Case Studies
There’s something Special in every Venue
Xenia Venues aims to create a really special group of wedding venues. Each venue has a unique quality that we know couples will love, and is in a setting where we can make a positive social impact on the local community and economy. Find out about the venues already in the group, and what we are looking for in our next three venues.
Copdock Hall in Suffolk
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.
High House in Essex
High House is the epitome of an English Garden wedding venue, and is situated in the heart of a vineyard. Paths weave through beautifully tended lawns and flowering borders, and roses drape from trellis. A heart-shaped lake and an ornamental pond with an arched bridge and weeping willow complete the picture.
High House had a large farmhouse and annexe, where the owners lived, a Grade II barn, a permanent marquee and a vineyard. It had grown gradually over the past 10 years into a successful family owned and run wedding venue.
We worked with the owner to obtain planning consent to change the farmhouse into ensuite accommodation for wedding guests before purchasing the entire property and business, which the owner’s daughters have continued to run under Xenia’s ownership.
Its growth had been limited by a lack of flexible reception spaces for use in the winter, limiting bookings to just 7 months of the year and impacting on job stability for the team. We also felt that couples from further afield would appreciate the vineyard surrounding High House, if it could be incorporated into the venue more.
Future plans involve £2.6 million of enhancements. The vision of these have been showcased in high-quality CGI across social media and website and include a new vineyard entrance, replacing the marquee with a glass Orangery and extended terrace, and extending the Stable Bar to add an indoor reception space that would enable High House to operate year round as one of the most popular wedding venues in Essex.
Photo credits: Sam Rundle Photography
Venues 3, 4 and 5
Our next three wedding venues are yet to be discovered, so if you think yours may be suitable, and you are interested in selling, please get in touch with James.
We are looking for venues that will appeal to couples looking for a high quality venue, with flexible reception spaces for at least 100 guests, attractive gardens and on site accommodation, in the south of England
It is important to us that we make a positive impact on the local community, so the venues we buy will be remote enough for guests to party without disturbing anyone, yet close enough to towns to offer job opportunities to locals.
We work ethically and professionally, so venues will need to have, or obtain, the correct licences and permissions to operate as a wedding venue, year round.
We are only looking for existing wedding venues, ideally hosting a minimum of 50 weddings per year.