First impressions as you turn into the drive at Copdock Hall was enough to sell the venue to us. A beautiful flint-covered church in an elevated position looking over lawns that sweep down to a vineyard. However, it was the magnificent Elizabethan barn at Copdock Hall that won our hearts on our very first visit. It was sad to learn that the owners had given up on finding the right future owner for the business so had stopped taking bookings to prepare for selling as a residential property. Inevitably, they were finding it hard to retain staff and suppliers for the handful of weddings still to be fulfilled, so our first priority was to rebuild the pipeline of weddings, which we did alongside the owners, and re-establish it as Suffolk’s best barn wedding venue.

They had made some great decisions while developing the venue, including installing a biomass boiler and underfloor heating so the barn was comfortable year-round. There’s also a sheltered evening courtyard and an additional Harvest Barn so plenty of space for over 300 guests. Planning was required to change the house into guest accommodation, but was quickly granted along with an events licence for live bands.

Future plans include £1.7 million of developments, which have been showcased to couples through high-quality CGI images. Changes include landscaping to the gardens, a ceremony area within the award-winning vineyard and a new Courtyard Bar, to increase the appeal of this venue to London couples who will love the open, rustic beauty of the event spaces.