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About

On Hitched.co.uk since 2022

Last update: May 2024

Nestled in the heart of rural North Essex, The Compasses at Pattiswick is an idyllic countryside wedding venue. Twenty minutes from Colchester and Stanstead Airport, this bespoke venue is ideally suited to both couples living locally and those travelling from London and further afield.

With an impressive array of regional and national awards, the team at The Compasses specialise in tailoring your wedding day to suit your requirements. No request is too much effort and feedback from couples highlight the special bonds built with the team at this boutique, family run venue.

Facilities and Capacity

With spectacular views across the Essex countryside, The Compasses offers a well-balanced blend of traditional rustic and contemporary charm. With every wedding offered exclusive use, the layout allows for weddings of up to 120 and yet equally suits more intimate gatherings of 30 guests.

With your wedding day starting in the contemporary yet comfortable Bridal Preparation Suite, the building lends itself to a sense of feeling at home, aided by the welcoming nature of the small but experienced and professional team.

Services Offered

This is where The Compasses truly excels. From the moment you first visit, there is an overriding feeling that you are the only couple getting married there. There is no risk of forced packages or formulaic wedding schedules here. Throughout the planning process you have unrestricted access to your wedding coordinator and, on an Open Day visit, a real sense that the entire team are genuinely looking forward to sharing your wedding day with you.

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Frequently asked questions

Venue type:

In the country
Pub or restaurant
Unusual weddings
Historic
Marquees and tents

Ceremony options:

Civil ceremony licence

Dining options:

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

Evening entertainment:

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

Venue staff assistance:

Wedding coordinator

Other features:

Exclusive use
Accessible facilities
Car parking
Confetti permitted
Pet-friendly
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Reviews for The Compasses at Pattiswick

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5.0 out of 5 rating
Hitched Wedding Awards 2024 Winner
5.0 out of 5 rating
130 reviews
100% recommend it
  • Quality of the service
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Response time
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Value for money
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    5 out of 5 rating
Katie
Katie S. Sent on 12/08/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Wish we could do it all over again!

We had our day on 2nd August and it was honestly the most amazing day.
We felt really looked after from the start of the process all the way to the very end. I never felt like anything was too much of a problem and was impressed with how helpful everyone was.
Everything was laid out clearly, from prices to a timeline of the day so there wasn't any hidden surprises during our time.
The food, supplied by a local catering company, was absolutely delicious and was enjoyed by everyone.
My son ended up cutting his hand, which proceeded into him finally giving up and falling asleep. My mum was with him but wanted to watch our first dance, and after asking for help, a member of staff sat in the bridal room with him so my mum could experience the evening with us.
it really is a relaxed place, you have the opportunity to have the day you want without any judgement or obstacles, and the photo opportunities were amazing. Our photographer was so excited and ended up staying late just so she could take more sunset pictures.
I wish we could do it all over again.

thank you so much xx
Naomi
Naomi Y. Sent on 24/07/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The most perfect venue

We got married here earlier this month and honestly had the best day ever. The venue is absolutely beautiful as it is but made even more so by their wonderful recommended florist Sara. The outdoor space is also lovely, the kids especially enjoyed this with the play area and lawn games. The bbq food was delicious, with plenty of it too. Shout out to Jordane especiallu for looking after us so well and resolving any issues instantly. Highly recommend the Compasses - anyone thinking about it just go and have a look and you'll fall in love with the place.
Jeni
Jeni W. Sent on 18/07/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect in every way

We knew we wanted a venue that would support us with an informal, chilled out vibe for our wedding and The Compasses was perfect for us but will support any kind of wedding you want. From the first chat with Jono, all the way through planning with Charlaine, to the day with Della and Jordane, nothing was too much trouble and no question too daft. I felt like we were all one giant team and our wedding day was everything we wanted. We used suppliers recommended by the venue and cannot fault them. I was genuinely sad that we wouldn't get to hang out there any more once our wedding was done. We had so many compliments on the venue from our guests and we are so glad that we picked The Compasses for our special day.
Hayley
Hayley Sent on 07/06/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect Venue for us 🥰

We had the pleasure of getting married at The Compasses on May 31, 2024, and we couldn’t be happier with our choice.
The venue is just what we were looking for for our fairly small wedding, it has a lovely homely feel and is just the right size for a relaxed celebration.
Charlaine & Jordane have always been available to answer any questions we have had and have done everything they can to bring everything together for the big day! When we ran in to an issue with our catering Jono was brilliant at offering us a solution to sort it all out. Also thank you to Della & Sara for everything you did on the day. So many of our guests commented on how lovely the venue was and how everything ran smoothly and even though we didn't have the best weather on the day we could still do everything we had planned and get some beautiful photographs.
If you’re looking for a wedding venue that offers great service, a beautiful setting, and a seamless experience, we highly recommend The Compasses. Thank you for everything!
Natasha
Natasha P. Sent on 31/05/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Wonderful in every way

The Compasses is the first venue we viewed and we absolutely fell in love with it. We did view other venues but they weren't a patch. Jono and Charlaine really took the time to get to know us and had great ideas to help make our wedding our own. The rest of the team were friendly and professional, and Jordane helped our day go off without a hitch. The bridal suite was the perfect place for my bridal party and I to get ready. I really can't recommend them enough.
Sarah
Sarah B. Sent on 07/04/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Our perfect wedding day - 02.03.24

We got married at the compasses on 2nd March 2024 and could not recommend this incredible venue enough!!! From start to finish we were blown away by their kindness, attention to detail and thoughtfulness to make sure our day was everything we wanted it to be. We fell in love with the compasses as soon as we arrived and so did all our guests.
There is so much we could say about how incredible this venue is but our top 3 stand out points are:
- the ceremony room!! We were able to create a true fairytale and our guests felt close to us during the ceremony. This was so important to us.
- the bridal room! Truly spectacular use of space and to have it all day to pop in and out of was fantastic.
- the people! Nothing is too big or too small, and the team ensured everything ran smoothly.

This really is the perfect countryside wedding. All our guests felt super comfortable and made use of the entire venue.

Thank you to all the team. You made our dream a perfect reality.

Sarah & Simon
Jasmine
Jasmine R. Sent on 30/11/2023
4.8 out of 5 rating

Jasmine & Ryan Priest - 04/11/2023

We booked at The Compasses for our November 2023 wedding. We chose here because of the scenic location, cost, capacity and the rustic feel of the venue- we particularly loved the wooden beams and fireplaces. We had also attended a wedding here in October 2021 which was lovely, so we felt confident to go ahead with The Compasses knowing we'd be looked after.

The planning process was very smooth and Charlaine tried to accomodate us wherever possible. Charlaine was very professional throughout, easy to get ahold of, and knowledgable about the venue as a whole. She was able to make recommendations to us when we asked questions and the bundle she provided helped us to find other suppliers.

On the whole the day of our wedding was smooth. It was unfortunate that we couldn't access the venue before 10am as we needed to start getting ready long before this and subsequently had to transfer with our makeup artist to the venue partway through, but we were able to negotiate this with some extra planning and it was absolutely fine. We were given time to set the venue up the day before which avoided extra stress in the morning and had a wonderful helper in the bridal suite who brought us tea and coffee and checked that everything we needed was there.
The staff had taken lots of care of decorate the space beautifully and perfectly executed our vision, and the venue really shone once the sun had started to set and candles were lit., making everything very cosy and intimate, which was perfect for a cold November day.
We were made aware of noise limitations (for the neighbours and wildlife) which is as to be expected from any venue, but I wouldn't have asked for anything louder or different if we could have. The way that the speakers are angled means that the dance floor is a loud party that you still have to shout over to be heard, but if guests want to get away from it they can go to the quieter spots like the 2nd bar area to chat which our older guests and those with children really appreciated. One of Charlaine's great ideas was a board game table in this section which was a big hit with the children.
Our day flew by and we both had an absolutely amazing time.

Our only wishes were that we could have accessed the venue the next day to collect our items ourselves as we had left items in the bridal suite in the rush to leave at the end of the evening and then couldn't get them back for three days, one of our items was unfortunately lost, and another returned slightly damaged. There was not a wedding the next day so I wish the venue could have been more flexible on timings to allow us 20 minutes to clear down our things while we were there collecting our cars. The venue do provide tear-down services which is helpful, however I'd have been happy doing this myself to be able to get our things the next day and check everything was there. I'd recommend future couples clear the bridal room completely earlier in the day and perhaps put everything into the boot of their car, and ensure that you take all sentimental items like guestbooks, Photo Booth books, cards etc. with you that night.
We would also recommend hiring a day-of coordinator. At the wedding we had attended here previously there was a coordinator who was employed by the venue, so we had assumed we would also have one. However by our wedding that gentleman had left, and I'll be honest I'm not sure if we had a coordinator or not as no one introduced themselves as such and we had several people telling us what to do on the day. As we didn't have a clear coordinator we felt that at times we or our guests weren't sure what we were meant to be doing or what was happening next, and I found myself answering lots of logistics questions, such as whether we were having a cake cutting before or after the first dance or who would be introducing us, that I wish I'd have been able to go over with a coordinator ahead of time so that I didn't have to do anything else during the actual wedding. There were also some other small issues, like our guests coming into the ceremony room too early and opening the curtains themselves, and my father-in-law and brother-in-law having to run in because no one had told them the ceremony was about to start while they were outside, that I think could have been avoided if there was a coordinator there to take charge of the day and tell everyone where they needed to be.

That being said, I still wholeheartedly give The Compasses 5 stars as we thoroughly enjoyed our day and would do it all over again. The venue is beautiful and has come out as well as I'd hoped in our photos, and other than a couple of picky bits our day was perfect.

Thank you so much to everyone at The Compasses team for your hard work making our day so special.
Rebecca
Rebecca W. Sent on 22/11/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect in every way.

We fell in love with the Compasses the minute we arrived for one of their open days. It wasn’t our first wedding venue to view but was going to be our last. Totally sold by the genuine warmth from every staff member and even the suppliers we met along with the beautiful venue itself. So full of character and a perfect layout that made us feel completely comfortable and at home.
Jono and Jane, the owners, and the entire team couldn’t have done enough. Planning was made super simple thanks to the wonderful Charlaine who, even though she had so many weddings to organise, still managed to make us feel like we were the only couple she had!
The wedding and reception itself was beyond our expectations, absolutely perfect. Sarah was such a blessing to have in the bridal room and Della and Jordane had everything completely under control. They made us feel so relaxed and confident that we didn’t need to worry about a thing and just get on with enjoying our day.
Choosing the Compasses was the best decision. If only we could do it all over again. Thank you so much to the whole team for making it truly wonderful.
Matthew
Matthew S. Sent on 19/11/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Wedding Matt and Carolyn Stone

From start to finish we found all the staff helpful, caring and supportive in organising our special day and ensuring everything went to plan. We would not hesitate to recommend The Compasses to anyone. We were made to feel very special, not just “another wedding”. Special thanks to Jono, Charlaine, Jordane, Della and Tracey, all who worked so hard to make our day very special. THANK YOU!
Michelle
Michelle P. Sent on 12/10/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Amazing experience

We had such an amazing day at the compasses, beautiful venue, everything went to plan, very professional but also very friendly genuine people that run the compasses.
Couldn't have asked for a better day, we are so happy, thank you.
Sarah
Sarah M. Sent on 16/09/2023
5 out of 5 rating

The best day ever

Wow, what can we say The Compasses at Pattiswick really made our day everything we wanted and more. The care of the team on the two year build up from booking to getting married was superb and every time we had any questions they were always answered quickly. We visited a few of the open days once we had booked so we could show our family the stunning countryside venue and was always made to feel very welcome. Safe to say we completely fell in love with The Compasses at Pattiswick as it had a homely feel and the staff were always kind, helpful and honest. On the day of the wedding Della and her team were there to welcome us and our suppliers throughout the day, they made sure we were all comfortable on what was the hottest day of the year and made sure the whole day run smoothly. We loved every minute of our wedding day and definitely would not change anything especially the stunning venue. We had so many lovely comments from all of our guests about how lovely the venue was, how delicious the food was during the day and how much they enjoyed themselves. However I think what made the whole experience of wedding planning even better was that when we had our very first meeting with them we were asked “what do you want from your wedding” and that’s when we knew we really could have the wedding of our dreams without any over the top packages. We loved every single moment of our wedding and to see all our our friends and family together and enjoying the day was all we ever wanted. We could not have asked for anything else from the team as they made every part of the day special.
Thank you to everyone at The Compasses at Pattiswick for all your hard work. We would 100% recommend your beautiful venue to anyone looking to get married.
Gary
Gary W. Sent on 28/06/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Everything we dreamed it would be!

We got married at the Compasses earlier this month and it was everything we dreamed it would be.

We fell in love twice - once with each other, and then with this venue. As soon as we saw it, even before we had seen it, we knew it was 'the one'. Everything about the Compasses is perfect - the rural setting, the ambience, the rooms, the lawn, the gate, the fields, the bridal room - but the really special thing are the people who ensure your wedding is looked after as if it was their own.

The Compasses team are just wonderful - relaxed, easy to deal with, nothing too much trouble for them. On the day itself Della managed everything to perfection, giving us time out when we needed it, ensuring all the details were as we wanted them and helping to make our day run so smoothly. The glorious weather helped, it is true, but even if we had not been so lucky the Compasses would still have been a brilliant venue.

As far as practicalities go, packages are flexible rather than fixed, and getting married here is competitively priced. Jono and his team will adapt to your ideas, preferences and budget as far as they possibly can. We wanted an 'understated' wedding that reflected our personalities and the Compasses was perfect.
Laurence
Laurence A. Sent on 21/06/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Laurence and Melanie Black

Can’t say enough good regarding the venue and staff on our wedding day. I’m sure the Staff are selected for their lovely nature . Perfect Wedding/ event venue - has it all re layout, finishes, decor and of course the lovely location and setting - loads of parking. Staff were all wonderful and Della in particular was phenomenally professional. She popped up when needed and knew when to act to ensure our day was perfect. Huge thanks to Jonno (owner) for going out on safari to rescue my Mother who got lost on the way. All the recommended suppliers were superb. Never seen such beautiful flowers and the cake is putting weight on us after the event - delicious. Charlaine the pre planner also deserves a medal for making sure the day was set up so well. Big thanks to Amp & Decks, Terry and Karen Crouch, Appletree Cake Design, Country Garden Flower, D:fine Hair Halstead, Harrison Events , Lovejoy Caterers. Thank you to all for making our day Perfect 💝 Lol and Mels xx
RomanticPurpleStationery27376
Rebecca H. Sent on 04/06/2023
5 out of 5 rating

The most magical day

I don’t know how to put into words how wonderful our day was! The compasses was wonderful from start to finish. I wouldn’t change a thing. ❤️
Tayla
Paul Sent on 23/04/2023
5 out of 5 rating

Perfect in every way

Where do I even start?

From the moment we first viewed the compasses, it felt like visiting family to us. The team are so welcoming, kind, helpful and supportive.

The compasses sat us down and asked us what we wanted, which was so refreshing after visiting other venues who were simply selling packages. If you want your day to be unique to you and exactly what you want, the compasses is the venue for you.

Every single member of the team at the compasses genuinely care so much about you as a couple and in making sure you have the best wedding day. I cannot thank them enough for making our day so special. It went so smoothly and nothing was ever too much to ask. We didn’t have to lift a finger. I was so relaxed on the morning of my wedding and I’m usually an anxious person so that’s saying something! They don’t do stress at the compasses.

And finally the venue itself. It’s simply stunning! The exposed brick and wooden beams give it a rustic, country feel. I love the fireplaces and the furniture dotted around. It really helps it feel homely and intimate. It’s nestled amounts country lanes and open fields making it the perfect setting for pictures. The outdoor space is perfect for your guest to mingle and soak up some sunshine. It’s just perfect in every way.
illustration stars

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Badges

Hitched Wedding Awards 2024 Winner
Hitched Wedding Awards 2023 Winner

The Compasses at Pattiswick Real Weddings

Salima & Eliot
53 photos · 04/08/2023
Hannah & Kurt
41 photos · 10/06/2022
Heather & Sam
77 photos · 19/08/2019

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Map

Compasses Road CM77 8BG Braintree (Essex)
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