
Anarchy Brew Co. is becoming the newest Newcastle wedding venue
Beloved brewery and proud supporters of Newcastle United, Wor Flags and everything black and white, Anarchy Brew Co. are now the newest kids on the weddings block – and promise you a relaxed, unique wedding venue.
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Award-winning independent brewery Anarchy Brew Co. has long been a favourite watering hole of HLN.
The vibrant, quirky taproom has played host to our after-work drinks, birthday parties and World Cup woes over the years.
But as well as continuing to offer us an exciting range of locally-brewed craft beers and a relaxed meeting place with a cool, quintessentially urban vibe, Anarchy Brew Co. has decided to dive headfirst into the weddings business – and promises a relaxed Newcastle wedding venue bursting with character.
Anarchy Brew Co.’s taproom offers an alternative, industrial events space decorated with colourful wall murals and neon lights, overlooked by stainless steel brewing vessels with large “beer hall” style tables and a bar handcrafted from reclaimed wood. If it’s laidback, boho wedding vibes you’re after, you’ll find it here.
Truth be told, whatever it is you’re looking for, you’ll find it at Anarchy Brew Co.

See, what drives the brewery’s decision to host weddings is a passion for making weddings relaxed again. For ensuring that you, the happy couple, don’t have to stress yourselves out in order to have the best day of your life – nor will you have to feel stuffy or formal if that really isn’t your style.
Anarchy Brew Co. is all about beauty and simplicity and their weddings offering will be supported by local wedding planners, Birdcages and Dragonflies. The wife and husband dream team have turned their love for sourcing unique, vintage, retro and industrial pieces at auctions into a bespoke wedding planning business inspired by the passions of the couples they work with.
We caught up with Dawn from Anarchy Brew Co. and Jane from Birdcages and Dragonflies to find out everything you’ll want to know about one of the most unique wedding venues in Newcastle…
ANARCHY BREW CO.
Newcastle’s newest wedding venue

Why weddings?
The people. During the last couple of years, we were approached by three different couples asking to get married at Anarchy Brew Co.
The first were customers of the taproom. They loved the venue already; the bride’s father was in a band and wanted to play at his daughter’s wedding and we offered the flexibility to make that happen.
The second couple were clients we work with in the Marquee and Wedding Hire industry. They could really see the potential for the venue and loved that we were so flexible in letting them dress the space exactly how they wanted to.
And the groom of the third couple was an employee of ours. At first, he didn’t want to get married at his place of work, but because of Covid restrictions, the venue he and his wife initially chose had to close. They asked us if we could step in and it was such an honour to both host and attend their wedding.
It was while we were guests at that third reception that we realised how good it felt to be at a wedding here. The space looked beautiful, the atmosphere was brilliant, all three couples had been really happy and it felt great to be able to offer the venue to them at a reasonable price. It got us thinking about offering weddings full-time.

How is Anarchy Brew Co. different from other Newcastle wedding venues?
The venue is over 100 years old with loads of character. It’s a brewery with a difference and has a real current, urban feel to it.
In terms of working with us for your wedding, I’d say we’re open to all ideas and that’s what makes us different. Thinking outside the box is what we do. So, whether you want simplicity or a themed wedding day, we’ll be here to make it happen.
When will you officially “open” to wedding bookings?
We have couples booked in now and have started showing new couples around the space, although our official launch will be at the wedding market A Wedding Less Ordinary on 16th April, between 11.30am and 2.30pm.
HLN Top Tip: Birdcages and Dragonflies are offering you the chance to get your ticket for free by using the code AWLOComp at checkout here.
How many guests can Anarchy Brew Co. host?
Couples will have exclusive hire of the venue and we can host 120 daytime (seated) guests, while the venue’s capacity for an evening event is 400 people.

Anarchy is a brewery first and foremost – what role can your beer play in couples’ weddings?
We have a number of ways couples can incorporate our beer into their wedding day:
- Personalised flyers – our designer, Josh, who designs all our flyers and can labels can produce a personalised flyer for our couples to use as their Save The Dates and can also produce personalised labels which can be placed on our Blonde Star cans as their arrival or reception drinks.
- Seating plan – we can also provide beer mats with all guests’ names on them as part of the couple’s seating plans.
- Hen/Stag dos – we carry out brewery tours for large and small groups at the brewery already, so this could be an option for our couples’ hen and/or stag dos. We can provide tours on their actual wedding day, too.
- Food and beer pairings – although our guests are free to bring in any suppliers of their choosing, we have been working with Jack from The Duck House Pantry, who has produced a range of canapésspecifically chosen to be served with shots or tasters of our beer range. He’s also designed a three-course wedding breakfast paired with our beers, so instead of table wine, our couples can order a beer or wine flight for their guests. He’s also designed a late-night snack pack for guests, containing his famous sausage rolls, a can of our beer and other snacks.

How much control can couples have over their wedding at Anarchy Brew Co.?
Couples will have full say on their wedding day – as they should have. They can bring in suppliers of their choice, including caterers and event dressers. Or, if they want to go DIY, we’ll help with any setup when needed. We’ve designed a range of drink packages so, again, couples can have full control over this aspect of the day, too.
Is there capacity for live entertainment?
Yes, the venue has a stage with a full PA set up which couples will have access to on their day, along with a technician who’ll be on hand to manage everything. We have a diary of music events and have great relationships with several different promotors, so can certainly recommend bands to our couples depending on their style, should they need any suggestions. We have a large stage area in front of a large dancefloor, where bands can set up with easy access that isn’t through the main taproom, so there’ll be minimum hassle for couples and their guests.

What’s your vision for weddings at Anarchy Brew Co.?
Simply to allow couples to make their wedding day the day they want it to be here – with or without help from us.
We’ve been trading for 11 years now and our staff are experienced in the weddings and hospitality industries. We provide a very organised, professional service for whatever event we host and will be there throughout a couple’s wedding planning journey and on their special day to ensure everything runs smoothly.
We want people to know that we’ll be very flexible, but that we also have professional staff in place to listen and help with any of their needs.
BIRDCAGES AND DRAGONFLIES
Bespoke wedding planners

Why did you want to help transform Anarchy Brew Co. into a wedding venue?
It was a chance meeting. I was taken on by a local corporate company to dress Anarchy for their Christmas staff party (for 500 people!). While we were setting up, we got chatting with owners Dawn and Simon about the venue. They explained they were wanting to do more weddings after the success of the first three they’d hosted.
At Birdcages and Dragonflies, we tend to specialise in dressing blank wedding spaces. I love working with couples to design a day that reflects them and enables them to feel relaxed with their family and friends. Anarchy Brew Co. allows this, so I immediately knew I wanted to get involved.

Will Birdcages and Dragonflies be working with couples to plan their wedding at Anarchy Brew Co.?
As part of the wedding package, couples have access to our planning service. They’ll also have a coordinator with them on their wedding day, as well as a master of ceremonies.
We’ll have several meetings at Anarchy Brew Co. – looking at the space and designing how the couple would like to make their wedding day their own. We can recommend suppliers to fit their style and help plan the logistics and timescales of their day.
Couples will always be able to bring in any suppliers of their choice to help bring their day to life. We’ll simply help coordinate them. Couples will also be offered time in our studio for any planning meetings and styling consultations, should they need it, and we’ll always be on the end of an email or phone call.

How would you describe your go-to design style?
I have quite a rustic, natural and maybe slightly quirky style. I like to use objects that you maybe wouldn’t normally see in a wedding setting, but which create interest, texture or shape.
I love to repurpose items, both in the sense of creating something out of items at the end of their life (our company started by reclaiming doors and repurposing them into tables), but also repurposing items throughout the day. For example, having bridesmaids’ bouquets that can become part of the tables’ centrepieces or a ceremony backdrop that can become a photo backdrop for guests later on.

Where do you find inspiration?
It sounds cliché, but inspiration can come from anywhere. Usually, I’m inspired by the conversations we have with our couples and what they love most about their venue.
Prior to our first meeting, we tend to ask couples to send us five images from their (normally very extensive) Pinterest mood board. We chat about how they see their day running, which allows me to visualise how the spaces within a venue will be used throughout the day.
We have a full range of all the items we can hire in our studio, so we can see in 3D the different pieces we have to play with. We’ll get the table that either the couple is hiring or the venue is providing, and we’ll physically try out different tablescapes to find out what works.
Once we have a design that the couple is happy with, we’ll work backwards: looking to their ceremony to see where we can use or build on the props and flowers we’ll use on the tables.
Finally, we walk through how guests will travel through the day to ensure that we’re not missing anything and that we can provide different experiences through our style choices whenever and wherever the guests are at any given time.

Suppliers included in the shoot
Venue @anarchybrewco
Planning, styling, furniture @birdcagesdragonflies
Streamer tassels @imaginariumballoonstudio
Flowers @jonesandjonesflowers
Photographer @victoriaspongephotography
Wedding dress @leighhetheringtonbridalwear
Bridesmaids dresses @laura_lea_boutique
Suit @smartassuit
Hair and makeup @clairealexandrahairandmakeup
Cake @francesandraebakes
Stationary and signage @another_loop
Catering @duckhouse_pantry
Celebrant @jennylorimercelebrant
Models @couple.of.scotts @_emilyscottt_ @_syddavies_
Image credit: Victoria Sponge Photography
Anarchy Brew Co. will officially launch as a wedding venue at the wedding market A Wedding Less Ordinary – between 11.30am and 2.30pm on 16th April
To find out more about booking this unique wedding venue, visit Anarchy Brew Co.’s website and follow the brewery on Facebook and Instagram
And for style inspo, DIY wedding hacks and to discover more about working with Birdcages and Dragonflies, visit their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram
Anarchy Brew Co., Unit A1, Benfield Business Park, Benfield Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE6 4NQ