Barn & Farm Wedding Venues in Durham

Hannah

4.6 out of 5 rating

4.6

We got married at Runa Farm in May 2026, and overall, we had the most incredible day. First and foremost, the team at Runa Farm were absolutely outstanding. From the bar staff and waiting team to our wedding managers, Kelsey and Amy, everyone went above and beyond to make our day special. A particular mention has to go to Maya, who seemed to be doing about twenty different jobs at once throughout the day and evening, all with a smile on her face. Ian, the Master of Ceremonies, was fantastic. We first met him when we came to view Runa Farm and he immediately made us feel special and valued, despite also being busy coordinating a wedding that day. Throughout our entire journey, every member of the venue team was warm, welcoming and genuinely invested in making our day the best it could be. We had countless comments from family and friends about how brilliant the team were. The venue itself is simply stunning. We viewed a lot of venues before booking Runa Farm, and nothing else came close. It hardly needs any decorating, the spaces are beautiful, and the team are very accommodating when it comes to tailoring the day to suit you as a couple. We also stayed in the Farmhouse the night before the wedding and would highly recommend it to other couples. Whilst it is an additional expense, it took away the stress of finding somewhere else to stay and allowed our entire bridal party to spend the evening together before the big day. It was a lovely experience and made the start of our wedding celebrations feel even more special. The wedding day itself was organised like a well-oiled machine. Everything ran smoothly, and when our external photobooth supplier failed to turn up, the team very kindly stepped in and lent us the venue photobooth. We genuinely can't thank them enough for that. The only area where our experience could have been improved was the planning process through the external wedding coordinator based at Apartment Group head office. Alysha was always helpful when we had questions and did support us throughout the planning process. However, we found parts of the experience quite sales-focused, with communications often centred around additional upgrades and extras. We completely understand that these options form part of the wedding journey, but as a couple working to a tight budget, it sometimes felt a little disheartening. Our final planning meeting, which was scheduled for two hours, lasted around 40 minutes and felt more rushed than we had expected. Whilst we covered everything that needed to be discussed, we left feeling a little disappointed. After spending months planning one of the biggest days of our lives, we had hoped for a more personal conversation about our wedding. Instead, the meeting felt quite scripted and transactional at times, as though we were moving through a checklist rather than discussing a day that was unique to us as a couple. We also experienced some delays at the beginning of the process, having to chase for our contract and coordinator details after paying our deposit, which was frustrating given we had been encouraged to secure our date quickly. Importantly, these issues were with the central coordination process rather than the team at Runa Farm itself, who were exceptional throughout. Our wedding day was everything we hoped for and more. The venue is beautiful, the on-site team are a real credit to Runa Farm, and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to other couples looking for a stunning venue and a team who genuinely care about delivering a special day.

Sparks

5.0 out of 5 rating

5.0

On the 9th December 2024, we had our elopement style wedding at The Blackton Grange Estate. The venue is absolutely stunning, nestled in the most gorgeous countryside surroundings and it absolutely ticked all of our requirements for our big day. The venue is a "dry hire", self-catering, dog friendly venue, which was absolutely perfect for us! We had been looking for a wedding venue for quite some time, as we had a few requirements that we wouldn't compromise on. Our dog was the ring bearer, so it had to be a dog friendly venue (tick!). One of our party members required a downstairs disabled friendly bedroom (tick!), and we wanted a private and intimate location, set in the countryside (tick, tick and tick!). The property is vast and fully catered for all of our needs. There were 14 of us staying at the property for 2 x nights and we didn't feel like we were in each others way at all, there were plenty of bathrooms and bedrooms for us to choose from. We made full use of the games room and cinema room and our guests felt really cosy once we had lit the log burner in the living room. Jodi & Stella had decorated the living area with a Christmas tree & decorations. They also set out the furniture for our ceremony the following day, moving all of the sofas to the sides of the room and providing wooden chairs for our guests to sit on. Our ceremony was absolutely amazing on the day, Jodi & Stella arrived to meet with the registrars and to ensure we had everything we needed. Following the ceremony they put the living room back together, whilst we were having our family photos taken outside, so it was an absolutely seamless change over for us. They could not have done enough for us, making sure everything had gone to plan. Communication in the lead up to our wedding was fantastic, Jodi and Stella were very accommodating of our requests, so easy to talk to, we felt like we had known them for years! We used Coghlans catering, who are based locally (and recommended by the venue), to provide us with our meals for the 2 days. This included a meal on the Sunday when we arrived, and everything for the full wedding day. We brought our own drinks and snacks (but there is always an option to get Tesco delivery service delivered to the Estate for your stay). We would highly recommend this venue for a wedding, the house and grounds are absolutely amazing, sadly the weather wasn't the best on our arrival and it had just rained for 48 hours solid beforehand, but on the actual day the sun shined brightly and the photos are amazing. There is a converted barn for bigger wedding parties which we obviously didn't require for our small elopement, but Stella & Jodi very kindly showed us around it and it looks absolutely stunning!! The venue is an absolute credit to the hard work that these two ladies have put into it, long may it continue to be a wedding venue and thank you for letting us be the first couple to tie the knot at Blackton Grange. Mark & Anna