Barn Wedding Venue
By Wedding Specialist Jayne
When I’m showing couples around for their first viewing at The Ashes Barns, I am always conscious of the fact that many of them may have no idea what to expect from a Barn Wedding Venue.
Civil Ceremony Barn
It was only a relatively recent change in the law that means couples now have the option to get married somewhere other than in church or at a registry office. Certainly, many of the couple’s parents have never been to a wedding that wasn’t in church, let alone a Barn Wedding Venue.
The Ashes Barns lends itself beautifully to the occasion, managing to be both formal and relaxed at the same time. There are two Grade II* Listed barns at The Ashes. The civil ceremony barn, which we term The West Barn, is the oldest building on the site, built in the 16th Century I am always amazed by how much natural light floods into the barn.
During its restoration many of its original features were saved, including the many mullioned windows all of which are delightfully unique. The warm tones of the stone make the barn so inviting and the acoustics are fabulous, quite often rendering the microphone we supply redundant.
Banqueting in The East Barn
Across the flagged courtyard the wedding breakfast barn, which we call The East Barn, is even more impressive. I love watching the couple’s faces as they enter the main banqueting area, they literally stop in their tracks. However carefully we try to capture the atmosphere of this barn in photographs, nothing compares to seeing it for yourself.
Its height is the first thing that strikes you about this Barn Wedding Venue, the gorgeous beams crisscrossing the ceiling 30ft above are just gorgeous. The other thing that people always say is that it is much wider than they expected it to be and in winter, how much warmer than they expected it to be! The old stone offers the best of both worlds it keeps the barns cool in summer and contains heat to keep them toasty warm in winter.
Original Charm
Throughout the venue you can appreciate all the original charm of these historical buildings but enjoy the contemporary twist we’ve added to make it really work as an attractive, welcoming venue for today’s modern couples.
The best thing I ever heard at a viewing was the mother of the bride, who turned to her daughter and future son-in-law at the end of the viewing and said to them, “now I understand... you want a ‘Barn Wedding Venue’; you just want the poshest barn I’ve ever seen!”