Wedding Receptions
Light, bright and extremely versatile, the extensive courtyard marquee at Bateman’s Barn is a great all-weather wedding reception space, edged by and opening into the historic timber-framed cart lodge by the Stables Bar. You’ll find it conveniently located just a few steps away from the main medieval barn.
With its soft cream linings, attractive lighting and white Italian paved floor, it’s very much that blank canvas to be coloured beautiful, romantic, vibrant or vintage, quirky perhaps or even quaint. Dress it with an elaborate theme or simply festoon it with flowers – whatever you choose, it can be easily transformed to make your perfect wedding reception setting.
Perfectly fitting for the occasion
Planning your wedding reception to be a big affair? Or prefer something small and sweet with maybe just a handful or two of close friends and relatives? The simple beauty of our courtyard marquee is that it can feel as grand-scale or as intimate as you want it to be.
There’s ample space to seat 120 guests, but you can feel at home here with just 20. The long and the short of it is that every couple has a different approach to the guest list and we can help with advice on venue layout and styling to make wedding parties of all sizes feel comfortable and well catered for.
For wedding receptions in the covered courtyard, we supply round tables with white cloths accommodating up to 10 guests. Trestle tables are available to make a traditional ‘top table’ too if you wish and our chairs are lime-washed beechwood with a cream seat pad. Water and wine glasses plus champagne flutes are included for the reception and our in house caterer supplies crockery and cutlery. We also supply all the bar glasses you may need throughout your day - that's all part of our drinks service.
The Bateman’s Barn covered courtyard has heating and a sound system for background music. It also has a delicate array of permanent white fairy-lights.
Catering for all tastes
Our in-house caterer for all daytime receptions is Funnells Kitchen
In the words of a bride: "Funnells catered our wedding reception... they were absolutely amazing. From my initial conversations to the spectacular tasting session, to going above and beyond on our wedding day - the team were professional, friendly, thoughtful, helpful... we could keep going! Our guests were so well looked after and many of them have since commented on the food and catering staff. The food was all delicious, presented beautifully and the service truly was outstanding. We can`t recommend Funnells enough for wedding catering ... A million thanks to you all!"
Evening Catering
At Bateman’s Barn South Elmham we offer complete flexibility when it comes to evening catering, although out in-house daytime caterer can also assist with evening catering if you wish. Approved evening caterers have use of our kitchen facilites on request.
We have hand-picked some great local caterers for your evening food based on our extensive experience, just to get you started. These include companies providing - barbecues, wood-fired pizza, crêpes, hot dogs, fish and chips, hog roasts, ice-cream carts, waffles, Paella and more – and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, then let us know and we’ll do our best to help source a local provider.
If you have your own caterers in mind for the evening, just let us know before you take the plunge and if they fulfill our terms and conditions we are happy to liaise with them and ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Savouring the flavour
What wine will go with the menu? How many glasses per person? What about beers or bringing your own vintage fizz for the toast? Don’t worry, we can help you select all sorts of delicious drinks for your guests to sip on as they celebrate - and be sure to help you on budgeting for beverages too.
From jugs of refreshing summertime Pimms or home-made lemonade to champagne, prosecco and wonderful wines, we can both provide and prepare your drinks to perfection. Our wine list is extensive and popular and we are also pleased to order in special requests. If you’d like to provide your own choice of wine or fizz for us to store and serve appropriately, that’s no problem. We are obliged to charge a corkage fee, but you are welcome to do this.
Our Stables Bar adjacent to the courtyard, barn and terrace is well-stocked and can be open throughout your celebrations as a pay bar or serving a selection of agreed drinks to guests with your compliments. With all the historic charm of a Suffolk pub, but on a mini scale, this favourite facility goes down a treat with guests - and grooms in particular! It's a super space to relax over a pint for that long-time-coming catch-up with old friends or family members.
You'll find the Stables Bar niftily run too by our knowledgeable and efficient team - so if you prefer just to pop in to pick up a quick round before scooting back to where it's at, don't worry, the service is reassuringly slick. What's more, there are plenty of delicious choices to be made from wee drams to think-I'll-try-that-one gins and, when it comes to real ales, we not only love to advise on all the terrific local brews, but rest assured, we know how to look after them and serve them properly too!
Relax, you really are amongst friends
From serving drinks to lighting the candles and liaising with your selection of caterers, don’t forget that the experienced Bateman’s Barn team will be on hand to ensure that everything goes smoothly and to plan. From the first time you pick up the phone to us, to the very day of your wedding celebrations with us, we will be there discreetly, yet personally for you. You won’t find yourself allocated a wedding planner or talking to different people every time you have a question or come along to the venue on the run-up to the day. We will be there for you, just like our trusted local suppliers. We’ll all be relaxed and know each other. So many of our wedding couples have commented, that it’s just like being among friends.
