This page is for couples booked to have their big day at Cott Farm. If something’s not covered below, please do get in touch! Please also do have a look at our Questions & Answers page.
Marriages and Civil Partnerships
If you are having a civil marriage or partnership ceremony at Cott Farm, you will need to do the following:
1. Book your Registration Officers
As soon as you have chosen your venue and wedding date, you should book the registrars for your wedding ceremony. Regardless of where you live, you need to contact our local office. The Barn at Cott Farm is within the Somerset Registration Service (Somerset Council) region. Registrars can be booked up to two years in advance of your wedding date and we recommend booking your registrar early to ensure they are available. It is your responsibility to make the necessary booking with the registration office.
Send a Ceremony Booking Request to Somerset Registration Service here and select ‘Cott Farm’ for the venue.
2. Give notice
Giving notice is a legal declaration that you intend to marry. It’s a private meeting with a registration officer in advance of your wedding before permission is granted for you to marry.
Here’s a summary of the process of giving notice:
- You must give notice at least 29 days before your wedding. You can give notice up to a year in advance, and the marriage authority is valid for a full year for the venue you have chosen, so we recommend doing it 3-6 months ahead.
- You give notice of marriage to the council in the area that you live, even if your ceremony venue is in a different area.
- In Somerset, you can book your appointment online for any of the register offices in the area.
- You’ll need to provide the date and location of your ceremony, so you must have booked both your venue and your registrars before you can give notice.
- You must both attend your notice appointment in person.
- You both need to provide original documents confirming your name, age, nationality and marital status. Typically, this means you will both need to take:
- A valid passport
- Driving license or current year council tax bill or utility bill dated within 3 months or bank statement dated within 1 month
- If you are divorced: Decree Absolute. If you’re not previously married, no documents are needed.
Please visit Somerset Council’s website for more information about marriages on approved premises…
3. Plan your ceremony
This is your big day and to a large extent it’s up to you how you celebrate your marriage. You need to agree on what legal declarations and vows you want to say to each other. The details of everything you want to include need to be given to Somerset Registration Service at least 4 weeks before your ceremony, or they can prepare a standard ceremony format for you. As a guide, a civil wedding ceremony will last between 20 and 30 minutes, depending on whether you’ve chosen a classic or enhanced ceremony and which personal readings, vows and music you choose.
Please see the marriage and partnerships guidance from Somerset Registration Service for more details.
Wedding Insurance
Please remember you are required to obtain wedding / event insurance as part of your booking with us. We cannot recommend specific insurance companies because of the law governing the selling of financial products, however the below links can give you more information on wedding insurance.
Wedding Insurance Guide, Money Saving Expert
Money Saving Supermarket partnered with Protect Your Family comparison tool
Order of the day
Our team will help you plan the order of your big day.
Every wedding is different and timings are largely determined by the format and contents of your ceremony, the number of guests, your wedding breakfast menu and your entertainment. As a rough guide we recommend allowing:
- Ceremony: 30 minutes (if having a civil ceremony at Cott Farm)
- Welcome drinks, canapés & photos: 1 – 2 hours (depending on whether you are having canapés)
- Wedding breakfast: 1.5 – 3 hours (depending on menu, number of courses and number of guests, but roughly 45 minutes per course + 15 minutes)
- Speeches & toasts: 45 minutes – 1 hour (they’ll probably take more like 30 minutes, but it’s good to allow a buffer before your band arrives to set up)
- Band set up: 1.5 hours
- Evening food: 1 – 1.5 hours (depending on menu and number of guests)
We will work through these timings with you to make sure your day runs as smoothly as possible.
Master of ceremonies
We ask for you to arrange a master of ceremonies for your day if possible. This is typically a job for your best man, maid of honour or an usher, but any guest who enjoys public speaking would be suitable! We don’t need this person to ‘keep track of time’ or anything else other than make announcements when prompted by us – we provide wedding coordination throughout the day and will find your master of ceremonies at the time they are needed to announce each part of the day.
Furniture
- The Barn can seat up to 150 people, with ten people on each of our 15 handmade wooden tables.
- We recommend seating at least eight people per table.
- Each table is 2.4 metres long x 1 metre wide.
- Our tables do not require table cloths, but we think a table runner looks good.
- Recommended table runner lengths: if you’re seating ten guests to a table (i.e. one either end and four down each side), we recommend allowing a space of at least 30cm for each place setting. A table runner of 1.8m long x 40 cm wide is ideal. If you’re seating eight to a table (i.e. no one either end), a table runner longer than the table length (to create an overhang) looks pretty. Please contact us if you’d like us to hire these for you.
- Chair covers: our chairs are all wooden to suit the style of the barn and you do not need to use chair covers.
Decorations
- You are free to decorate The Barn, its grounds and the ceremony pergola as much, or as little, as you’d like. We ask that you are mindful to not damage the fabric or contents of the building and grounds. Hooks are provided on the walls inside the barn for you to hang your own decorations (or to use ours) – please use these and not drawing pins, Sellotape, blu-tack or any other fixings.
- All decorations provided by you must be delivered and removed by you during your hire period.
- The barn is approx. 20m long and 10m wide. There are 7 wooden beams spanning the 10m width. Each beam is fitted with fairy lights (which are included). You are welcome to use the beams to hang additional decorations.
- In addition to the fixed decorations, we have a wide range of wedding styling props and decorations. See our range of wedding venue styling props…
- We offer a venue styling service if you need help bringing your vision to life or you simply don’t have the time to put together your decorations.
Pergola
We provide a lace curtain and garland for your backdrop. This is 210cm wide. If you wish to decorate the railings at the front, each side is 160cm wide.
Ceremony location
We will always try to make everything happen as you want it on your big day. This includes your preference to have your wedding outside, but unfortunately the weather is one of the things we cannot control. However, we do have the perfect back up plan in place as the barn itself is licensed for ceremonies.
There’ll be no other weddings taking place anywhere at the venue, which means right up until the morning of the big day itself you (or indeed the weather) can choose your ceremony location. We can leave the ceremony location decision until the last possible moment, with all our fingers crossed, but please note the Registrars may insist you have your ceremony inside if the weather is awful, and we can’t overrule them as it is a legal ceremony. Please do trust us – we will always try and work to your wishes and will help you make a decision in the best interests of everyone!
Wedding cake
- Your wedding cake must be supplied by a registered food business (this means they must be registered with their local authority for food hygiene purposes).
- As with all suppliers you have arranged, you do need to send us your cake baker’s details in advance.
- You must ensure your wedding cake takes into account your guests’ food allergies. For example, no food containing nuts can be on the premises if you have a guest with a nut allergy. Your baker will need to provide written allergen information upon delivery.
- Once you’ve done your ceremonial wedding cake cutting, we transport it to the kitchen and process it into slices to be served informally ‘buffet-style’ during the evening. There is no charge for informal cake service for full weekend weddings; you will just need to supply equipment for your guests to consume your cake (typically serviettes or we can arrange plate and fork hire at cost price). Please contact us for options and pricing for single day wedding/event venue hire.
- All other food, including savoury cakes such as those made of cheese, must be provided by us due to food hygiene rules.
Food & drink
Except for your wedding cake (see above), all food and drink consumed on the premises must be provided by us/our suppliers unless agreed in writing with you.
If you have chosen a drinks package, just let us know your final guest numbers and we will take care of the quantities, staff, and glasses needed. Welcome drinks will be served by our team to your guests by the glass – please choose one type of welcome drink for all guests and this will be served with a non-alcoholic alternative. Table wine is based on a glass for every adult guest, and any left over wine will be cleared from the tables after your meal. Toast drinks are served by the glass to your guests at the table by our team.
The licensed bar will be open throughout the day for your guests to purchase drinks.
Please remember edible ‘favours’ and thank you gifts are not permitted.
Tableware
Catering prices include individual place settings for the menu and drinks you have chosen, for example serviettes, cutlery, crockery and glasses. Plus tableware for each table, such as salt & pepper mill, water jug, serving equipment and wine cooler.
Children
We do not restrict the number of children you may invite but, if more than 10% of your guests are under 14 years old, you must arrange a suitably qualified and insured creche or childminding service for the duration of the wedding. Please see our list of local wedding suppliers.
Children must be fully supervised throughout the day and night.
Children over 10 will be served the same meal as adults. We can usually offer under 10s smaller portions of your chosen adult main course but cannot change starter and dessert portions. We do not have highchairs so please ask parents to bring their own if required.
Setting up & access
The agreed booking period for a weekend wedding is:
Friday 10am – 5pm to set up
Saturday (the Event Date) 1pm – 1am
Sunday 10am – 1pm to collect possessions.
The agreed booking period for a weekday wedding is twelve (12) hours, finishing no later than 11.30pm.
Please refer to the booking terms and conditions if you have booked something other than the above with us.
Wedding suppliers
Deliveries & collections
You are responsible for liaising with your own suppliers (any person or company you have contracted directly). Deliveries, set up, collections, and removal of all items supplied by them – including rubbish and recycling – must be between your agreed booking times (see above). We cannot accept deliveries or collections from any of your suppliers on your behalf so please ensure you arrange their arrival when you will be there.
You must ensure each of your suppliers have appropriate insurance and credentials, and supply us with written evidence of this in advance of your event date. We cannot allow suppliers on site without this written evidence.
Catering for your suppliers on the day
You may be expected or contractually required to provide food and drink for your suppliers. Photographers nearly always need to be included in your daytime guest numbers for catering. They will sit separately to eat their food while you and your guests are eating.
Your evening suppliers (especially your band, and often your photographer) should normally be included by you in your evening food numbers unless you have explicitly agreed otherwise with them. Some suppliers expect a provision for drinks from the bar too, and we are happy to accommodate you if you wish to set up a small soft drinks bar tab for suppliers. Please check with your individual suppliers what they expect or require and let us know what has been agreed. We are unable to provide food or drink for your suppliers without prior arrangement with you.
Confetti
- Real flower confetti is allowed. This must be used outdoors only.
- We do not allow any synthetic (including that labelled ‘biodegradable’) confetti anywhere within the grounds.
- Confetti, including table ‘confetti’ decor, is not permitted inside the barn.
Entertainment
- Your band or DJ music must finish by 12 midnight on Saturdays (11pm Monday – Friday and 10pm on Sundays). This cannot be extended.
- The usual spot for bands in the top right corner is 5m x 2.5m. More or less space can be agreed with you. The Barn is equipped with 13A power sockets.
- We recommend your performer(s) arrive prepared for their performance. There are no private rooms or spaces them to use.
- All entertainment providers must have public liability insurance and are liable for the safe use of their equipment. In the case of equipment such as bouncy castles, it will only be permitted if they are fully staffed throughout its use. Please contact us to discuss.
- Catering for your entertainers and other suppliers must be pre-ordered, if required (please see above).
- We do not permit Chinese lanterns or fireworks.
- We do not permit smoke bombs.
- Please contact us if you wish to have sparklers. These are permitted but need to be arranged and managed through us for obvious reasons.
Camping & parking
- If you have booked our glamping & camping option, this includes five bell tents and your guests can bring their own camper vans, and caravans, as well as tents. We do not have electric hook up facilities.
- Our glamping and camping option is one price for the exclusive use of the whole camping field (including the bell tents). We don’t offer an option for guests to book individually with us. Likewise, breakfast can only be provided for the minimum number of guests and we can’t offer this to individuals. It’s not a problem for you to ask your guests to pay you for their camping pitch and breakfast, however you are responsible for making such arrangements with your guests.
- You have exclusive use of the venue from Friday morning. Your guests may set up and take down their tents at anytime during your hire period. Staying overnight is only permitted on the night of the wedding.
- All guests must leave The Barn by 1am. Those camping must head back to the campsite. No sound systems/amplifiers etc are permitted in the campsite.
- Due to insurance we cannot permit overnight stays by anyone if you have not booked our glamping & camping option.
- Guests may leave their cars parked overnight at Cott Farm at their own risk. Guest vehicles must be removed between 10am and midday the following day. The gates will be locked outside of these times.
- Guests must prebook taxis because of our rural location.
The Nook
- You’re welcome to use the nook to dress before your ceremony within your agreed booking period.
- The capacity of the nook is a maximum of three people at any one time.
Visiting Cott Farm
- Weekend wedding bookings include two planning meetings. We suggest the first takes place shortly after you have booked for you to re-visualise the space, and start making your wedding plans with our help. This often includes bringing parents and/or friends to show them the space. The other visit is normally around six weeks before your wedding day so that we can finalise your plans with you.
- For single day wedding bookings we include one planning meeting 6-8 weeks before your booked date.
- If you would like to arrange additional private visits or planning meetings for you, your family/friends or your suppliers, we will always try to accommodate you but there may be a small additional charge for this. Please remember visits to the farm are by appointment only.
Changing your booking
We appreciate your final guest numbers may increase or decrease by a few people between your completing your booking form and receiving your RSVPs, and that is expected. However, if your numbers look like they’re going to vary significantly either way from your booking, or if you would like to change anything else you have booked from us, you need to let us know as soon as possible. This is because your booked requirements (as specified on your booking form) are used to calculate the estimated price and payment schedule for your booking using the costs specified in our brochure for venue hire, catering and your other requirements. We use these to plan and book everything from our suppliers for the booked date to the wider schedule of maintenance, renewals and other annual costs. It’s therefore really important we are aware of – and agree to – any amendments you wish to make to your booking. All amendments to your booked requirements must be agreed in writing with us.
Your booking with us is date specific and we’re not able to offer voluntary postponements. If you wish to change your booked date, you will need to cancel your existing booking with us and book a new date. Cancellation is subject to the terms and costs set out in our booking terms and conditions. You are required to obtain wedding/event insurance as part of your booking with us so please check your wedding/event insurance covers your circumstances before contacting us to discuss booking a new date.
Within 14 days of booking: We can usually accommodate date changes to another available date within one month either side of your booked date. For example, if the registrars have no availability on your booked date we will endeavour to move your booking with us to the next or previous available weekend. However whilst we will try to accommodate your request if made within 14 days of booking with us, no guarantee can be made.
Anything else?
Please do in touch if you have any questions or need any help!
Becca & Ollie x