Dodford Manor: A Review

When I was planning my wedding, I found that the choice of venue was quite overwhelming with lots of venues offering very similar styles and services. We knew we wanted a rustic themed wedding and the market is flooded with venues of this type. I would have found it really helpful to see a full review for a venue, rather than the clipped versions that appear on most sites, to help me make that decision. To that end, here is a full review of Dodford Manor from a real and recent bride that I hope will be helpful to any Northamptonshire brides looking for the perfect rustic barn venue.

Grounds

Dodford Manor is a Northamptonshire barn venue nestled into 20 acres of rolling green backdrop. As you enter Dodford Manor via a long, winding drive through fields and over cattle grids, you will be greeted by the curious resident sheep who oversee the proceedings. Surrounding the barn complex are lush fields, country lanes and low stone walls which all provides a stunning setting for your wedding photos. If your photographer is familiar with the venue, they will likely have a short walking route planned to capture some romantic shots of you and your spouse enjoying Dodford’s breathtaking surroundings.

Barns

Dodford Manor consists of 3 barns arranged around a central courtyard and repurposed to become an intimate and romantic wedding venue. With buildings dating back to the 1600s and still in farming use as recently as the 1980s, this venue is steeped in rural history. As you enter Dodford Manor through the stone archway, you are greeted by the glass sided Mortain Barn. This stone floored barn is beautiful set up for ceremonies with a Bridal Booth tucked away at the back so you don’t even need to arrange wedding transport if you don’t want to. The booth has a beauty bar ready for hair and makeup use, an en-suite and even a one-way arrow slit window for you to watch your guests arrive. The Mortain barn also boasts a mezzanine level which is a perfect base for musicians or can be used for additional seating for larger ceremonies. For drinks receptions, the Dodford team can move furniture to repurpose the Mortain barn on cooler days where an outside reception could be less practical.

As the day progresses, the Dairy Barn opens for your guests to enjoy a tipple. As suggested by the name, the Dairy Barn was once used for hand milking and is now the perfect spot to grab a beer or a coffee and have a cosy chat thanks to its plush leather sofas.

After walking through the Dairy Barn, your guests will step down into Dodford’s

gorgeous Oak Barn which will be the location of your reception. With a glass wall allowing you to enjoy the gorgeous countryside backdrop, and oak pillars wound with fairy lights, this barn is the perfect setting for a rustic feast. With flexible table positioning and neutral minimalist decor, it’s easy to transform this barn to meet your theme or to leave it as is for simple elegance. The barn is also easily accessible via a ramp for guests who struggle with mobility.

At night, the far end of the barn becomes a dance floor with a stone wall providing the perfect backdrop for any DJ or band setup that you choose.

Planning process

When we initially met with a member of the Dodford team back in December 2020 only a few days after getting engaged, we instantly felt at ease. The team were professional, friendly, answered our many questions and were also careful to give us time on our own to make a decision. There was no pressure but when we said yes we were able to get our date pencilled in straight away. We then had to confirm this with the registrar service who were quite slow in responding. A member of the team at Dodford personally chased this up for us and extended their reservation window to make sure we didn’t miss out. All this during a COVID-19 lockdown!

Six months later, we were invited to a ‘taster event’ at Dodford Manor where we were able to meet with several suppliers, sample the menus offered by Jenkinsons and see the venue fully dressed for a wedding. This day was extremely helpful, and we even found our perfect ceremony and drinks reception entertainment at this event.

When we got a little closer to our wedding date, the Dodford team were happy to accommodate a visit for us to show the venue to our parents. Around 2 months before our big day, we were invited to a planning meeting with Dodford where we went through our planning form with Abbie and she made sure she had every detail recorded to help our day run as smoothly as possible.

Two days before the wedding, we were able to drop off decorations and during this time Abbie was kind enough to facilitate a quick run through of walking down the aisle for me and my dad to help put us at ease.

Food and Drink

Food at Dodford is exclusively provided by Jenkinsons Caterers, whose menus we got to sample on the taster day. Jenkinsons offer a range of menus to suit all seasons and preferences, from BBQ packages to interactive ‘host a roast’ affairs alongside more traditional sit down wedding breakfasts. We selected canapés for our drinks reception, followed by a traditional wedding breakfast and an evening buffet. All of the food was delicious, fresh, perfectly cooked and went down a treat with our guests! Communication with Jenkinsons was clear and they were happy to make accommodations to suit our needs.

We had the option of providing our own drinks with no extra corkage or service charge but we chose a package from the Dodford cellar which included sparkling wine/orange juice for our drinks reception, bottles of wine on tables and jugs of water as well as sparkling wine for toasts. There were also beer packages to choose from and even mulled wine for winter weddings. The drinks in the package that we selected were tasty, refreshing and of a good quality.

Service

The service from the team at Dodford Manor was second to none. It was abundantly clear that they really care about every wedding they host and every couple that they work with and that they are dedicated to making your day and special and stress-free as possible. We had a few special requests which Dodford were more than happy to work with us on, and the planning meeting was hugely beneficial as it just helped us to feel relaxed and like everything was in hand. We both left feeling confident, calm and like we were being well looked after. Special shoutouts to Abbie who co-ordinated our day with calm and precision, the catering manager (I believe her name was Lisa but I can’t quite remember) who consistently checked on us throughout the meal to make sure everything was to our liking, and to Bruce who helped us move a car load of decorations with a smile on his face. What a team!

Overall

I can’t recommend Dodford Manor highly enough as a wedding venue. Our day was simply stunning from start to finish thanks to the incredible team and we had no end of positive feedback from our guests on the venue, staff, catering and the day as a whole.

Highlights:

Stunning scenery

Top service

Recommended supplier directory was really helpful

Catering and drinks packages were delicious and good value

Words of advice:

Barn temperature - the Oak Barn did get a little bit too warm during our evening reception so just be prepared to find a member of the team and ask them to turn it down, or discuss this with them beforehand.

Be aware of restrictions around favours - alcoholic favours are prohibited!

To all the team at Dodford, thank you for making our special day a success. Keep being brilliant!

Frankie x