Tucked away in a beautiful valley in Uley, Owlpen Manor is a relaxed wedding venue that can cater to pretty much any theme or idea from couples tying the knot.
If it’s something a little different you’re after, then a DIY wedding is the perfect solution but knowing where to start is a task in itself. Sharing his expert knowledge and suggesting that DIY doesn’t mean you have to do it all yourself, Hugo Mander, who oversees everything at Owlpen Manor, tells all in this expert insight.
For more information, visit owlpen.com directly.
What advice would you give to couples planning a DIY wedding?
Cast your net wide with venues so you can get an idea of what you don’t want. Until you’ve seen a few wedding venues, you can’t decide what you do want. Secondly, once you have an idea of what kind of wedding you want, don’t take no for an answer. These days there are plenty of venues who only let you have it their way, but there are also plenty who are really flexible.
The important thing to remember about having a DIY wedding is that you don’t have to do everything yourself. It’s about having an idea and seeing how the venue can fit that in. Use the expertise of the venue to help you. It’s more about having a vision and using the professional wedding coordinators to do the work instead.
How adaptable is Owlpen Manor? Can couples put their own stamp on the venue?
We think that no wedding should be the same. We try to encourage people to do things to make it into their day. We pride ourselves on making it different for each couple, we often ask ‘how can we add a bit of pizazz to this?’
What are the most important things to remember when organising a DIY wedding?
We always tell couples to ask for what they want, don’t be shy. The answer should and normally is ‘yes’ because it’s our job to make it the day they want.
Quite often when someone comes up with a nice idea, it makes the whole day more interesting and memorable.
Tell us about the accommodation at Owlpen Manor?
Owlpen is basically a private village. The estate consists of a manor house, a barn and nine holiday cottages. All the holiday cottages are historic buildings of the estate. The idea is that you can take the whole hamlet for yourself and populate it with your family.
We’ve got some really old and quirky buildings as well as some much more modern buildings and the idea is that lots of people like different things. Couples can look round and say which room is right for one person and which is right for another. Everyone has their own holiday cottage experience, it’s not just a wedding, but a weekend in the Cotswolds.
What’s the most memorable wedding Owlpen Manor has hosted?
One wedding happened last May which was really fun. The couple were South African and Israeli so they had friends and family coming from all the continents of the world. They all turned up on the Friday and although we normally sleep 40 here, we had another 40 in bell tents on our glamping pitch.
They had hot tubs in one of the holiday cottage gardens and a barbeque. On the day itself, everyone was outside on the picnic benches having a DIY breakfast. They were swimming in the lake and the pond. They got married in the woods with a whole load of hay bales, had garden games and then had dining and dinner in the barn.
