There are wedding venues where somebody can add a few hay bales if requested.

Hank’s Ranch has gone rather further.

Hidden away in West Norfolk is a small Wild West town built by Hank and Sarah after years of travelling through America, Canada and the Rockies.

There is a Saloon.

There is a General Store.

There is a Church.

There is a Jail.

And yes, you can get married there.

Well, almost.

DO THE PAPERWORK. THEN HAVE THE WEDDING YOU ACTUALLY WANT.

Hank’s isn’t licensed for legal marriages, so couples need to complete the official bit separately at a registry office.

The ceremony at the ranch is celebrant-led or symbolic.

That might sound like a compromise.

It could also be rather liberating.

Once the paperwork is dealt with, the day itself can be shaped around the couple rather than the requirements of a licensed ceremony room.

And this is emphatically not a wedding factory.

Hank’s offers celebrations ranging from an elopement for two to intimate weddings of around 20 people and tipi weddings for up to 40.

Small enough that you should probably know everybody’s name.

Large enough that somebody will still make an unfortunate speech.

THE WEDDING GETS A WEEKEND

The nicest idea might be that you don’t simply hire the place for an afternoon.

Wedding bookings can take over the ranch for two nights.

That changes the rhythm completely.

People arrive. Settle in. Have drinks. Get married. Eat. Dance. Sit around the fire. Go to bed.

Then everybody wakes up there the next morning, hopefully with marriages and friendships still intact.

The three Western cabins sleep six adults between them, and they are rather more comfortable than their frontier names suggest.

Which also creates the unusual possibility of getting married in Norfolk and spending your wedding night in jail.

Try getting that from a country-house hotel.

THEN THERE’S THE SALOON

For smaller weddings, the Saloon can become the heart of the whole thing: drinks, music, dancing and the later parts of the night.

Larger celebrations can add a tipi alongside it, linked into the ranch with festoon lights.

Couples have considerable freedom over what happens next.

Bring a caterer. Bring a food truck. Have a band. Have a DJ. Go acoustic. Decorate everything.

Or leave the building to do some of the work for you.

Because that is Hank’s great advantage if Country & Western is genuinely your thing.

You don't have to explain the theme to the venue.

HOW WESTERN WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO?

There is cowboy stew.

There are s’mores around the fire.

There is a wood-fired hot tub.

And, should matrimonial dignity have survived too long into the evening, there is the possibility of adding a mechanical rodeo bull.

At that point, the first dance may no longer be the event carrying the greatest potential for injury.

But none of it is compulsory.

That matters.

The best version of a Country wedding probably isn’t one where every guest is ordered into fancy dress and the cake has six plastic horses on it.

It is somewhere with enough genuine character that you can choose how far to take things.

Hank and Sarah have already built the Western town.

All you have to decide is who gets invited.

HANK’S RANCH — USEFUL LINKS

Before you book: Wedding packages, guest numbers, suppliers and availability can change. Hank’s Ranch ceremonies are not legal marriages, so check the current arrangements directly with the venue when planning your day.