Stretton Manor Barn is a unique and exclusive wedding venue set within 22 acres of Derbyshire countryside. The barn is full of rustic charm, with reclaimed stonework and traditional timber cladding. This was the stage for today’s wedding between Linsey and Simon.
The Wedding
Linsey and Simon
Stretton Manor Barn
Sunday 14 July 2024
Ceremony, Drinks and Meal
The Wedding Ceremony
Stretton Manor Barn is an open plan barn which means every part of your day is connected. The only disconnect that we could see is that the venue grand piano is nowhere near the ceremony space. As a rule we try to avoid playing venue pianos as they are rarely in tune and even when they are they do not blend well.
However, to get around this problem we generally set up our own stage piano by the piano so to all intents and purposes it looks as if we are using the venue piano – the sound is just far better and more balanced to suit you day. By using our own kit we have control over the blend between the two instruments, the overall volume and other factors such as acoustic and even the fine tuning of the cello.
Our first challenge at Stretton Manor Barn was the fact that we couldn’t see the ceremony area at all from the location requested by the piano. Added to this we had to play two songs, one for the bridesmaids and one for the bride all timed to absolute perfection based on when they came in and then finishing when the bride arrived by her groom.
We were told there was a system for this and we did have a member of staff telling us when the bridesmaids were ready and then when the bride was ready. However she then left at the point the bride started walking and so we had absolutely no idea when to end the music – we do not just ‘fade out’ we always end the music beautifully at precisely the right moment! Fortunately Jules was able to stand up and keep playing and could just about see the bride’s head and the music still ended at precisely the right moment.
We realise of course, these sort of details are unlikely to affect anyone else and also accept that our job is to make the music perfect no matter what. Ultimately our many years of experience with weddings in a huge number of places means we can deal with just about anything – the only goal is to make the music beautiful for our lovely couples.
The service itself was a hand fasting ceremony lead by a celebrant – who in this case turned out to also be one of the bridesmaids! The ring bearer was an owl – we have seen this a few times before but this one was absolute perfection – delivering the rings exactly at the right time before returning to it’s keeper!
After the ceremony the guests made their way outside for the confetti shot and the space was re arranged for the venue to set up for the meal. One distinct advantage of our location was it meant we didn’t have to move throughout the day as we could play for ceremony, drinks and meal all from the same location by the piano.
Whilst this makes our lives easier more importantly it also means the couple can enjoy even more music as we don’t tend to take breaks and therefore the music just carried on seamlessly from the start of the ceremony all the way through to the end of the meal.
The Reception
As the weather was kind the guests were mostly outside for the drinks reception and for the odd spot of rain there were convenient canopys to shelter under.
During the drinks reception we actually did get a short break as there was a bird flying demonstration outside which was definitely a first for us at a wedding.
We particularly enjoyed seeing the harrier hawk!
After the show we continued playing music for the rest of the drinks reception and then carrying on throughout the wedding meal.
This was a lovely wedding and it was a pleasure being part of Linsey and Simon’s wedding at Stretton Manor Barn. We will be returning to this venue later in the year but in the meantime we wish Linsey and Simon every happiness for their married future together.
