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About

On Hitched.co.uk since 2022

Last update: August 2024

Villiers Barn is a picturesque Wedding Venue located in Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex. The barn is set in an idyllic location, with acres of beautiful gardens, tranquil lakes, and incredible countryside views, making it perfect for a rural wedding.

Facilities and Capacity

The Grade II listed seven-bay barn is rich in history and has been beautifully restored, combining traditional features and modern style.
The former coach house has been transformed into a gorgeous get-ready suite, and it's situated between the courtyard and swimming pool. At Villiers Barn, ceremonies will take place in the property's designated indoor ceremony space. The room features large windows, white walls, light wood flooring, and ceiling beams, creating a light and airy event space. Receptions are held in the main barn venue with wooden structures, ornate chandeliers, and large glass sliding double doors. If you're looking to have the fairytale-inspired wedding you've always envisioned, this venue is for you!

Services Offered

The experienced team is passionate about their work and is committed to ensuring you have the happiest day, tailored to you as a couple and full of personal touches. Villers Barn offers bespoke packages to meet all your requirements. The in-house catering team is a family-owned business that comes with 25 years of experience managing hundreds of weddings a year. They will ensure the smooth running of your day, providing a combination of top-class food and service. What's more, the venue is just four minutes from the award-winning Lifehouse Spa & Hotel. They have 89 bedrooms and will provide a discounted rate for any guests attending a wedding at Villiers Barn.

Awards

We are very proud to have won numerous wedding awards since opening in the last 2.5 years, which is a credit to the hard work and passion our team put into every wedding, making each couple's wedding vision become a reality!

  • Hitched Wedding Awards 2022 & 2023 & 2024
  • The Wedding Industry Awards : Regionally Highly Commended Barn Venue of the Year 2022
  • The Wedding Industry Awards : Regionally Highly Commended Barn Venue of the Year 2023
  • The Wedding Industry Awards : Regionally Highly Commended Best Newcomer 2023

Frequently asked questions

Venue type:

In the country
Historic
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
Outdoor fireworks permitted

Overnight accommodation:

Overnight accommodation for wedding couple

Venue staff assistance:

Wedding coordinator

Venue leisure facilities:

Swimming pool

Other features:

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

Do you have any questions?

Reviews for Villiers Barn

We're all about trust. Our community relies on honest reviews to make your big decisions easier.
5.0 out of 5 rating
Hitched Wedding Awards 2024 Winner
5.0 out of 5 rating
117 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
H
Harriette B. Sent on 08/08/2022
5 out of 5 rating

First class

I don’t think the words I’m trying to find even exist in the dictionary, to describe this truly breathtaking, spectacular, unique, initiate venue - VILLIERS BARN is out of this world and that’s all down to Juliet & Barry, the Venue owners & directors & their son Jonathan who offer a 7-star, first class service. All three are extremely passionate about their business & they go above and beyond from the moment we viewed, booked & then had our wedding (last Thursday), no job was too big for them.

We viewed VILLIERS during its renovation & as soon as we drove up the lane, there was something so very special about where we had just arrived, historic, traditional - but different from any other typical barn wedding venue I’d seen online / been to as a guest. VILLIERS holds something special & unique.

VILLIERS was the first & only venue we viewed - we knew it was the one for us. We went back to see progress & it just kept getting better and better. I can’t praise the venue, the setting, the owners & staff enough.
We had an Amalfi (Italian) Coast themed wedding, the barn is simply stunning & speaks for itself - our theme fitted in perfectly, but as would any other theme over the last year I’ve seen villiers host many weddings & no two weddings have been the same it’s incredible - versatile VILLIERS! 👏🏽

Every time we viewed VILLIERS after booking, I felt so choked in the ceremony room, the barn, by the lake as I just knew this was the only place I see myself getting married to my fiancé, our wedding day was perfect & we have had fabulous comments from family and friends - saying it was the best venue & best wedding they’d ever been to, spectacular settings & top class service and so well organised.

To Juliet, Barry & Jonathan and their wonderful staff - your passion shines through & we can’t thank you enough for having us & making our day perfect, I’m so sad our wedding day is over - but the memories we’ve created will last forever & will play out like a film in our minds.

I can’t recommend VILLIERS BARN enough, if you want the best wedding, then book the best venue.

Thank you all again,

Harriette & Charlie Blackshaw-Clare 🤍🍋💙
Jamie
Jamie G. Sent on 19/09/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Mr & Mrs Greig

BOOK THIS WEDDING VENUE, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

From the moment me and wife stepped foot on the premises we knew this was the place we wanted to get married!

Juliet, Jonathan and Rebecca made the process from the initial viewing to the big day absolutely seamless! Any questions we had were answered quickly and informatively.

The big day came and what a day and went with absolutely no issues, the whole team at Villiers barn were working tirelessly behind the scenes to take any worries away for me and my wife.

The canapés and the food was absolutely amazing and a mega advantage for couples is the venue save you a tray of canapés for you to eat on your own while you take a moment together while once your photos are done, and not only that but you and your partner get to choose any meal of the menu you want as it is your big day!

The honeymoon lodge is beautiful, then night of our wedding rained and laying watching the rain hit the pond and tap on the roof was a lovely way to wake up!

I honestly can not recommend this venue enough, it was the absolutely best day of our lives and would love to be able to do it all over again!
Louise
Louise S. Sent on 04/09/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The Most perfect Wedding day!

I don’t even know where to begin. What and absolutely Incredible Venue. This was the first venue we looked at and knew from that point we didn’t need to look anywhere else we just knew this was the one and absolutely fell in love with it, Since booking this gorgeous barn Juliet, Jonathan, Rebecca and the rest of the team have all been absolutely amazing, They were aways there to answer any questions we had no matter how big, small or silly and it was always such a quick and lovely response. We had our gorgeous wedding at the beautiful Villiers barn on Saturday and from getting ready in the bridal suite to the honeymoon lodge when the wedding was over honestly couldn’t of been anymore perfect. The whole team were incredible and we honestly couldn’t fault anyone or anything, someone was always on hand throughout the whole day and that was so reassuring the whole team made sure that our day ran so smoothly which It did. With every wedding you expect a blip but I can’t even say we had one due to how organised professional and caring the whole team was and the attention to detail for everything was just phenomenal, Our guests spent the whole day saying how beautiful the venue and wedding was and how everything was running so smoothly and honestly we can’t thank you enough for that we also just want to mention the food as from the canapés to the evening buffet it was all absolutely delicious. We honestly can’t thank you all enough for giving us the wedding of our dreams we will remember that day for the rest of our lives and that is all thanks to you and your incredible team. There is honestly no words to describe how greatful we are for giving us the most incredible day which will stay in our hearts forever.
Lots of Love always Mr & Mrs Sayers ❤️
Lauren
Lauren P. Sent on 01/09/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Lauren & Adam Pomphrett

Wow. What an incredible experience from beginning to end. As soon as we visited Villiers I knew it was the place we wanted to get married. The venue is just beautiful but Jonathan and Juliet really made us feel special and we just knew it was the place for us. Nothing was ever to much trouble. People gave always told us a wedding is very stressful to plan, but with Villiers barn that was never the case. The venue, the food and the staff were just incredible.
Francesca
Francesca O. Sent on 23/08/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The Owens 05/07/24

Honestly, look no further - there is no venue more incredible than Villiers Barn!
We had our wedding at Villiers this year after completely falling in love with everything about it and then booking with them 2 years prior to our wedding day. Juliet and her team are amazing, they made us feel so comfortable and looked after, no ask was too big or too small! They look after you like family and in all honesty Juliet was one of the main reasons we booked Villiers in the first place! From the lead up, to the morning of the wedding, the team made me process so smooth, enjoyable and stress free, they just wanted us to enjoy our day and not to worry about a single thing! It’s difficult to put into words what this venue and the people who run it mean to us but it will always hold the most special place in our hearts🤍
Hayley
Hayley W. Sent on 22/08/2024
4.6 out of 5 rating

An amazing wedding day

We celebrated our wedding at Villiers in July 24 and had an amazing day. Staff were professional, friendly and supportive throughout the day. Becky and Alice were amazing!! Juliet ensured we were looked after whilst getting ready in the morning and the set up of the barn was everything we wanted. BBQ wedding breakfast was very nice and well organised and the staff ensured we, the couple, got some canapés and time to sit by ourselves to soak it all in. The only downside was that we didn't see the evening food but that might have been because we were dancing too much!! Highly recommend the venue, the setting and staff made our day everything we wanted and more.
Sophie
Sophie N. Sent on 28/07/2024
5 out of 5 rating

There aren’t enough words 🤍

I don’t think there are the words to describe Villiers Barn – neither the venue nor team, they are simply outstanding and we will never be able to thank them enough for making our wedding day nothing short of perfect.

We viewed several venues prior to seeing Villiers, and cancelled a number of viewings afterwards! Not only was the venue breath-taking, it was the people that had us hooked immediately. Jonathan booked us in for a visit with great communication, then Juliet and Becky welcomed us in with open arms. They instantly put my bride fears at ease! The whole team are so knowledgeable about the industry and so reassuring; we said we could forget everything on the day and know the venue would speak for itself and the team would have us covered. As a family run business, you’re not only booking a venue at Villiers - you are booking (lovely) people that care.

We knew we would be in good hands but the day STILL managed to surpass our expectations. From the most delicious chicken we have EVER tasted, to the little touches of Becky helping my with my bags from the car and a coffee in the morning. The team had thought of EVERYTHING – a speaker for the girls getting ready, help with decorations that needed last minute tweaks, being pulled away to enjoy our husband and wife canapés by the lake which was a beyond beautiful moment, to helping box everything up the next day for an easy getaway into married life. Every single person that attended our wedding was wowed; The barn, the grounds, the décor, the vibes, the attentive staff, beautiful (and plentiful) food and drink… there is just too much to say.

In summary, thank you. Thank you for making our dreams come true. The day would not have been the same without you and we will never forget that it was Villiers and the Villiers team that created the best day of our lives.

Sophie & Christoper Lutton
27.06.2024
Georgia
Georgia S. Sent on 10/07/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The best of the best

Where do I start with Villiers Barn? They gave us the most amazing day and we can’t thank them enough. Their beautiful barn, coupled with the stunning ceremony room, has a clean, modern feel in a building draped in history. Set amongst beautiful grounds with ample photo backdrops, it’s the perfect setting for a beautiful wedding day. Other than the venue itself, the staff are the most friendly and helpful people you’ll meet and couldn’t do enough for us in the run up to the day and during our day, they truly know weddings inside and out.
As soon as we stepped inside the barn the first time we knew it was the venue for us, and we never looked back.
The biggest thank you to the whole team at Villiers Barn, for giving us the best wedding day!
Gemma
Gemma S. Sent on 08/07/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The best day ever celebrating at Villiers Barn!

We had our wedding at Villiers Barn in May and it was nothing short of incredible, we are so glad we went ahead with them to celebrate our big day.

Villiers Barn ended up being the first and only we toured when selecting our venue, we couldn’t find fault in anything offered which showcased their willingness to provide such a special wedding day, that we decided to secure our date.

Throughout the whole process, the entire Villiers Barn Team were incredibly accommodating, friendly and willing to answer all of our questions whether it be 18- months before or 2 days before the wedding date, it felt very personable.

On the morning of the wedding, Juliet, Jonathan and the entire VB Team were so helpful in setting up the venue decorations, everything looked perfect and was efficiently organised and they made sure to check in with us both to ensure we were happy. They couldn’t do enough to make sure we had the absolute best day, and we certainly had that.

The food was also delicious which can be a rarity in the wedding industry which was important to us as foodies, and they were very flexible with catering to dietary requirements of us and our guests. We had an incredible day and night, our guests had an amazing time and that is very reflective of this family’s lovely venue and hospitality shown throughout.

This is an absolutely beautiful barn venue with lovely grounds which are very well kept and make for gorgeous photos. They are very knowledgeable about weddings, and their expertise ensures everything runs smoothly (they are magic!).

We HIGHLY recommend Villiers Barn for your choice of wedding venue, everything was faultless and we appreciate them going above and beyond for us and our wedding party & guests.

Thank you VB!!
Gemma and Alex Martin xx
Jade
Jade L. Sent on 06/07/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Our perfect day!!

Where do we start! From start to finish Villiers barn have been incredible! We booked Villiers barn back in August 2022 and from the very moment of viewing the venue, we instantly fell in love and knew that we would be getting married here! (In fact, we actually didn’t view any other venues because it was so perfect in so many ways for us) Communication was fantastic and every question and query was never too much! Juliet, Jonathan and the team were truly incredible in the run up to the wedding and they were truly outstanding on the day too! Everything was perfect on our big day and nothing was too much for the team! (We got married 25.05.24)
Our day ran seamlessly and there were zero worries for us as everything was taken care of by Juliet, Jonathan, Rebecca and the team.

The food was truly incredible! All of our guests said how amazing the food was and we absolutely loved our evening pizza, even providing personal pizza’s for our guests with dietary needs was a great touch!

We absolutely love that a little bit of our day will forever remain at Villiers barn! Jonathan and the team decided to keep our shot wall that my husband made for our wedding and it’s been so lovely seeing it being used by more couples getting married!

I also have to say how incredibly accessible the venue is! Again another thing we loved about the venue when we first viewed was how accessible the grounds are. Our oldest son is disabled and it was very important for us to ensure the toilets were accessible and the ramps and rails were very well thought about in the planning/building.

The grounds are so beautiful and truly breathtaking! You will have the most amazing photos getting married at Villiers barn!

We cannot thank Juliet, Barry, Jonathan and Rebecca enough for making our day so truly special, bringing our vision to life and helping us make the most beautiful memories that will last a lifetime! Our wedding day truly was everything we had ever dreamed of!

We will forever highly recommend Villiers barn to our friends and family and hope that we get to return as guests in the future!
Emma
Emma O. Sent on 06/07/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Thank you from Mr & Mrs Osborn!

We had the most incredible day at Villiers Barn, we would highly recommend this venue to everyone! The venue is just stunning, the ceremony room is set up perfectly, the grounds are so well kept and are perfect for photos, but the barn is the real wow factor! All of our guests kept saying how much they loved the venue and the food.

Juliet, Jonathan, Becky and all of the team are amazing, nothing is too much trouble and they are always on hand to help. They made our day run smoothly from start to finish, everything was just perfect.

We really wish we could do it all over again🥹

Emma & James Osborn
15/06/2024
Lee
Lee P. Sent on 09/06/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Best of the best ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sounds cheesy I know but Sophie & I honestly had the wedding of our dreams and the entire experience was everything we could have wished for!

The setting of Villiers Barn is honestly something so special and the memories created we will cherish for the rest of our lives!

Juliet, Jonathan, Becky and the ‘surrogate daughter’ (ever so sorry, cannot remember your name) really did go the extra mile throughout with making everything stress free from the moment we met, two years prior to booking our wedding date!

You guys really have created something so special there and you should all be proud of what you have accomplished.

Only downside is we can’t do it all again! 🤣

All the best, love from Mr & Mrs Piggott

💒 13th April 2024 💒
Kelsey
Kelsey B. Sent on 05/06/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The most amazing venue!

I would 100% recommend Villiers Barn!
Its is honestly the most beautiful venue, gorgeous views, lovely honeymoon lodge and most of all the owners and staff are just amazing!
From the day we first visited we knew it was the one! Every email was always answered, every question was never too silly and every little detail they knew!
On the day (10th May) myself and the bridesmaids got ready at the venue and honestly the space made me feel like I could move in there! Kitchen area, amazing space to have the makeup and hair suppliers, lovely room to have your dress reveal and a swimming pool/ outdoor area!
The day run so smoothly thanks to Jonathan , he went above and beyond on the day and every question we asked he had already done it, always one step ahead!
The food is something everyone dreads at a wedding but when we told everyone that we were having bangers and mash they laughed…. Until the day when everyone got their dinner and everyone still goes on about how delicious it was!
Myself, Tom and our daughter Eidie were really made to feel special and part of the family and we’ll be forever grateful for making our day so perfect!
Thank you Barry, Juliet, Jonathan, Becky and all the team for being the best!
All our love
Tom and Kelsey 💜
Abigail
Abigail J. Sent on 27/02/2024
5 out of 5 rating

Stunning venue with an incredible team

Cannot recommend Villiers enough, from our initial enquiry through to our day (and beyond) the whole team are simply fabulous and nothing is too much to ask. The venue itself is beautiful and the food is incredible. We knew as soon as we saw Villiers it would be our wedding venue and there was never a second we doubted that decision. Along with some of their recommended suppliers we had a stress free day where everything had been thought of and ran so smoothly. Words aren’t enough to thank the Villiers team for making our day so special
Clare
Clare L. Sent on 14/01/2024
5 out of 5 rating

The day every little girl dreams of


Sorry this is a long one and has taken a while because how can you sum up your perfect day in a few words?

Before we were engaged we had always talked about getting married at a certain place, even the night we got engaged we were at this venue and sat planning how we would have it if we were to get married, little did I know that I was being proposed to that night. The proposal happened and as we left the place we booked an appointment with their wedding planner, as Michael was not from around the area and hadn’t been to any weddings locally we thought best just have a little look around just incase, I’m not sure how we found Villiers Barn but oh my god are we happy we did!

The minute we set foot into the barn we just fell in love, the warmth, love and passion the team at Villiers have could be felt- we went ahead with our pre booked appointments at other venues but found ourselves comparing where we looked to Villiers, but nowhere did compare. We booked a second viewing more so because I just wanted to return and get that feeling I felt when I first walked in- due to my job and shifts we were unable to attend for a couple of weeks, I emailed Jonathan explaining this with a hope that our chosen date would still be available after the viewing, Jonathan was so accommodating with finding a date which suited my shifts and not only that offered to hold our date at no cost until after we had been.
My parents and my sister in law attended the second viewing with us and to say my mum and sister in law cried when they walked in and as we left my dad’s reaction was ‘I can see you getting married here, the smile on your face when u walked in and the look in your eyes tells me that’ made our already easy choice easier and we confirmed our booking that evening

When booking various suppliers upon telling them our venue they would all comment on how lovely it was there, both my hair and make up artist commenting on the bridal prep area and how they love the space and lay out and out photographer saying it is one of her favourite venues.

As previously mentioned I’m a shift worker and would often find myself planning parts of our wedding either late evening or in the middle of the night on my break- this usually meant the team would get a random time email and much to my surprise I would always get a response within a couple of hours with the email finishing up with them asking me if there was anything they could do to help!

Having a December wedding I wanted to make our wedding a little Christmasy- Villiers were more than accommodating asking if they could have their beautiful Christmas tree up, serving winter pimms and evening adapting their traditional roast for the wedding breakfast to a Christmas dinner- and while I’m talking about the food I’ve had numerous comments from the guests about the standard of the food, how delicious it was and how it catered to all dietary requirements so no-one felt different.

Little did I know Jonathan and my dad had been emailing and between them organised one of the biggest surprises I’ve ever received in my life with an incredible firework display- Thank you for that!

Throughout the day Juilet and Jonathan ensured that Michael and I had time together just the two of us which was very welcomed and appreciated as were all the little reassuring hugs from Juliet she just knew when they were needed!

There is not one thing I would change about our day at Villiers I just wish we could do it all over again- in my dads words ‘the best day of his life’ much to my brothers annoyance!

Thank you Juliet, Jonathan and the rest of the team- you are all incredible

Clare and Michael Lowe
8/12/23
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Badges

Hitched Wedding Awards 2024 Winner
Hitched Wedding Awards 2023 Winner
Hitched Wedding Awards 2022 Winner

Villiers Barn Real Weddings

Faye & Josh
89 photos · 02/06/2024
Elisha & Daniel
40 photos · 30/04/2022

Map

Grove Farm, Tan Lane, Thorpe-Le-Soken CO16 9PT Thorpe-le-Soken (Essex)
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