South Farm’s September Open House Highlights
A massive thank you to everyone who joined us for our Open House on Sunday. It was such a pleasure welcoming so many wonderful, newly engaged couples to our countryside barn wedding venue in Hertfordshire and hearing all about your exciting wedding day plans.
We loved sharing and talking through our charming spaces with you, giving you a real glimpse into how a wedding day unfolds here at South Farm. The glorious late-summer sunshine made the day feel even more special, letting guests wander through our Dahlia-filled Kitchen Garden and grounds at their very best — with our miniature donkeys, of course, making a few charming appearances along the way.
Our gardens and venue spaces were all beautifully decorated with the season in mind by our talented ‘Recommended Florist’, Sally from Halo Blossom. Thank you, Sally — your creative floral flair really brought our charming barns to life.
The Tudor Barn looked absolutely beautiful decorated with pink seasonal florals by Sally from Halo Blossom and stylish bespoke stationary created by Abi from A Little Brush.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes in the Horse Barn, our wonderful resident DJ Gary was busy spinning his tunes and showcasing our state-of-the-art lighting and light-up dance floor.
If you didn’t get a chance to chat to our recommended suppliers on the day – you can always find their details on our website here – Our Local Wedding Suppliers in Hertfordshire & Cambridgeshire.
We are very proud and happy to recommend these suppliers as professional and reliable companies to provide various services for your South Farm wedding and they have all worked at South Farm before and know our barn outdoor wedding venue!
We were also lucky enough to have the endlessly talented Lee Smith Magic with us on the day, showing off exactly what he had up his sleeve (quite literally). Lee’s worked with us for many years now, and he’s well and truly part of the South Farm family — even if we still can’t work out how he does half his tricks.
He’s the perfect addition to your wedding day, keeping your guests thoroughly entertained (and occasionally in line, when he’s wearing his compere hat as added wedding service!).
The Brew Bike Hitchin was positioned perfectly in our Courtyard, keeping guests topped up with coffee while they had a wander around — and judging by the queue below, he was in full demand!
It was great to have Pixelbot with us on the day, showcasing their Boutique Photobooth in the Granary — offering guests a fun, interactive experience while capturing special memories along the way. They also offer video and audio guest books, as well as draping services. Check out their website for all the details.
We were delighted and honoured to have the hugely talented Dom Plays Sax with us in our formal gardens, in front of the Summerhouse. Dom is a local saxophonist from Bedfordshire, offering a range of services right through from your ceremony to your evening reception, and can even work alongside your evening entertainment for a truly seamless soundtrack to the day.
Dom, it was wonderful to have you with us, showcasing your incredible skill on the sax and providing the perfect welcoming tunes throughout the day.
Lastly, it was a real pleasure to have Harvey with us from Drives Of Yesteryear, a local, family-run business, with his fabulous outdoor garden games set-up — perfect for keeping your guests entertained throughout the day.
Alongside this, Harvey also offers a beautiful range of traditional wedding transport. His chauffeur-driven cars can take you to South Farm from home, a local B&B (such as Fen Bridge Farm), or straight from your church ceremony — and if transport isn’t needed, the vehicles are also available purely for photographs, at reduced rates.
For couples who’d like to be a little more hands-on, self-drive hire is available too. And for something truly special, Harvey’s 1897 wedding carriage offers the perfect photographic opportunity for you and your guests.
As a sustainable wedding venue, South Farm takes real pride in doing things thoughtfully — from the home-grown, seasonal produce that comes straight from our small-holding into our couples’ menus, to the way our gardens and grounds are cared for throughout the year.
Newly engaged couples on the day loved seeing this side of South Farm firsthand, and it’s something we love talking through with every couple who comes to view the venue.
And finally, a very special thank you to our wonderful, recommended suppliers who helped bring the venue to life so beautifully throughout the day.
Suppliers
Photographer | @photographybybea
Flowers | @haloblossom
Stationary | @alittlebrushuk
DJ | @djgary_southfarm
Photobooth | @pixelbotuk
Entertainment | @domplayssax
Coffee | @brewbike_hitchin
Garden Games | @drivesofyesteryear
Magic | @leesmithmagic
If you didn’t get the chance to arrange a private viewing on the day just call us on 01223 207581 or you can simply book online here – Book Your Visit to see for yourself why South Farm is one of the most-loved barn wedding venues in Hertfordshire. We can’t wait to give you the full tour around our stunning garden wedding venue in Hertfordshire.
Q & A’s
What does your venue hire include?
Our venue hire fee includes exclusive use of South Farm for the duration of your event plus all the extras you need….tables, chairs, crockery, glasses, table linen and all our twinkly fairy lights throughout the venue so you don’t have to worry about hiring additional items in. There are also lots of extras we provide, included in the venue hire, to make your day seamless and unique, sound systems in all our ceremony spaces, microphones for speeches and even bio-degradable South Farm rose petal confetti! You will have a dedicated, experienced Event Manager and a friendly and professional Front of House team on hand to look after you, your guests, your suppliers and all the little details so that you can relax and just enjoy your day!
What is the maximum number of guests I can invite?
Take a look at our Spaces page which gives you all the detailed capacity information for ceremonies and receptions. Our maximum guest numbers for ceremony and dining is 146 and for an evening party 250. Please note that your evening guest numbers should not exceed your day guest numbers so for example if you have 100 guests with you in the day you can have up to another 100 in the evening but not more.
Is there accommodation on-site for guests?
Yes, we can sleep 24 guests in total on-site. We have five main bedrooms, two of which can sleep four. We then have our collection of five Showman’s and Romany Wagons which can each sleep two. In addition we have two camp beds and two travel cots for younger guests. We also have Fen Bridge Farm Bed & Breakfast, 1.4 miles down the road towards Bassingbourn, which is automatically reserved for your wedding and has three double rooms (nb there are two periods each year – the late May Bank Holiday and over Christmas & New Year – when Fen Bridge Farm will be closed and the accommodation will be unavailable). We also allow people to camp – in a tent, caravan or campervan (we have two electric hook ups in the camping area) – there is plenty of room on site!
Can you cater for multi cultural or other faith Ceremonies?
Yes! We are delighted to have hosted a number of Jewish, Sikh, Hindu, Celebrant and Humanist weddings. The Wedding Ceremony may be held in your choice of any of our four indoor ceremony spaces or outdoors in the garden. Please see the Ceremonies page within our Finer Details Guide for more information on spaces. We also have a range of catering options to suit your needs: Fish, Vegetarian, Vegan, Kosher Friendly with Rabbinic Guidance, Masorti Guidance & Supervision – all making the most of fresh seasonal Fruit and Vegetables from our Smallholding and Eggs from our Chickens!
How can I work out what my South Farm Wedding will cost?
Our team are very happy to talk you through your requirements for your wedding day and provide you will a detailed estimate. However if you would like to calculate an estimate yourself you can easily do so following the steps below and using the information in the Pricing section of our Website. Please note Prices are Plus VAT.
- Choose a venue fee – Venue fees vary according to the day of the week and the time of the year
- Choose an indoor ceremony option – This will largely be dedicated by your numbers, details on ceremony capacities can be found on the ‘Spaces’ page.
- If you would like to get married outside in the Garden add in The Summer House fee – the Summer House is available for ceremonies March – October and is weather dependant.
- Then choose a menu style for your wedding breakfast in the day and an option for your evening food
- Don”t forget to check you have met the minimum catering spend
- Choose your reception drinks – usually budget 1/3 of a bottle for fizz.
- Choose your wine for the meal – usually budget 1/2 a bottle per person.
- Add in a glass for toasts if required for speeches – usually budget 1/6 of a bottle per person.
- Finally add in any extras, there are just a few possible extras – the evening guest cover charge, garden games, and hire of our Ice-Cream Bike are the most common ones.