Skip to main content
Weddings
One couple is considering this venue right now. Save your date

About

On Hitched.co.uk since 2022

Last update: December 2025

Exclusively yours, Houchins is a unique barn venue where heritage is made modern. Including on site stylish grade 2* listed farmhouse accommodation. Located just 1 hour from London in north Essex, just 1 mile east of Coggeshall. The venue has just celebrated its 10 Year Anniversary and is family owned with an award-winning team to make sure your day runs exactly to plan.

Facilities and Capacity

On your special day, Houchins belongs to you. Immerse yourselves in romance & elegance while the dedicated team bring your dreams to life. Understanding that every couple is unique, the venue can create a classic celebration, a contemporary affair or a mix of the two for up to 180 guests!

Choose from a number of ceremony areas: an elegant marquee in the landscaped wedding garden, an intimate oak-pannelled drawing room, a serene woodland ceremony space or one of the gorgeous open air spaces nestled within the grounds. The stylish self-catering farmhouse sleeps 14, and the Honeymoon Lodge is the perfect place to relax and spend your first night as a married couple. Houchins even provides a complimentary continental breakfast for the morning after.

Services Offered

Houchins is available for exclusive use. Weddings include online planning tools, a team of wedding coordinators to guide and assist you throughout the planning process, a dedicated wedding manager to ensure everything runs smoothly on the big day, decorative lighting, and much more.Go to the website: Houchins.co.uk to book a viewing and request a brochure.

Messages sent successfully.

Bundle and save time!
Contact Houchins and their preferred suppliers

Frequently asked questions

Venue type:

In the country
Historic
Woodland and festival
Barn
Outdoor license

Ceremony options:

Civil ceremony licence

Dining options:

Seated meal facilities
Corkage option
Alcohol licence
Buffet meal facilities
In-house catering

Evening entertainment:

Dance floor
Entertainment licence
Live band facilities
Evening reception facilities
DJ facilities

Overnight accommodation:

Overnight accommodation for wedding couple
Overnight accommodation for guests

Venue staff assistance:

Wedding coordinator

Other features:

Exclusive use
Accessible facilities
Car parking
Confetti permitted
Pet-friendly
illustration notebook

Do you have any questions?

Reviews for Houchins

Rebecca
Rebecca Sent on 16/10/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Everyone was raving about the venue

Everyone loves the venue including our suppliers! Everything is well thought out and makes for ease of use in the space. The layout is simple, but effective so your guests don’t get lost moving from space to space. It is incredibly intentional and just flows beautifully. It is a perfect mix of rustic and contemporary without feeling forced. It feels like they’d thought of every little detail.
The staff are incredible as well: friendly and helpful, but also efficient and extremely knowledgeable.
J
Jasmin Sent on 30/12/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect Houchins

We couldn’t have chosen a more perfect wedding venue than Houchins. From the moment we arrived, the setting was absolutely beautiful — peaceful countryside, stunning grounds, and a truly special atmosphere that made the whole day feel magical.

The team at Houchins were exceptional from start to finish. They were professional, organised, and incredibly supportive, making sure everything ran smoothly so we could relax and enjoy every moment. Nothing felt rushed, and their attention to detail really showed.

Our guests couldn’t stop complimenting the venue — the ceremony space, reception area, and overall charm of Houchins created such an elegant yet relaxed feel. It was the perfect balance of rustic and refined.

Thank you
Danielle
Danielle Sent on 02/12/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Our perfect day

Houchins is a absolutely stunning venue inside and around the grounds, all our guests where commenting on the stunning rustic cosy vipe. Houchins staff are amazing during our planning stage i had some health issues that lead our finances a wobble. Houchins worked with us to ensure we had every thing we wanted for our special day, they where kind, patient and understand. Adding our personal touch to the venue was the icing on the cake 🎂 for us it truly made everything perfect.
J
Jess Sent on 24/11/2025
5 out of 5 rating

What an amazing day!

Houchins was the perfect venue for us! We wanted somewhere with amazing outdoor space and gardens, but also a tasteful interior for our wedding breakfast and evening. Houchins had everything and the team supported us through the whole planning process and on the day.
Ayleesha
Ayleesha Sent on 14/11/2025
5 out of 5 rating

The best day ever with the best team!

The team and venue at Houchins is just second to none. We knew from the second we set foot there that it was going to be the flexible, relaxed venue for us. The team are extremely helpful, the price is good for what you get especially if you want to save money on a weekday. Everyone is so friendly and they are really flexible with what you want in terms of decor, food, vibe. There is no pressure or weird rules to have anything a certain way like some venues out there! If you are looking for a romantic summer garden party wedding then this is the place for you honestly!!
C
Cheryl Sent on 13/11/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Our Perfect Day

We knew this was the venue we wanted to get married at as soon as we visited Houchins on one of their open days. From that moment on they made us feel so important and couldn't have done more for us. We had several meetings to discuss plans and lots of emails back and forth sorting any details or concerns to make the day run smoothly. From start to finish it was PERFECT!
Badgers
Badgers Sent on 13/11/2025
5 out of 5 rating

What a beautiful day and I was treated like a queen

I found this venue through Hitched because they allow fire pits and candles. so we viewed and fell in love with it.
I did all the booking etc and communicated through email and telephone. I had some odd requests, like food being delivered in the week beforehand that i wanted, hand made chocolates and a meat pie and cheese wedding cake. They didn't bat an eyelid and just made it all happen. then on the day Jayson my planner just literally took care of us. If i thought, ooh where is my bag/parasol/ shoes, he was right there with them ready for me. I didn't have to think about anything but my new husband and our wonderful day and guests. My only regret... not booking the extension because I didn't want the day to ever end. The team at Houchins put you and your day first. They took care of us both and we only had to enjoy ourselves. Our friends and family have all said its one of the best weddings they have ever been too and I (unbiased) feel the same. Credit to photos https://farliephotography.co.uk/
Sophie
Sophie Sent on 12/11/2025
5 out of 5 rating

The most sensational wedding venue!

The team at Houchins were absolutely wonderful, from our very first viewing all the way through to our wedding day. The venue’s flexibility made it possible for us to celebrate over two incredible days: a lovely garden party in the beautiful house the day before, followed by our wedding in the main venue the next day. I still can’t get over how amazing and accommodating the entire team was, every detail was perfect thanks to them!
Katrina
Katrina Sent on 21/10/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Romantic vibe

I am glad we booked this place for our wedding. Everyone complementing how beautiful our venue is. We had 65 guest and it is the right size for that number of people. Solemn, and so romantic. The staff are very helpful and they guide us all throughout.
The farmhouse is big enough for 14 people. Huge living rooms and kitchen. There’s a separate house for the wedded couple which was cute

Thank you Houchin’s. I will never forget how you helped us in this successful wedding
P
Peter Sent on 14/07/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing wedding venue!

We had our wedding at Houchins on 12th July 2025 and had the most amazing day. Couldn't recommend the venue more, the service beforehand was brilliant, very responsive and organised and helpful. We were lucky to have a sunny day and the venue looked stunning, a great mix of outdoor areas each with their own character and then a great layout indoors, we had so many people say was a great venue it was. It was also so helpful to have the house and honeymoon suite next door, we booked it the night before as well and were so glad we did as it made the morning of the wedding so calm and relaxed.
On the day the team were brilliant and made everything go smoothly, as well as being cheerful and friendly to everyone. The bar staff also did a brilliant job with quick and friendly service and great cocktails!
Special mention to Jayson who co-ordinated everything on the day and just gave us so much confidence everything was in hand and would all go well!
Thanks Houchins, would highly recommend!
Bridget
Bridget Sent on 07/07/2025
5 out of 5 rating

"Best wedding ever" quote from more than 1 guest

We had a fabulous wedding and cannot thank the team enough! everyone does everything for you and all day long you don't have to think about a thing. wonderful venue, wonderful team.
S
Samantha Sent on 20/06/2025
5 out of 5 rating

The most incredible day we couldn’t have asked for better!

From our initial viewing, to booking the wedding, to our big day, the Houchins team were outstanding making our dream wedding become a reality. All the hard working staff were great, we couldn’t fault them, and the venue itself is stunning. We highly recommend Houchin’s to people as the ideal wedding venue.
Kate
Kate Sent on 06/06/2025
5 out of 5 rating

Little Gem of a Venue

Zero regrets on booking Houchins as our wedding venue. From the start the team were super accomodating, nothing was too much trouble and the venue is effortlessly beautiful. Thankfully we were blessed with beautiful weather on our wedding day and the outside area is stunning.
The house and honeymoon sweet were perfect too. Everything we could have wanted from a venue
J
Joanna Sent on 27/11/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The best day ever ❤️

We don't know where to start, from the moment we came in for our first viewing we knew Houchins was the venue for us, classically beautiful, intimate yet so spacious, rustic but so modern with amazing grounds.

The houchins team were amazing, super organised, professional, kind and most of all fun. Eloise went above and beyond to make our day exceptional, her attention to detail is impeccable which made our day completely faultless.

All of our guests were blown away by the venue and the team, we can not thank them enough.

The accommodation is stunning and such a nice touch to be able to stay the night before and of the wedding.

We absolutely loved our keyring it really is the little things that make the experience so special and memerable.

5 🌟 we wish we could do it all again.
B
Bethany Sent on 01/11/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Thank you Houchins!

We can’t thank the staff at Houchins enough for making our day so special. From start to finish they have been brilliant, really responsive and friendly. We had a couple of planning meetings before the big day which let us ask all the questions we needed and helped us to visualise how we wanted the day to be.
Our actual wedding day went off without a hitch, thanks to Jayson who was so amazing at running everything exactly to schedule in the background so we didn’t have to worry about a thing. He is truly an expert at planning and organising (and dress fluffing!!).
The venue looked absolutely beautiful and we had lots of comments from our guests about how perfect the venue was, how nice the outside area was and nicely laid out everything was and how friendly all the staff and bar staff were. The guest house was also organised ready for us and there was loads of fresh breakfast things for our hungover guests the next day!!
We are so grateful to everyone who helped make our day so amazing and we would highly recommend the beautiful venue to anyone.
We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to make your big decisions easier.

Badges

Hitched Wedding Awards 2025 Winner
Hitched Wedding Awards 2024 Winner
Hitched Wedding Awards 2022 Winner
illustration stars

Did the reviews win you over?

Houchins Real Weddings

Katrina Legasto & Thomas Carter
8 photos · 17/10/2025
Kate & Chris
11 photos · 11/05/2025
Grace & Callum
24 photos · 19/04/2024
Seb & Grace
39 photos · 26/05/2022
Joanna & Sean
29 photos · 25/09/2021
Alice & Andy
50 photos · 01/09/2020

Deals

Your events

25 Jan
Open Door

Get inspired to plan your wedding here at Houchins at our Open Day!

We have a truly wonderful group of local wedding suppliers for you to chat to and the friendly Houchins team will be on-hand to answer all your questions and show you around.

No need to book just come along and enjoy some Houchins hospitaltiy!

Date: From 25/01/2026 to 25/01/2026 Schedule 10:00 - 14:00
Place: Coggeshall, Colchester, Essex

Meet the team

Wayne Messenger
Wayne Messenger
General Manager

Wayne - General Manager

Wayne is responsible for the smooth running of all operational aspects of the business. He has over 20 years’ experience at a senior level, managing venues and catering for discerning clients all over East Anglia. His unflappable nature and keen attention to detail means he is always working to ensure your day goes exactly as planned.

Adam  Dixon-Smith
Adam Dixon-Smith
Owner/Managing Partner

Prior to getting involved in the wedding industry Adam spent 20 years working in advertising, marketing and general management. Since opening Dove Barn in 2002 he has developed a passion for weddings in particular and hospitality in general. His criteria for a successful event is judged on the smiles on the faces of clients leaving his venues.

Jason Hewitt
Jason Hewitt
Wedding Planner

I’ve loved seeing Houchins grow into what it is today. Although playing a more casual role within the team due to starting a family I remain an integral part of the wedding team and am just as passionate and excited about Houchins as when I first started in 2014 and started showing couples around.

Preferred suppliers

Bespoke Celebrant Ceremonies
5.0 out of 5 rating , 175 reviews
· Celebrants
Your Choice Ceremonies
5.0 out of 5 rating , 6 reviews
· Celebrants
B's Blooms
5.0 out of 5 rating , 13 reviews
· Florists
Adam on Piano
5.0 out of 5 rating , 54 reviews
· Music and DJs
Jason Little Wedding Photography
5.0 out of 5 rating , 11 reviews
· Photographers
Limeberry
5.0 out of 5 rating , 40 reviews
· Catering

Map

Coggeshall CO6 1RT Colchester (Essex)
illustration visit

Would you like to schedule a visit?

Other suppliers in Essex for your wedding

Wedding Venues

Replies within 24 hours