Kitchen Table Talent
THIS MONTH: THE DEVON WEDDING VENUE
We celebrate the home-grown entrepreneurs who have turned their hobby into a thriving business
Early summer, with the rest of the season stretching ahead, is an innately hopeful time of year – and today is a quintessential June day. The sky is a deep azure, specked with white, wispy clouds. The forecast is clear, the trees are a brilliant green and the roses are blooming – it is the perfect day for a wedding, which is fortunate because soon one will begin. Although the hour is early, and the bride and groom may well still be asleep, Emma and John Birkin, the creators of The Great Barn – a gloriously rustic West Country wedding venue – are already hard at work, laying tables, checking details and making sure everything is in place.
“There’s a real sense of anticipation,” muses John – who, despite having run the business for more than a decade, still struggles to sleep before “show day” (a phrase he’s appropriated from his time as a television director). “If you don’t have a slight element of nervousness about it, it’s probably not being done properly,” he says. His wife, Emma, is more relaxed: “We’ve done it enough now that we know what we’re doing,” she says. The pair met at the BBC, where she was a producer, working on programmes such as Children in Need, and John directed shows including Mr Bean and French and Saunders. Their previous roles have very much shaped the way they run their business. “I produce,” Emma says, “meaning I do a lot of the practical organisation, while John takes over and directs the day. We work well together, but within very separate enclaves. Our backgrounds helped a lot – we’re used to having contingencies for everything.”
It might seem an unlikely jump. The couple never planned on running a wedding venue, but fate played a hand when they
swapped city life for greener Devon pastures 20 years ago, having been drawn to the area’s “proper country” feel. Their new home was a charming thatched cottage with a handful of outbuildings in the village of Higher Aston on the edge of Dartmoor. “The estate agent described the house as ‘tired’,” Emma laughs. Although they were keen to take on a project, the couple never intended to renovate the old barn, which at the time was little more than a ruin with a rusting corrugated iron roof. It took a lot of encouragement from a zealous architect, backed by DEFRA’S historic buildings department, for them to recognise its potential.
“Because we had invested our savings, it was very important for the business to pay its way once it was launched,” John explains. Thankfully, it did. Following a year of renovation, which ended in 2004, the barn was transformed into an arcadian, almost ecclesiastical event space, which unwittingly hit upon a zeitgeist – reflecting the shift away from ceremonial formality to a more informal affair. “Brides wanted to move past the ‘princess-for-aday’ idea and experience a more relaxed celebration. We were very lucky that we hit a mood,” John observes. The well-judged nature of the venue was confirmed by the bookings, which immediately started rolling in when they first opened. “It was all through word of mouth,” John says. “The great thing about a venue is that hundreds of people visit every week when attending weddings – and, with the rise of social media, it’s like a ripple effect without the need to pay for marketing or advertising.”
“It also helps that we were slightly ahead of the curve down here,” Emma continues. “Lots of people got married in stately homes or marquees, but there wasn’t much in between. The
barn provided a nice alternative. It has the gravitas required for a wedding, without being as formal as a stately pile.” But as well as being more aesthetically relaxed, the couple are also adamant their venue should feel relaxed, too: “There’s a tendency now for things to become a huge production, but what makes a good wedding is for the couple to be carefree. You go to some places and they’ll tell you exactly what you should do when, but we encourage clients to design their day the way they want it.”
The only thing John and Emma are vaguely prescriptive about is the “wonderful Dartmoor catering company” they work closely with. “Great food is integral to our weddings,” John says. “When we started, we had a policy that anyone could bring in whoever they wanted, but we very quickly saw that there were some terrible caterers, so we had to stop.” Otherwise, it’s all up to the bride and groom, but just in case they need a helping hand, Emma has collated a comprehensive directory of all things flower, cake and crockery related – in the form of a ‘Brides Bible’. In a frothy and often OTT industry, her voice cuts through the fluff, providing invaluable common-sense advice.
It might seem all white lace and champagne receptions on the surface, but during wedding season the couple rarely have a weekend off, or even a weekday for that matter. Plus, being responsible for the most important day of somebody’s life is nerve-wracking at the best of times. But while they found it stressful to start with (“The first wedding we did was terrifying – we thought no one would want to come because they’d all think it smelt faintly of cow”), now they’re old hands who work together seamlessly. While John finesses lighting and perfects playlists, Emma is on hand to dispense any last-minute pearls of wisdom – and the odd nerve-steadying drink. When the bridesmaids walk ahead (“The star always comes on in Act II,” John explains), she is often called upon to arrange the train of the bride’s dress. After 12 years, Emma still bursts into tears. “It’s highly emotive,” she smiles. “We get to know clients well leading up to the event – they usually book at least a year in advance, often visiting the venue multiple times in the run-up with different family members, so we build up a very strong relationship with them.”
More commercial venues often host numerous weddings each week, but John and Emma are adamant theirs “isn’t a wedding
“It’s highly emotive – it can take a year to plan an event, so we get to know our clients well”
factory”, so will only ever do one ceremony per week, ensuring they put all their energy into making it a show-stopper.
It does, in a strange sort of way, feel a bit like a set – as Rollsroyces pull up carrying suit-clad men and bridesmaids dart across the courtyard, looking invariably glamorous in varying degrees of disarray – some still wearing dressing gowns with curlers in their hair. The couple agree the wedding industry does have certain parallels with showbusiness: “Really, the ceremony is a big piece of theatre.” John likens overseeing a service to directing This is Your Life: “It was the only thing in television, apart from the news, that you absolutely don’t get a second chance at. Weddings are the same.”
With such professionalism paired with such a uniquely beautiful venue, there’s no doubt that today’s couple will be added to a long list of happy customers – after all, they say if you marry in June, you’re a bride all your life.