET IT. Simon even ended up organising our band too I actually didn’t have a clue what was happening after we picked it he just took control and sorted it all out. Loads of time to set up venue but the perk of not taking it down-luckily while you might have a sore head. Thank you once again xxx

Simon and the rest of the staff at departure lounge were absolutely amazing, they went above and beyond to help and make our day run as smoothly as possible :) thank you so so much!

We had our beautiful wedding at the Departure lounge for 150 guests and Simon and his team couldn't have been anymore amazing. From start to finish they helped us in organising the day and ensuring everything went perfect on the day itself. They were such a chilled yet professional team that really put us at ease. Great prices and a really beautiful venue. We would highly recommend The Depaefure Lounge to anyone!

We can’t recommend this venue highly enough! A beautiful ball tent marquee with a ceiling of fairy lights surrounded by a large field and backdrop of stunning trees and a gorgeous retro style bar fully stacked with a wide selection of generously priced drinks. The friendly and professional staff really can not do enough for you, always there with a smile and nothing was too much trouble! We had access to the venue for 3 days before the wedding to setup, during this time we had lunch and coffees in the cafe, all absolutely delicious! On the day the staff were so lovely to our guests and made sure everything went exactly to plan. The amazing team then packed everything down for us afterwards meaning all we had to do was swing by to collect it! Absolutely seamless, definitely recommend!

We discovered the Departure Lounge whilst searching for a wedding venue in Hampshire. We knew the first time we visited that this was the perfect place for our needs. This was in February 2020, and we set the date for late July 2021 - as you can imagine, there was a lot of uncertainty about the day right up until the week beforehand due to the pandemic. Simon was very reassuring throughout this period, and thankfully our intended date fell on the first weekend after wedding restrictions were lifted. Despite us only being able to finalise our arrangements at the last minute, Simon and his team put everything together perfectly, going above and beyond for us. Nothing was too big an ask, and the day was very special for us and the guests.

If you are looking for a wedding venue that you can personalise and have lots of flexibility with suppliers and decoration, but you still have an amazing team on hand to help with logistics and organision, then we highly recommend the Departure Lounge - it is also perfect if you are looking for a 'festival' style wedding venue. We chose Simon's hog roast for our meal, which was fantastic and well received by the guests. There is a marquee already on site, so you do not need to hire this separately. We had 120 guests, which the venue comfortably fitted. We used external suppliers for evening food and our entertainment, and Simon helped them all set up on the day with no problem. He also had backup plans for incleement weather, but luckily the rain (just about) held off. I should also mention that the final cost was extremely affordable.

Aside from our wedding, we have popped in regularly for lunch and the food is always fantastic (we recommend the cheese and chips and Sophie's malteaser cheesecake if you're lucky enough to be there on a day it appears!), and we always have a lovely welcome. We cannot recommend the place highly enough.

Thank you so much Simon and the team for our wonderful wedding day!

From the moment we held our son’s christening here in 2022, I knew this is the place I’d get married. Simon and the team are the most accommodating, adaptable, friendly people and deserve a medal for putting up with us and our requests. No question went unanswered, no request was too much. Simon never ever left me waiting for a reply and encouraged us to visit the venue as often as we needed to set the scene. We had 3 whole days to set up (not that we needed it as Simon and the team were on hand to make everything look perfect before we arrived). He liaised with our suppliers and kept us updated constantly! He knew exactly what we wanted and exceeded all expectations! The following morning (with some sore heads) we arrived to undress the venue to find most of it had been done for us and our cards and gifts locked safely away. He even let my son have a ride on the lawn mower! My only regret from the day was not having our ceremony at the departure lounge as they make it look so beautiful! The highest recommendations go to Simon and the team at the departure lounge and we’re already looking for another excuse to throw a party here.