Southend Blog

We believe that drinks, like your venue and food are all part of the overall wedding day experience which culminate in creating lifelong memories.

So, over the last few months we’ve been working hard on a new drinks menu featuring lots of local flavours and creative ideas to ensure the drinks you serve are as well thought out as every other detail of your day.

Reception Drinks

Your welcome drinks set the tone for your celebrations and give your guests a taste of what is to come…

Classic or Creative

We have put together two inclusive drinks selections romantically named after our Dutch and English heritage. Your choice of Prosecco or English sparkling wine is served in elegant glassware and poured by our team; each selection will see you through from your reception to your meal and speeches.
Why not let your guests get creative and ‘Pimp their Prosecco’ with our fun vintage cart? Loaded with ingredients including mixers, fresh fruit, purees and cordials, your guests can enjoy creating classics like Bellinis and Mimosas or their own personalised bubbly. The possibilities are endless.

Celebrate the Seasons

The changing seasons can impact lots of your wedding day decisions, from the flowers you choose to the style of your outfits and the wedding day menu. Why should it be any different for your drinks? From a fruity summer Pimm’s to a winter mulled wine or cider, we can ensure your drinks complement the time of year.

Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Don’t overlook your guests that won’t be drinking alcohol. We’ve discovered some delicious drinks that will get your alcohol-free guests feeling just as excited and well looked after. Our temperance selection includes marvellous mocktails as well as drinks bursting with beautiful botanical flavours from Pentire and Three Spirits.

Love Local

A Sussex-sourced welcome drink would make a great first impression – especially if you have guests coming from further afield. We’re lucky enough to have many local businesses on our doorstep that make tantalising tipples, including:

• Tinwood Sparkling Wine
  The Tinwood Estate’s vineyards are located at the foot of the South Downs National Park, just 8-miles from Southend Barns. Since their first planting in 2007, Tinwood has quickly established a reputation for producing the very finest English sparkling wines, this includes The Estate Brut and an exquisite Rosé both of which we serve here at Southend Barns.
• Local Gins
  We have no less than four local gins available for your guests to choose from at The Roots Gin Bar, all of which are made within 10 miles of us here in Chichester. We can also provide The Full Gin Experience with your own personalised Gin Bar.
• Craft Lager, Ale and Bitter
  We are proud to offer our very own, gluten free and vegan ‘Southend Craft Lager’ available on draught as well as a selection of locally brewed ales and South Downs Traditional Best Bitter.

Evening Drinks

As your meal comes to a close and guests prepare for the finale to your day, make sure you keep momentum going with a decadent drinks experience. As well as our Roots Cocktail Selection, you can also choose to add an extra level of style and sophistication with our Roots Espresso Martini Cart. If you opt for the cart, we can also serve freshly made churros for your guests to enjoy.

Our full drinks selection is available to download here and we welcome the opportunity to discuss any specific requirements you may have to make your wedding drinks dazzle.

For many, food isn’t just about sating the appetite, it is a strong connection to family, heritage and even has important religious connections. From Grandma’s chocolate cake that takes you back to being a child to a recipe that has been passed through the generations or a carefully prepared Hindu wedding feast, food can evoke many memories and emotions. This is why our Roots Catering team take your wedding menu planning so seriously and go to all lengths to ensure you have the perfect wedding day food for you and your guests to enjoy.

Over the years we’ve accommodated many different cultural food requirements and are always able to adapt our menus and cooking styles to suit a couple’s needs. From ensuring halal meat is prepared correctly to making sure any kosher requirements are met, our chefs love to research, trial and produce any culinary requests and will always deliver a feast made to the highest exacting standards.

Many of our couples are keen to involve their personal history in their wedding day menu and our talented team is always more than happy to listen and learn new recipes. Our kitchen has conjured delicious Jamaican influenced canapes as a nod to a couple’s proposal destination, recreated old family recipes for pie and mash, potato salad and Black Forest Gateau, and meticulously created an entire Sudanese feast from scratch – we are always willing to go above and beyond to ensure your wedding breakfast is not only delicious, but exactly what you had in mind for your big day.

We are also able to tailor our menus to suit any dietary requirements your guests or wedding party may have. From carefully preparing dishes to suit those with specific allergens to ensuring that any vegan or vegetarian meals are just as delicious and considered as any meat alternative. We love what we do and always work closely with our couples to give you a wedding day feast your friends and family are talking of for years to come.

Images by Marcel Grabrowski

We were so excited to reopen our doors again on Monday 12 April and be back doing what we love! We will never forget our first wedding of 2021 after all these months of being closed. Congratulations to Samantha and Matt, we were so honoured to host your beautiful wedding ceremony and can’t wait to see you back here soon for a big celebratory party. Here Samantha and Matt talk about their long-awaited intimate wedding day…

Can you tell us about the changes you had to make to your wedding as a result of the pandemic?

We had originally booked our wedding day for 8th August last year, then postponed to 11th April. Then when the announcement came out about stage 2 of the roadmap potentially being on 12th, we postponed by 24 hours so we could have more guests. Our guest list was condensed from around 80 to just 12 people. Our bridal and groom party arrangement had to change too – Matt’s best man lives in Australia so obviously he couldn’t come, and Sam’s bridesmaids couldn’t be there to get ready with her in the morning due to being in different households.

Despite not being what you had originally planned, was your wedding day as special and memorable as you dreamed it would be?

Absolutely! Although, it wasn’t what we had originally planned, we think our ceremony and drinks reception was even more memorable than expected. Especially as we had not seen the majority of our guests in person since last year!

Did you find any unexpected highlights to holding a smaller wedding? What were they?

Yes – time being the main highlight. Having a smaller wedding meant we could spend more time with each of our guests, and not feel rushed to get around everyone. As we didn’t have an evening party, it meant we also had time after leaving Southend Barns to do our own thing before going to our air b&b. Sam was desperate to walk around Chichester Marina (which is very special to us as this is where Matt proposed 3 years ago) in her wedding dress, so this is what we did!

What were your most memorable moments from your day?

1. Walking back up the aisle together as Mr and Mrs Kennedy as the sun came out (even though it had snowed earlier that day!). Mr Blue Sky by ELO was always going to be our exit song so the music was perfectly timed to when the sun came out!
2. Disappearing for a short time with our lovely photographer to the field for some photos. We loved running into the field and also having a private dance to what would have been our first dance song.
3. Cutting our delicious and beautiful cake out on the lawn in front of all our guests.

Is there any advice you would give to other couples planning an intimate wedding at this time?

We would tell other couples to embrace the smaller numbers because you get to spend one of the most memorable days of your life with the people closest to you, without any fuss! We never even considered having a small intimate wedding, but by having less people, it felt even more special and memorable. Everything was so relaxed, which suited us really well.

How helpful did you find the team when you had to revise your plans and also in ensuring that your celebrations ran smoothly?

The team at Southend Barns have been incredible with every step of the way – from booking back in 2018, to our first planning meeting, to postponing twice and ensuring our wedding day ran smoothly. They also set up a zoom call for our ceremony so all the people who couldn’t be there could still watch us get married. Southend Barns have very kindly let us split our ceremony and reception and we are still going to have the planned meal and party next year with all of our friends and family!

Photo by @sophiejanephotoandfilm

It has now been a week since we flung open our doors for our first weddings of 2021, and the excitement here was palpable. As a family run venue with a small team, we are all incredibly passionate about what we do. Here you can meet just some of the faces behind Southend Barns and discover more about what it is we love about our job…

Mariella, Owner and Founder
I founded Southend Barns back in 2012 and I work each day to make sure that our wedding barn is the best it can be. I see my job as coming up with new ideas for couples, improved ways of operating, giving guests better customer service and making all the cogs in the company wheel work. My job changes from day to day, it could be designing a new part of the garden, working on a marketing strategy, planning a drinks photo shoot, tasting delicious Roots food from a new menu or checking the Threshing Barn is set up perfectly just before an event.

What are you most looking forward to when weddings return?
I cannot wait to hear those champagne corks popping in readiness for the guests having drinks in the Collecting Yard.

Your favourite part of the wedding day?
When the couple have just got married and they are walking back up the aisle, the happiness and joy between the couple is just electrifying and the guests feel it too.

Your favourite Roots dish or drink?
I love the vegetarian canapés and a glass of Tinwood of course.

Your favourite first dance or floor filler song?
‘I’m dreaming of a White Christmas’ – it was our first dance song 25 years ago when we got married a few days before Christmas. I love winter weddings, the barns are so cosy at that time of year.

What do you do when not planning weddings?
I enjoy running as it clears my head to solve any issues and have discovered cold water swimming since lockdown which has made me much more resilient. I like reading a good book and talking it over with my book club friends and love making and eating good quality food made from scratch.

Amie, Wedding and Events Co-Ordinator
My role is to help plan and organise a couples’ perfect day. Day to day, I show couples around the venue, plan social media posts, organise styling shoots and run planning meetings with our couples.

What are you most looking forward to when weddings return?
Definitely seeing a bride walk down the aisle, it is always my favourite moment of the day.

Your favourite Roots dish or drink?
The courgette and onion bhaji is my favourite canapé and I don’t think you can beat the chef’s take on an espresso martini – it’s the perfect after dinner drink.

Your favourite first dance or floor filler song?
This is a hard one as we have seen so many…for a first dance I’d have to pick ‘This Will Be’ by Natalie Cole and the floor filler would be ‘You’ve Got the Love’ by Florence and The Machine.

What do you do when not planning weddings?
Any form of exercise, whether it’s a relaxing Pilates session, HIIT or walking my dachshund, I try and do something different every day. I also love to cook and try out lots of different plant-based recipes, especially ones from the Roots chefs!

Dan, Executive Chef and General Manager
I would like to say that I am like a Swiss army knife… with many uses! My role with my chef’s hat on is to inspire, create, support, deliver and ensure our very high standards are maintained for every single couple. As General Manager, my role is to support the whole team, develop people and the brand as well as suggest and implement ideas and strategies that improve the running of the business.

What are you most looking forward to when weddings return?
To have people at the barns celebrating a magical day and creating wonderful memories. Also to cook and create, get the juices flowing again and see the barn and kitchen busy with our team delivering great weddings.

Your favourite part of the wedding day?
Dessert… I have to say that being a pastry chef! But in general, from start to finish, it is a privilege and a joy to be part of someone’s special day.

Your favourite Roots dish or drink?
I love it all, from our delicious canapés, stunning starters, sublime mains and flavoursome desserts. All washed down with a glass of local sparkling Tinwood! Oh, and maybe a ‘Chef’s Tipple’ G&T from our new drinks menu.

Your favourite first dance or floor filler song?
The floor filler for me would be ‘Insomnia’ by Faithless which I did throw some shapes to at my own wedding!

What do you do when not planning weddings?
I enjoy good food, be it at home or eating out (when we can), walking with our cockapoo Albi and spending time with my wife, who also works at the barns.

Sophie, Wedding and Events Co-Ordinator

What are you most looking forward to when weddings return?
Hearing the venue alive and buzzing with guests and chatter and the clinking of glasses. Weddings are such joyful occasions and that love and happiness has been truly missed this past year.

Your favourite part of the wedding day?
The bride’s entrance, it is always so well organised and smooth from a venue perspective and I love seeing their partner’s face when they see each other for the first time.

Your favourite Roots dish or drink?
Definitely the Espresso Martini Cart!

Your favourite first dance or floor filler song?
Not necessarily my favourite song but ‘Summer of 69’ always seems to get people singing and dancing across the ages.

What do you do when not planning weddings?
Long walks with Albi, our cockapoo who frequents the office on a regular basis. I also love eating out and exploring new cuisines.

Photos by Hana Venn Photography

We will never forget 24th December 2020, the day we helped rearrange a whole wedding in under 24 hours!

After a virtual viewing with us during the first lockdown, Michelle and David’s wedding had been set for 29th December but when a third lockdown was announced and due to come into effect from Boxing Day it meant they would have to postpone. However, there was no way this couple were not going to get married in 2020, so in less than 24 hours we worked with Michelle and David to arrange everything so they could enjoy their 15-guest wedding day on Christmas Eve. They also have plans to return on 29th December 2021, what would have been their first wedding anniversary, to hold a larger celebration party.

Here we talk to the newlyweds about how they found their last minute intimate wedding:

With a very last minute change of date, was your wedding day as special and memorable as you dreamed it would be?
100%. With the date brought forward by just five days, most things were set and ready to go. It was an incredible day and, although sadly a couple of our closest friends couldn’t make the rearranged date, everyone was able to be a part of it with us via the Zoom link. It was just magical and completely relaxed. We couldn’t really have wanted for more from our special day.

What challenges did you face/overcome by rearranging your day in such a short space of time? How did it all come together?
The entire team at Southend Barns were just phenomenal and made everything as streamlined as it possibly could have been. They reorganised for all the catering to be turned around in less than 24 hours (we wouldn’t have minded what we ate at this stage but they managed to pull off the special menu we had chosen), they liaised with the registrars and got them rebooked for us, they tee’ed up a florist when we realised ours couldn’t accommodate the last minute change in date, and they saw to the little details like confetti and tealights etc too.

They had an answer for everything and went above and beyond, taking all the stress out of the change for us. After the changes to restrictions were announced to come into effect on Boxing Day, we called them to see whether a last minute shift of date might be an option, they were already on the case having made calls and got the ball rolling. Always one step ahead. We’ve seen someone else describe the team as the DREAM TEAM – and we 100% agree.

The only thing that couldn’t be reorganised was hair and makeup… so I did my own. It didn’t turn out toooo badly. David still had a big smile on his face as I walked down the aisle towards him.

Did you find any unexpected highlights to holding a smaller wedding day? What were they?
The intimacy of the day was very very special. One of our closest friends wondered whether we should still go ahead and would the day be as special… but after the day she sent this: “The whole day was just so special – I want to get married again with just a handful of people – it’s soooo special. Small is the new big.”

It was incredibly relaxed and such a happy day. And we can celebrate with our wider group of friends and family when it’s safe to do so. Two bites of the cherry! And I get to wear my dress twice!

What were your most memorable moments from your day?
The ceremony itself: being walked down the aisle by my dad and the funniest of moments when he shook David by the hand and said “Good Luck” – the subtext of which was, “you’re going to need it mate!”

The speeches by my dad, David and his two boys. All very special. Chilling in the bridal suite afterwards and reflecting on an incredible day. Just being wrapped up in the biggest bubble of love during the best possible day.

Is there any advice you would give to other couples planning an intimate wedding at this time?
Deciding who will be on your guest list is the toughest part. Don’t stress about it. Everybody understands, loves you, and just wants you to have the best possible day… look at ways in which you can make them feel involved though. If there’s a way that they can be involved in your special day – whether it’s by simply zooming your big day – it helps everyone feel included (and it’s lovely to play back afterwards). It might be worthwhile looking at investing in a mic to help improve the audio quality would just be our take-away from that.

And just go for it! You never know what’s around the corner and the most important thing is the bride and groom exchanging vows with their very closest friends and family being part of the special moment – whether in person or online.

How helpful did you find the team when you had to revise your original plans and also in ensuring that your celebrations ran smoothly?
We couldn’t have done it without them. There are no words to articulate quite how amazing the entire team are/were – not only from the point of view of running the day itself and it’s pre-planning like clockwork, but the warmth that exudes every single one of them. You genuinely feel that it is their life’s mission to deliver you the best possible day and that they would go to the ends of the earth to help make that happen. They’re literally THE BEST.

Photos by Anna B Photography

With something to suit every couple, our new styling selections come in a range of inspiring themes and cover all the essentials you need for your big day. From our classic and contemporary Elegant Ivory selection featuring delicate silk flowers and twinkling tealights, to bringing the outdoors in with Wild & Green, which includes a rustic array of seasonal greenery set to a backdrop of natural white table linen.

Once you’ve decided on your theme, our expert team will take care of everything to ensure the barns look picture perfect for your special day.

Keep reading to find out more about our carefully designed range of styling selections…

Elegant Ivory

Classic wedding styling at its best. Beautiful white and green silk flowers are offset by antique silver touches, glass table numbers and the warm glow of candlelight.

Find out more

Boho Blush

This on trend package features exquisite dried flowers and stunning pampas grass. Macramé touches and delicate tall tealight holders add to the bohemian feel of this soft, romantic style.

Find out more

Champagne Rose

A perfect choice for glamorous couples. Rose toned silk flowers are carefully arranged on polished copper stands and complemented by the flicker of elegant tapered candles. Our Champagne Rose selection is ideal for those after a little extra luxury on their wedding day.

Wild & Green

Natural, unstructured and oh so beautiful, Wild & Green brings the outside in with luscious greenery and a scattering of rustic twine. Add glass tealight holders and fragrant herbs adorning each napkin, and you have a setting fit for woodland royalty.

Find out more

To find out more or talk to a member of our team, please call 01243 641247.

Photos: Jessica Lily Photography

We feel so honoured and proud to have been named one of the Best of Britain Wedding Venues by Bridebook.

Thank you to our wonderful couples for choosing us as your venue and for nominating us. We’ve loved being part of all your special days.

We might be in another lockdown but that doesn’t mean you can’t still plan your wedding and discover amazing suppliers and inspiration.

From 17 January – 21 February we will be hosting a special virtual wedding fair on our website. Here you can find hand-picked local suppliers who are experts in their field.

Sit back in the comfort of your home and discover top-rated photographers, stylists, cake makers, makeup artists, musicians and more!

Suppliers have been working hard to bring you information, images, videos, special offers, inspiration and contact details so you can find everything you need in one place.  

It is free to sign up to access the virtual wedding fair, just click here.

Photo by Lydia Stamps