Smeetham Hall Barn

A little review.... So...how do I begin such a post....... My experience with this venue has been so positive, even though as a result of the current COVID crisis, we’ve had to postpone our wedding twice. (May 2020 > August 2020 > to February 2021) 🥂COVID has totally stuffed up our day, but from day one right through to now, Bridget and the team have been BLINDING. This has been a rather stressful, full of tears and a disappointing time for the wedding industry, couples spend years saving for their big day and some spend a huge sum of money on their dream day (average wedding now is what, 20k?). I’ve read horror stories in the news about couples losing £1000’s and being told to cough up cancellation fees etc. Insurers not covering claims, holiday weddings abroad just disappearing and no one giving couples a second thought.... HOWEVER...from day one of this whole fiasco - Bridget has been right there, remaining in contact, providing support, offering the best alternative, being empathetic and being very passionate about giving us the day we deserve. We booked a package with Smeetham Hall, which is also another reason to go with this venue as Splinters (the in house type catering company) create such delicious meals and Cyla helps you with any question you may have. From how many bottles of wine to buy for your guests, to what food goes well with what drink, how not to overload the palette with chocolate. The package is also great because in circumstances such as this a lot of the admin work is done by Bridget who will email all the suppliers (DJ, videotographer - as this is included in some packages), so you don’t have to do the leg work. ALSO THE VENUE HAS NO CORKAGE FEE🍾🍾🍾🍾🍾. The venue it’s self is beautiful, you do not need to spends £1000’s on flowers or decorations because the place just has so much charm, character and warmth. It’s cosy (in a sense that it’s not so massive you need 1000 people to fill the space). For me, I want the day to feel intimate (even with 100 people in the room - they do cater for more) as it is about you and your future husband/wife. The house in front of the lake is STUNNING, even just the simple thing of driving up the long gravel road to the venue gets you all excited, the barn itself just reminds me of the Tudor period (and I love that kind of thing - I prefer historical and quirky to modern and plain). It can be decorated how you wish with big bright lights, outdoor torches (which they had on the open day and it looked so romantic). A car can pull up right to the door of the venue and the aisle seating is a few steps away, this is important for us as my mother and father in law are disabled. The facilities are clean, there is also a marquee where you move to have reception drinks which you can decorate as you wish. But like I said previously, the place doesn’t need a lot, it’s so beautiful! Yes I guess I should be devastated our day has been delayed but I am far from it because in reality this rubbish situation is totally out of our control. So rather than be fed up and let COVID drain the excitement out of me, I am looking forward to our day in February 2021. Come rain or shine, it will be lovely, amazing and special with our family and friends. I think I’ve realised now that to get what you want out of a company/service you need to go with people who’s are passionate about what they do. When people hear the word wedding they just want to make money out of you, that is not the case here. They leave everything up to you, they’re not pushy and they’re not ridiculously over priced, you get what you pay for and a whole lot more. I’m kind of glad it’s been delayed as it creates a bigger build up! Here’s to February 2021 and to the best day ever! Cheers! Lucy and Dean xxxxxxx

Dear Bridget, Sophie and all at Smeetham, We wanted to send you (a little belated) a huge, huge THANK YOU for all you provided for our beautiful wedding. We have finally got settled after a wonderful honeymoon, Christmas and New Year and look very fondly over our wedding day! We could not have asked for more at Smeetham. You gave us a perfect day and we are honestly so grateful. We felt so loved and looked after and wish we could do it all over again! Wishing you the best for 2020.

Hello all at Smeetham, Damien and I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for the most amazing day yesterday. It was everything we dreamed of and we are over the moon with how it all went - largely due to all your help! So many people commented on how beautiful the place was, how helpful and gracious the staff were, and you did everything possible to make our day so amazing. THANK YOU! We will send you some snaps soon!

Dear Bridget Just writing to say a huge thank you to you and your team for making our Wedding Day so special. We had such a fabulous time. All of our guests loved the venue as much as we did. All of your suppliers were great to deal with and made the whole experience so stress free. This is of course a reflection on you and confirmed our confidence in you formed at our first meeting about a year ago! Sending our best wishes.

An amazing venue, an incredibly supportive team and honest to god the best day of my life. If you are looking for a beautiful, versatile space to celebrate your wedding day then look no further. I love looking at all the couples styling choices that have got married here as it really can look so different and personal and that’s why I fell in love with it so much. Thank you so, so much for everything. Truly was the perfect day.

What can we say…everything was absolutely perfect! Smeetham Hall was the first venue we looked at after getting engaged, and we didn’t need to see many others to realise this was absolutely where we wanted to have our day. Bridget, Lizzie and Sophie are fantastic – they had all the time and patience in the world for us, and we knew everything was in hand every step of the way. They could not have been more accommodating and the everything on the day ran flawlessly. Our guests loved the venue as much as us, we had so many lovely comments on how amazing the day was. Thank you so much to all for making our day so special.

Bridget and the team, THANK you from the bottom of our hearts for everything. Our wedding day was simply PERFECT! Love, Lauren and Sam

Hi Bridget We would just like to say a massive thank you for yesterday. We had an amazing day. All our guests were in awe of it all. Alison & Craig x

To Bridget, Sophie and Lizzie, Thank you so, so much for making our wedding day perfect in every way! Before, during and after the wedding you have been so supportive and helpful. Made my organising so much easier – so thank you! We loved every minute of our day, so many special memories and moments we will never forget. Bridget, you were just amazing, thank you for everything. Lots of love The New Mr & Mrs Ainscough haha xx

Hi Bridget, Sophie, Lizzie and the rest of your fabulous team, Now the dust has settled and we've had our professional photos back, we just wanted to send you the biggest thank you for our perfect day. We can't fault how things went - from start to finish it was just wonderful and we didn't stop smiling all day long. Everything was perfect - the service, the decorations... everything! We wanted to say what a joy it's been working with you to plan our wedding day during the past 2 years. Your kindness, professionalism and helpfulness has been second to none throughout the whole process and we've felt nothing but supported and respected, regardless of any queries or difficulties. It was all just fabulous from start to finish and after hearing about some of the horror stories other unfortunate couples have had dealing with suppliers elsewhere, we count ourselves really fortunate. We're really going to miss our trips to the barn!