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Weddings

The Ashes Barns and Country House Reviews

The Ashes Barns and Country House

The Ashes Barns and Country House

Endon, Staffordshire
5.0 out of 5 rating, 647 reviews
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Reviews

5.0 out of 5 rating
647 reviews
  • Quality of the service
    5 out of 5 rating
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99% Recommended by couples

Badges

  • Katie
    Katie Sent on 03/10/2023
    5 out of 5 rating
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    Incredible

    The venue is truly stunning and we feel so proud and privileged to have wed there! The team were so helpful and friendly no ask to big or troublesome. The caterers, Jenkinsons also did a fabulous job, the food looked and tasted amazing, we had multiple comment made through the night from our guests about how great it was! We cannot wait to see and treasure more photos from our photographer after this incredible day!
  • M
    Matt Sent on 30/06/2023
    1.4 out of 5 rating
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    Poor Management

    Beautiful Venue visually, however poor management, who will lie to you.

    If you book your day with the Ashes and your day goes ahead as planned, I’m sure it’ll be perfect, however If there is something you need help that’s when the nightmares can begin.

    My partner has received wonderful news of pregnancy some time before our wedding date (February) 2023 and our wedding was meant to be in (June) 2023

    The due date, and the complication with last pregnancy meant that the date was put at jeopardy, after calling the Ashes the lady whom I spoken with congratulated me and said sadly there’s not much we can do apart from cancelling and losing our 20% payment. Which was fair enough to us, though after then telling the woman we had paid in full (yes the full balance the day we booked the venue) she then said “oh in that case you will lose the entire amount..

    This is 4 months until the wedding, and the ashes received over £4500 the very day we booked with them. NEVER PAY THIS VENUE IN FULL, As it may come back to haunt you later.

    So after explaining that wasn’t really fair and asking is there’s nothing that can be done, the woman was adamant that we either cancel and lose our money or stick with it.

    After getting nowhere I decided to find the email address of the main Group (the Ashes is part of a venues group) sending an email including a few different email addresses I could find, a complaint was sent.

    So after writing a complaint we have managed to get 8% of our money back, which is shocking, considering if we had not paid in full we would only lose 20% and we would have had 80% OF OUR MONEY STILL.

    Again to repeat the big lesson here is to never pay in full to this Venue/s

    In my complaint I suggested moving the wedding until 2024 stating this would be a good option and we could pay the extra, but no the ashes did not want to move the date whatsoever, they only stated they could move the date earlier in 2023! Doesn’t make sense since we even had offered to pay additional for moving the wedding to 2024.

    We were then told that if they managed to resell / move a wedding onto our date of June 21 then we would receive more of our money back.

    Now, knowing how rude the original lady I spoken to over the phone whom told me that we would not be getting a penny back 🙂 and was not helpful with even discussing possibilities / dates etc .

    I didn’t have much trust in the ashes telling the truth sadly, so asking the ashes via email if the day had been fulfilled they have said no every time.

    On the date we were supposed to get married, I rang the ashes asking if it’s ok to pop down and possibly thinking of booking with you as I’m in the area nearby currently (did not give my name / details) this was at around 10am

    So the women I spoken with stated I’m more than welcome to come have a look at the venue and would love to show me around today but would need to arrange an appointment as they have a WEDDING ON, now this of course wasn’t our wedding because like stated above we were not able to go through with due to medical reasons.

    So great, knowing that the ashes fulfilled our date we know we’d be getting our money back right?

    Contacting the Ashes regarding this, the very next day we were emailed back to say sorry there was no wedding and you would not be getting any back.

    So, one of them was lying and who?
    To our regret we couldn’t drive to the venue on the date and confirm this due to my partner being in hospital as we stated would be the case to the ashes.

    However the phone call I had with the lady in the morning made me feel confident since she told me there was a wedding on, surely the calls are recorded? Perhaps, we may take this further though just looking at our option and seeking legal advice.

    Don’t get me wrong some of the girls we dealt with I.e Libby and Tamara were lovely but they were admins whom couldn’t help with much sadly.

    It is the management team who soon become hostile and unhelpful should an issue arise.

    A simple warning about The Ashes Barns and the Best Day Ever group (ashes is part of this group)
  • Billie-Jade
    Billie-Jade G. Sent on 16/02/2023
    5 out of 5 rating
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    Incredible

    The Ashes Barns is the most wonderful venue for a wedding. Throughout the whole day it felt like our own little haven. Lizzy was our coordinator and she was fabulous, ensuring the whole day ran smoothly and setting the venue up just as we envisioned; she made us feel extremely at ease and is a truly lovely person. The Ashes entire team of staff have been helpful from start to finish, the team helping us drop our decorations off the day before couldn't have done more to help, and the same goes for the breakfast team the following morning; everyone was so friendly and kind. From the dressing room, to the accommodation, the presentation of the barns, to the stunning scenery and surroundings it really is the most beautiful place with such a magical atmosphere. I cannot recommend the venue enough, I only wish we could go back and do it all again!!
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  • C
    Cherelle Sent on 13/11/2022
    1 out of 5 rating
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    Missing wedding cards and gift money


    We are very sad about having to leave this review. We had a wonderful wedding at The Ashes Barns and the venue itself is beautiful. We are devastated to have to leave a negative review, however we want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else.

    Unfortunately, we had a huge come down the following morning when our belongings were returned to us. Our card basket was returned to us empty and our cards were missing, as well as a lot of our items damaged due to poor packing up / storage.

    Some of our cards were recovered by staff from the large onsite bins (not covered by CCTV) 2 days later, they were opened and the gift money taken. We were not informed about the recovery of these cards until another 6 days later.

    We had a very small, intimate wedding with only close family and close friends, with no extra evening guests. Our card basket was on CCTV all day, with no suspicious activity. All of our guests left the site at the end of the wedding day. Our card basket was taken by a staff member at the end of the night to the 'secure overnight storage room' and was not shown on CCTV at all times. The following morning it was returned to us empty.

    We feel that the response from the venue to our incident was abysmal, which caused a highly distressing time for ourselves and our guests to be made even worse.

    After reviewing their own CCTV footage, the Ashes manager still had the audacity to suggest that ourselves or our guests might be responsible - even though the CCTV covered the card basket until all guests had left.

    We are writing this in hope of helping future and prospective couples. The Ashes event manager informed us that our cards and gifts would be taken to our overnight wedding suite to ensure that they were safe. The online wedding planner informed us that our belongings would be stored securely overnight and that valuables would be locked in a valuables box. However, the T&C's state that the Ashes will take no responsibility for your belongings. We would highly recommend that you ensure that your wedding cards and gifts are safely stored with yourselves or your family/friends and not left with staff.

    We do not want this to happen to any future couples. The event manager failed to take our card basket to our overnight suite to ensure safety and resulted in this incident. Although we have been refunded solely for the missing monies, we have raised concerns regarding the conflicting policies and the safety of future couples' property - unfortunately we have received no feedback to reassure us that anything has changed as a result of this incident.

    We feel extremely let down by the poor aftercare which caused us even more distress on top of this wrongdoing which should not happen to any couple on their wedding day.

    Sadly, this has tainted our view of the venue that we loved and now overshadows a place that should be special to us.
  • Claire
    Claire G. Sent on 26/10/2021
    5 out of 5 rating
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    Steven and Nikita’s wedding

    Thank-you so much for my Son and newly acquired daughter in laws, beautiful wedding on the 25/10/2021. It was stress free and very professionally organised, we had a wonderfully relaxed day, and a very comfortable nights stay in the overnight on site accommodation. Nothing was seen as too much trouble. The venue was ideal and the setting perfect and they were blessed with a rainbow to seal the event.
  • RomanticRedCakes23481
    Jamie C. Sent on 06/07/2022
    5 out of 5 rating
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    What can I say? Perfect from start to finish!

    We fell in love with the Ashes in 2019 after being recommended by a friend and booked our 2022 wedding on the spot. We were greeted by the Ashes team and truly made to feel a part of the Ashes family from start to finish.

    The Team:
    We started our journey with Jane who would have been our planned events manager, she was absolutely fantastic and explained every detail of our booking and immediate planning for the wedding perfectly. Unfortunately, Jane retired prior to our wedding but left a message with the team to pass on which I felt was a lovely touch and we hope that Jane is enjoying her retirement.

    We were then allocated our absolute star Lizzy, who can only be described as a complete and utter god send! We met Lizzy on the lead up to the wedding and she put every stress we had ever imagined to rest. She truly went above and beyond to ensure that everything was perfect in the planning and the lead up to our big day! On the day, she was there if you needed her, and she ensured that everything was no less than perfect... and she really did! For that we cannot thank her enough!

    The entire Ashes team that we met over the 3 years of planning were extremely helpful, informative and made you feel that nothing was too much trouble and for that we would like to thank everyone at the Ashes!

    The Venue:
    The Ashes very much speaks for itself, it is just stunning! We fell in love with it on our first visit from driving up the driveway and everything from that just added to how perfect it really is!

    I would recommend to anyone that they MUST visit the Ashes even if its locality is not ideal (we live 1 hour away from the venue).

    The venue and the grounds are maintained to the highest standard and it is obvious that any imperfections are dealt with no time to spare (We often saw maintenance or the painter touching up paint work on our early morning visits).

    The landscape lends itself to a weddings dream of perfect wedding pictures. There are unlimited areas in and around the Ashes to get that breath-taking wedding photo you have always wanted! Our Photographer (Ally M Photography) even commented that he had an amazing time capturing our day.

    The Food:
    The Ashes exclusively uses Jenkinson's Caterers, and the food is absolutely amazing. You have the opportunity to try this on your event night. We had so many compliments from our wedding guests of how amazing the food was and also how good the service was as well.

    On Site Accommodation:
    All of the onsite accommodations are finished to the highest standards, and all have a breath-taking view of the lake within the grounds. We housed our immediate family onsite and all had positive comments in regard to their accommodations and the breakfast we all enjoyed together the following morning. We took advantage of the wedding suite and the Ashes left us a bottle of bubbly to enjoy on our wedding night, which was a lovely touch.

    Overall:
    Our wedding from start to finish was truly perfect, and all of our guests had an amazing day with thanks to the Ashes and its team. We look forward to visiting the team (Especially Lizzy) in person over the coming weeks to say thank you in person.

    Jamie & Benjamin
    20/06/2022
    x
  • Sky
    Sky W. Sent on 10/06/2021
    4.8 out of 5 rating
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    A Stunning naturally beautiful venue

    This venue was amazing we booked this venu before viewing it in person it has natural beauty no need to dress the barns at all really it's stunning and the grounds make it magical. The lake and the garden pool are fantastic back drops for wedding images . And the beauty of the country house had us astounded I could have sat for hours admiring the old beams and features. We wish we could visit it again.
  • N
    Nicola Sent on 24/02/2020
    5 out of 5 rating
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    From the get go we knew that we were in safe hands

    Hi Matthew, We just wanted to say a massive thank you for our amazing wedding day. From the get go we knew that we were in safe hands as The Ashes Team are just so professional. Thank you so much for everything you did on our wedding day. We appreciate every single thing. From you helping to fasten button holes onto the wedding party, making the day run smoothly and to being there last thing at night.

    We couldn't have wished for more and wouldn't change a minute of it (well it would be nice to do it all again next week, lol).

    Lots of love from
    Nicola and Craig X
  • M
    Magdalena Sent on 24/02/2020
    5 out of 5 rating
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    We loved the highland cattle too!

    Hello! Thank you to the entire team at The Ashes for the most amazing time on our wedding day. We’ve loved every minute of it, the organisation has been great, and it was so nice that we didn’t have to worry about the little details on the day e.g. the placement of all the decorations etc. Everything looked spectacular and we couldn’t have faulted anything. All our guests and families commented on how fantastic and beautiful the venue was - we had a lot of fans of your highland cattle as well!

    We also wanted to personally thank Jayne who made sure the day ran smoothly and the way we’ve envisioned it. She’s done a great job and was so pleasant all the way through our planning.

    We can't thank you enough - there’s not a single thing we’d have done differently (apart from perhaps getting less alcohol, but we’re stocked for good few months!!!).

    Best wishes, Maggie & Martyn
  • J
    Jay Sent on 24/02/2020
    5 out of 5 rating
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    You are all so lovely and helpful!

    To Lisa and The Team, Thank you so much for all of your help. You are all so lovely and helpful!
    Love from the new Mr & Mrs Massey.
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