Wedding Venues in Somerset
The breathtaking Somerset wedding venues are one of the main reasons we left London behind earlier this year and moved our business halfway across the country to follow our dreams of becoming wedding photographers in the South West. From Manor Houses to quirky barns, pretty orangeries to country estates, you really are spoilt for choice here in this South West county.
We have only visited a handful of the beautiful wedding venues in Somerset so far and each and every one has blown us away. Every few months we will highlight a selection of the best wedding venues in Somerset and the South West (in our humble opinion) and give you the low down on each venue. This month we have three very different Somerset Venues for you to feast your eyes on.
HOLBROOK MANOR.
English country venues don’t come any better than Holbrook Manor! Set in the Somerset countryside, with breath taking light throughout the venue, this is a modern country wedding venue of your dreams! We asked the senior wedding & events coordinator Helena to tell us more about this stunning country house.
Beautiful wedding dress by Exclusively yours bridal boutique & florals by Flowers by Tidbury
“Holbrook Manor, a quintessential English country house is set in 20 acres of land and makes the perfect setting for an exclusive fairytale wedding, catering for wedding parties both large and small.”
“We have 4 licensed rooms in the main house for your civil ceremony suitable for more intimate weddings to larger weddings of 150 guests. We also have the Summer House for outdoor ceremonies, offering you the utmost intimacy, our Summer House is a wonderful option for a couple who want their big day to have an extra air of romance.”
Make up by Becky Flynn
“At Holbrook we pride ourselves on being as flexible as possible to accommodate every request. There are no restrictions on what suppliers couples would like to use so they can really create their dream day!”
“Weddings never stop at the Manor however September and October seem to be getting very popular months! The house is covered in gorgeous autumnal colours, perfect for photos! Our favourite season at Holbrook is December, we just love a Christmas wedding! The house looks beautiful dressed with real Christmas trees and the roaring fires create such a cosy atmosphere!”
THE OLD MILKING PARLOUR AT CAVOKAY HOUSE.
If you are looking for a barn wedding venue in Somerset set in an idyllic rural setting on the boarders of Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset, with the loveliest, most helpful hosts, then The Old Milking Parlour at Cavokay House is for you! Here , the venue owners Lou & Colin tell us all about their country wedding venue in Somerset.
“The Old Milking Parlour is, as the name implies, an old milking parlour from the days when the land was occupied by a dairy farm. Parts of the building, which is built of the local stone (forest marble), date from the 1730s. The Old Milking Parlour is situated in the beautiful Blackmore Vale which, appropriately enough, Thomas Hardy called 'The Vale of the Little Dairies’. Because the building has such a lot of character and has such warm ambience, we decided - in 2015 - to open it as a wedding venue. Because of this character and warmth, The Old Milking Parlour has been amazingly successful with the year 2020 already being fully booked.”
“There are two areas available for wedding ceremonies: the Old Milking Parlour itself and - for outside weddings - the area under the dovecote on the enclosed courtyard. In the Old Milking Parlour we can accommodate 100 guests seated (for the wedding breakfast itself) and 120 in the evening.”
“We offer completely exclusive use to our wedding couples. This use extends over three days: Day 1: Setting up. Day 2: The wedding, wedding reception and evening fun. Day 3: Clearing and cleaning.”
“We are big on looking after our flora and fauna. It is a real privilege for us to live and work in such a beautiful place. We have nesting swallows and house martins in the oubuildings in the Summer. In our private woods (use of these woods being included in the venue hire) we have stacks of dead branches - stacks which are a home for a plethorea of small animals. In July, the evenings are alight with glow worms. Deer regularly raid our apple trees. There are rabbits, foxes and songbirds galore. Otters often visit the stream whch runs through our woods - the woods and the stream making a fabulous backdrop for unique and beautiful wedding pictures.”
“Our favourite season for weddings, if we had to choose, we think we'd say Spring. A time of newness and fresh spring blooms. A time when everybody's mood lightens with the passing of Winter. A time for looking forward with hope, freshness and the happy prospect of a new beginning - which is exactly what a wedding is.”
MIDELNEY MANOR.
If you are looking for a wedding venue with a warm welcome and a quirky country feel, then Midelney Manor is for you! We asked the the venue owner Alice to tell us all about her summer wedding venue in Somerset.
“Midelney was originally owned by the Abbots of Muchelney and it was their summer retreat. Alice’s family, the Trevilians, were the stewards for the Abbots and looked after all of their land and property. At the time of the dissolution when Henry VIII was disbanding all of the Catholic monasteries, the Trevilians saw an opportunity and nicked all the land and properties from the Abbots! They then build Midelney Manor which was completed in around 1540 and it’s been in Alice’s family ever since!”
“You can get married in the Potting Shed which seats around 110 people or for something more intimate you can get married in the Van Wyk Room which seats around 20 people. We can have up to 150 guests for the day and evening and your wedding is always exclusive, Midelney is yours for the day and night.”
“Midelney is a summer venue because of the beautiful gardens and the Potting Shed is unheated so we do weddings here from the end of May to the middle of September. June and July are always the most popular! We only do ten weddings a year which means that Midelney is a really exclusive venue. Each wedding is completely unique and bespoke as we give our couples the freedom to have their wedding as they wish. “
“Alice, the owner, co-ordinates and oversees everything herself which means you get a really personal service, she’s always at the end of a phone for you! As there are only ten weddings a year, Alice really gets to know each of the couples really well. There is also an abundance of backdrops for photos so photographers always really love coming to Midelney as no two weddings ever look the same!’
Thank you to Holbrook Manor, The Old Milking Parlour and Midelney Manor for taking the time to tell us more about their lovely wedding venues. We hope we have given you some inspiration on finding your dream wedding venue in Somerset. We have to admit, if we were to get married again we would have a hard time choosing from all the wonderful Somerset wedding venues on offer!
If you’d like to see a recent photo shoot at Holbrook Manor, please click here
If you’d like to see more weddings at The old Milking Parlour, please click here
If you’d like to know more of Midelney Manor click here
