The Oak Barn
A threshing barn from the 1790s with oak trusses, limewashed walls and heating under the flagstones. Dinner on long tables, then the dance floor.
Seats200 for dinner
Married on the lawn, dancing in the barn
An oak barn, a walled garden and a ceremony lawn beside the mere, for weddings of up to 200 guests. We host one wedding a day, so the estate is yours from ten in the morning until midnight.
200guests seated for dinner
1 weddingon the estate each day
14 hoursof the estate to yourselves
- Ceremonies by the mere
- Restored oak barn
- Walled garden
- Up to 200 guests
Six spaces on one estate
Each space sits within a two minute walk of the next on level gravel paths, so guests move from the vows to drinks to dinner without a coach or a long walk in heels.
The Ceremony Lawn
A level lawn at the edge of the mere, framed by weeping willows. The chairs face the water and the afternoon light falls behind your guests.
Seats200 in rows
The Walled Garden
Old brick walls, roses and a long lawn for drinks, lawn games and group photos, with festoon lights strung across it for the evening.
Standing250 guests
The Orchard Room
A glass fronted room among the apple trees for smaller ceremonies, the rain plan, or a calm corner for older guests later on.
Seats60 guests
The Hayloft Suite
Two rooms above the stables for getting ready, with long mirrors, good daylight and a small balcony over the courtyard.
Open from10:00
The Cart Shed Bar
Open oak bays turned into a bar with a log burner, run by our own team from the drinks reception until last orders.
Standing120 guests
Venue packages
Every package includes sole use of the spaces listed, tables, chairs and linen, a venue coordinator and the team that sets up and clears away. Food and drink are planned with you separately.
Midweek wedding
from$6,800
- The estate from 10:00 to midnight
- Vows on the lawn or in the Orchard Room
- Long oak tables, chairs and linen
- Your coordinator throughout the day
Weekend wedding
from$11,900
- All six spaces from 10:00 to midnight
- Hayloft Suite for getting ready
- Festoon lights over the walled garden
- Two planning meetings and a final walk round
Small wedding
from$3,600
- Ceremony and dinner in the Orchard Room
- Walled garden for drinks and photos
- Monday to Thursday dates
- Add the barn for dancing at $1,200
A deposit of 25 percent secures the date once the agreement is signed, and the balance falls due eight weeks before the wedding. Catering is quoted by the caterer you choose from our list.
How a Saturday at Willowmere usually runs
Most couples follow a shape close to this one. Move any part of it to suit you; only the end of the night is fixed.
| Time | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 | Suppliers arrive and the coordinator opens the estate | Whole estate |
| 11:00 | Hair, makeup and the photographer upstairs | Hayloft Suite |
| 14:00 | The ceremony, with the chairs facing the mere | Ceremony Lawn |
| 14:45 | Drinks, lawn games and group photos | Walled Garden |
| 17:00 | Dinner and speeches at the long tables | Oak Barn |
| 19:30 | Evening guests arrive and the bar opens | Cart Shed Bar |
| 20:00 | First dance, then the band or the DJ | Oak Barn |
| 23:30 | Last song and last orders | Oak Barn |
| 00:00 | Taxis collect from the courtyard | Courtyard |
Amplified music stops at 23:30 under the terms of our licence, and the estate closes at midnight.
From first visit to the wedding day
One coordinator looks after your date from the viewing onwards, so you never explain the plan twice.
Come for a viewing
Walk the barn, the gardens and the lawn with the coordinator, and see where the rain plan goes.
Hold the date
We pencil the date in for seven days at no cost while you talk it over at home.
Sign and pay the deposit
The agreement and a 25 percent deposit turn the pencilled date into your date.
Plan it together
Meetings at six months and six weeks settle the layout, the timings and your suppliers.
Final walk round
Ten days before, you walk the estate once more and the coordinator confirms every detail.
Ready for sunshine, ready for rain
The lawn by the mere is where most summer couples marry, and the barn is ready for the days when the weather turns. At ten in the morning your coordinator checks the forecast with you and makes the call together, so guests are never left guessing.
On a wet day the chairs move into the Orchard Room or the barn with its big doors thrown open to the garden. Umbrellas wait by every door, and the gravel paths between the spaces drain within minutes of a shower.
- Weather call made with you at 10:00
- Forty large umbrellas for guests
- Patio heaters for the walled garden
- A covered walkway from the barn to the bar
Around the estate
Ceremonies, dinners and late evenings across the seasons at Willowmere.
Couples on their day (example reviews)
The weather call at ten took every worry away. We married in the barn with the doors open to the garden, and nobody minded the rain for a moment.
Having the whole estate meant our families could take their time over everything. The coordinator kept the day moving without anyone noticing her do it.
Fifty of us in the Orchard Room felt every bit as special as a big wedding. Photos in the walled garden at sunset were the best part.
What couples ask before they book
Can we bring our own caterer?
Most couples choose from our list of five caterers who know the barn kitchen well. Another caterer is welcome for a kitchen fee of $650, as long as they hold the insurance and food safety certificates that local rules require.
Can the ceremony be the legal part of the day?
Where a marriage can legally take place differs from country to country, and sometimes between regions. Willowmere holds the approval our local authority asks for ceremonies on the lawn and in the Orchard Room, and your registrar or celebrant handles the paperwork.
What time does the music finish?
Amplified music stops at 23:30 and guests leave by midnight, which is a condition of our licence and keeps the peace with our neighbours. Acoustic music on the lawn ends at 21:00.
Do you run the bar?
Our own team runs the Cart Shed Bar. You can supply the wine for dinner with corkage of $12 a bottle, and we chill it and pour it at the tables.
Can we have confetti, candles and sparklers?
Petal confetti is welcome outdoors. Candles in the barn must sit inside glass lanterns, and sparklers are used on the lawn with the coordinator there and a bucket of sand nearby.
Is the estate accessible?
The barn, the walled garden and the lawn are linked by level paths, and there is an accessible toilet beside the barn. The Hayloft Suite is up a staircase, so we can set up a ground floor room for getting ready instead.
What if we have to cancel?
Let us know in writing as soon as you can. More than twelve months before the wedding we refund the deposit less $500; after that the deposit is kept, though we offer to move you to any open date within eighteen months.
Book a viewing or ask about a date
Tell us the date you have in mind and roughly how many guests you expect. Within one working day we reply with what is open on that date, the nearest alternatives and times when you could come and see the estate.
- Viewings on weekdays and Saturday mornings
- Dates pencilled in for seven days at no cost
- No invoice until you decide to go ahead
Visit the estate
Viewings are by appointment so the coordinator can walk round with you. Call in office hours, or email whenever suits you.
Reach the venue
A farm estate in rolling countryside, about 40 minutes from the city by car
Office and viewings
| Monday to Friday | 09:30 to 17:30 |
| Saturday | Viewings 09:30 to 12:30 |
| First Sunday | Open day 11:00 to 15:00 |
Open days
On the first Sunday of each month the barn is dressed as it would be for a wedding, and two of our caterers serve tasting plates. Places are kept for twenty couples, so mention it when you enquire.
Ask about an open day