5* Highly recommend
The venue itself is stunning. The buildings, grounds and interior decorations are all beautiful and immaculately presented. From the moment you turn down the lane it is so picturesque, you know you've found somewhere special. It's exactly what we were imagining for our wedding venue.
The layout is perfect, with ample space for guests to mingle and move about, and great accessibility for older and disabled guests. Ours was a winter wedding, and while most of the day was inside it wasn't cramped and we could still enjoy the beautiful grounds through the expansive windows that run along the whole barn.
All of the venue is stunning, but practicality-wise the Bridal Suite warrants a special mention. Room length mirrors, plenty of room for the bridal party to get ready, have their makeup and hair done, and if there's time to relax as well. Drinks were served from 11 onwards, and it has it's own toilets and shower.
From our first meeting at Bredenbury the staff were exceptional. They gave a reassuring air of professionalism and experience, with just the right level of excitedness for our day without it feeling forced. We were really impressed by how responsive the whole team were, with speedy replies to any questions we had during the planning. This is something we particularly appreciated as we only gave ourselves 7 weeks to plan our big day.
Value for money wise it felt tricky to gauge when we were trying to choose a venue as the headline figure is rarely what you'll end up paying, with different venues charging different amounts for different things. Not the case with Bredenbury. With their No Corkage policy and generosity in being able to use whatever props they already have, any extras were non-essentials of our own choosing.
No Corkage is pretty significant. Some venues wanted to charge £20/bottle, so not having to pay this and being able to supply not only our own wine but beers, gin and soft drinks for the drinks reception and wedding breakfast was not only a massive saving but also made the occasion more personal for us. The bar staff and catering team were excellent, pouring and serving drinks, warming our mulled wine and setting up the gin bar. Once your guests have drunk you dry the venue's bar is well stocked and standard pub pricing.
We wanted a Christmas wedding and seeing in early November that they had a date available that December we couldn't resist. 7 weeks isn't long to organise a wedding with nearly 100 guests, and we couldn't have done it without the Bredenbury team being so organised. Our assigned event manager, Harriet, was brilliant in the runup and on the day, as were all the other managers and staff we spoke with. The Wedding Bible they fill out with you is a great idea and nails down all the finer details to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible on the day.
We didn't want to have to spend the day before and morning of our wedding worrying about set up and decorations, but needn't have worried as Bredenbury did all of this for us. A meeting beforehand clarified what we wanted where; we simply dropped off boxes of stuff the day before and rocked up in the morning to find everything laid out as hoped.
This organisation extended to the third party suppliers, of which Bredenbury have an extensive list of local recommendations. We booked the ceiling lights with Cotswold Wedding Co. and didn't have to do anything else. The band, Apollo Gold (incredible!!) set up without any hassle and didn't have any issues with Bredenbury's noise limiter. Our florist Katrina Bevis hadn't been there before, but again had no problem getting everything in place on the morning.
On-site accommodation was good for close family and friends, but there's not enough for the majority of guests and the lack of a dedicated honeymoon suite is a bit of a shame. If you want privacy for your first night as a married couple it means taking over an entire lodge. The quality and comfort of the rooms is excellent, though, and the continental breakfast served the morning after in the East Lodge was delicious, with ample options for Vegan and Gluten Free.
Jenkinsons are the exclusive caterer for Bredenbury and have an extensive menu for nibbles, the wedding breakfast and dinner. The menu and ordering process is clear, and pricing is what we expected to pay. Food and service was as slick and faff-free as everything else. A real delight.
On the day, Harriet and the catering manager were absolute superstars. Zero stress, everything ran to time and as planned, and they were always available if we had any questions or needed help.
The whole day was perfect and exactly what we wanted. I don't think we could have achieved this without the exceptional organisation of Harriet and the team. The entire process was very slick, zero stress, and we wouldn't hesitate in recommending Bredenbury Court Barns to anyone looking to get married in a countryside paradise.