#ThatUptonFeeling

Written by Caitlin Hoare
Wondering what #ThatUptonFeeling is?

You know when you walk into a space and you immediately feel relaxed and at home but also fizzing with inspiration and excitement? Yup, that! The team at Upton Barn work incredibly hard to ensure each and every one of their couples get the warmest of welcomes when they walk through the doors at this gorgeous Devon wedding venue.

Every space is simply stunning with its own WOW-factor feature; from floor to ceiling glazing, traditional cob walls, polished concrete floors, large Crittall-style windows and cool, contemporary styling throughout.

Keep scrolling for all the best wedding (and interior) inspo, and a brilliant write up from Team Upton who manage to get to the essence of #thatuptonfeeling

Notes from the Venue

Our Venue + ethos

Upton (originally a family-run dairy farm) is home to owners Claire and Richard. They married at Upton in 2013 after being unable to find their dream venue locally so worked tirelessly to transform the family farm and the walled garden into a beautiful space for their own outdoor wedding ceremony and reception.

From that moment on their love of weddings has only grown stronger as they have continued to build and expand Upton one space at a time. The key interior style and inspiration running through the venue is rustic / contemporary Scandi. Embracing this vibe we have made features of the natural materials and elements within the buildings themselves – cobb, oak, glass, black ironwork fixings, and wooden beams. Enhancing these features gives the venue a stylish contemporary feel; a perfect meeting of modern architectural styling and rustic traditional roots, using the history of the farm (and its materials) as reference. We’ve used our own oak to build the outdoor ceremony arbour and our own stone from the quarry to restore the barn.

Our approach is simple – we want you to have the best time, in the most beautiful setting, surrounded by your favourite people. Over the years we’ve created a venue that is made up of dreamy spaces, thoughtful details and luxurious touches, with a team that feel like a family!

our spaces

The Walled Garden – Step through the secret doorway and experience the enchanting Walled Garden at Upton Barn with its unrivalled views across the Blackdown Hills and a variety of gorgeous flowers and foliage. The aisle is lined with fragrant lavender while our handcrafted glazed oak arbour awaits your vows. There’s space to mingle and enjoy canapés and cocktails in the sunshine on the terrace after that all-important ‘I Do’ moment. The Walled Garden remains just as beautiful as the evening draws in, with twinkling lights and a crackling fire pit providing a magical setting as your celebrations continue under the stars.

The Cider Barn – Licensed for indoor civil ceremonies with space for up to 156 guests, The Cider Barn is a traditional cob barn that has been lovingly restored with flying oak trusses and locally crafted chandeliers. With views across the gardens and extensive countryside, it always provides a ‘take your breath away’ reaction as you walk in. Following the ceremony, guests can move through into the Press Bar for one of our infamous cocktails or you can enjoy sipping champagne in the Walled Garden – the choice is yours! The Cider Barn is also the location for your evening reception, with a raised ‘stage’ area for your band or DJ and plenty of room on the dance floor for your guests to get the party started.

The Stable Barn – Originally the farm’s stables and home to Richard’s dad’s racehorses, Claire and Richard and transformed this space into the Stable Barn in 2017. A true architectural inspiration, boasting striking light installations, warm timber panelling and exceptional views across the paddocks through the floor to ceiling Crittal-style windows. The Stable Barn seats up to 156 guests for your wedding breakfast.

The Grounds – This 160-acre organic farm is surrounded by glorious Devon countryside at every angle, offering you the chance to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life and truly relax into the festivities. A photographer’s dream, there are countless backdrops for your wedding pictures, including the formal lawn with sweeping views across the lake and fountain.

Brand new for 2022 we have The Stalls; our Scandi-style overnight accommodation pods tucked away in the trees, and The Paddock which is our new spa-worthy space, providing a luxurious place to get ready and enjoy the build up to your wedding day.

Why weddings?

The buzz of the day itself and the love and gratitude we receive from our lovely couples and their friends and families for being such an important part of their special day is just unrivalled.

We have an amazing team working at Upton known fondly as Team Upton. We were absolutely over the moon to win The Wedding Industry Awards 2021 National Award for Events Team earlier this year, especially after such a difficult year. Reading all the lovely comments from the couples who had voted for us really meant the world.

The weddings we have delivered since the start of COVID have been particularly emotional and special as many of our wonderful couples have been through so much to get to their wedding day. It has been absolutely amazing to be able to finally give them the day they deserve after such a long wait.

Our Services

We offer exclusive-use hire at our barn wedding venue where couples have the choice to hold their ceremony indoors in the Cider Barn or outdoors (weather permitting) in the Walled Garden.

Our mission is to provide stunning spaces exclusively for you on your wedding day, that flow effortlessly from one area to another. We aspire to give you the wedding day you dream of, which is unique to you and holds a special place in your heart when you think back to it in years to come. We aim to take the stress out of the planning, supporting you with our expertise and making it as relaxing an experience as possible so that you can sit back and enjoy every minute.

Your Upton Wedding Day

Every wedding that we host at Upton is personal and unique to each couple. We treat our customers as individuals and aim to tailor each wedding to a couple’s taste and style by focusing on getting to know them, understanding them, going on the journey with them and ultimately helping them to celebrate their love by bringing their vision to life.

We only work with and recommend the best local suppliers who hold similar values to us in terms of providing high quality services with a clear customer focus. Being an organic farm in Devon we really appreciate good quality local food and feel its important to support local suppliers and food producers wherever possible. In fact Pickleshack, one of our recommended caterers, has just won the TWIA national caterer award two years running!

We hope each and every couple will experience the warm and welcoming #thatuptonfeeling that we work so hard to maintain. As soon as a couple engages with us, and the feeling that they get when they walk through the doors, and by the time their wedding day arrives – is that we want them to feel like part of the family.

A Planning Tip

Finding your perfect venue is one of the first things to do as venues can get booked up years in advance, especially Saturdays during the summer months so it’s never too early to start looking.

Visit your chosen venue and meet the staff. Consider the feeling you get when you walk in and think about what suits you best as a couple – is it the relaxed and laid back feeling of a rustic barn, a more formal luxury stately home or the wild and rugged countryside vibe that appeals to you most?

The beauty of Upton is that it’s so versatile that it really can suit every taste. We have the fantastic indoor and outdoor space for your ceremony so you don’t have to worry about the weather. We have the perfect mix of contemporary and rustic interiors as well as pretty formal gardens and scenic countryside views. Night-time and the winter months are just as picturesque with our stunning lighting, outdoor fit pit and log burner adding to the atmosphere.

Words and images don’t really do Upton justice, you really need to experience that Upton feeling for yourself, so why not book a private tour? We would love to meet you…

Press Play

Quote Tool + Low Deposit Offer

Our starting prices are just £3,250 for exclusive use venue hire

We have an amazing quote tool on our website which allows you play around with the options available such as catering, drinks, additional hire items such as garden games and our new space the Paddock, to give you a full quote and an idea of our payment schedule.

We currently are running a low deposit offer, for just £500 you can secure your wedding date with us. Further details can be found on our website.

Real Wedding Photography Credits

Josh Gooding Photography and Nick Walker Photography

 

Editorial Credits

Venue Upton Barn

Planner and stylist Rebecca Marie Weddings

Photography Kamila Nowak Photography and Ohh So Wild

Hair April Natalie Hair

MUA Amy Rose Makeup Artist

Dress Made with Love Bridal

Boutique St Ives Bridal Boutique

Flowers Floren Studio

Jewellery Lori Muldoon

Veil Sash and Veil

Stationery Gray Starling Designs

Fabric Sign Bewilderly

Cake Little Buttercup Cakery

Hire Items Glas Events

Vases PB Design

Models Lauren & Ben and Matilda & Arron

More from the blog

Discover our Venues

Refine your wedding venue search by location, capacity, type, and style.

Visit Venue Finder

Be Inspired

Planning advice, real wedding edits, and venue showcases to inspire you.

View Blog

Suppliers We Love

From photographers to bridal fashion and styling, find the best wedding suppliers right here.

View Suppliers