Haylands Barn is a beautiful family owned wedding venue in Petworth, Sussex. If you want an outdoorsy, laid back wedding then this venue is definitely worth checking out.
About the venue
Haylands Barn is a fairly new venue, the owner Hamish was the first to use his farmland and barn as a venue for his own wedding in 2022. Since then they have held lots of lovely weddings for other couples. One of the best things about this venue is they let you have access to the venue from 2 days before the wedding. This is great because your suppliers can set up the day before and you're not rushed to pack away on the night of the wedding either. Lots of venues have weddings every single day but Haylands Barn are family run and they really care about their couples, they help to create a relaxing experience for you. There wedding season is April - October.
Getting Ready
They don't have a getting ready room at Haylands Barn but if you're not local you can find an AirBnB to get ready in. If you need somewhere definitely check out Knoll Hill House, it has 3 bedrooms and an entertainment area separate to the house.
Ceremony
Haylands Barn isn't licensed for wedding ceremonies so you can't legally get married there but you can have an incredible celebrant ceremony. Or if you'd like a church wedding then there's a lovely church St. Giles which is less than 2 miles away in Graffham. Haylands Barn has a beautiful grass area you can use for your celebrant ceremony. It's a separate area to the barn which makes it feel more intimate. They have lots of trees so you should be able to find a shaded area to have your ceremony. Celebrants are amazing as they can completely tailor your wedding ceremony, you can tell your love story, have readings, have hand fasting, a group song or anything else you can think of.
Drinks Reception
After the ceremony your guests will walk around to the barn to line up for confetti. Dried petals are needed for this venue as it's a working farm and there are animals nearby. Your drinks reception will be held on the large grass area outside the barn and the patio, this has beautiful views of the South Downs. As this is a dry hire venue you will need to arrange bar hire for drinks and caterers to serve canapés. If you get married here in the summer it's a good idea to hire a stretch tent to provide some shade for your guests as it's a very open space. There's some seating on the patio but you may want to hire some relaxed seating for under the stretch tent like hay bales. Lawn games suit this relaxed venue perfectly if you wanted a bit of entertainment for your guests.
Wedding Breakfast + Speeches
Your wedding breakfast will be held in the flint barn, the two large doors at both ends of the barn open up and provide some nice natural light. The capacity for the barn is up to 150 guests so it's a large space. The barn is hired as a blank canvas so you will have to decorate it yourself and hire tables and chairs. Long trestle tables work well with this venue but you could also use circle tables. I would recommend seating the newly weds at one the end by the doors so they have some nice natural light facing them as it can get dark in the middle of the barn. The barn looks good already so you don't need loads of decor but flowers would add some colour and make the space look really nice. The ceiling comes with fairy lights which adds a nice atmosphere and looks great in the evening. For speeches, if the speakers are sat in a dark part of the barn I would recommend having them stand at the end of the tables so everyone can see them and they're by the doors in nice light.
Photo Locations
Haylands Barn is a beautiful venue with lots of great spots for your couple photos. The path leading to the venue with the house in the background is really nice, especially if you've hired a wedding car and want some photos with it. Then the grass area where you can hold your ceremony is lovely as well. Outside the barn where your drinks reception is held is a large field with views of the South Downs, this is a really great space for sunset photos as the sun sets behind the trees.
Evening Reception
The evening reception is held in the barn, the size of the barn usually means there's no need to turn around the room as there is space for the DJ and dance floor at one end. There is a small stage available for your band or DJ to set up on which can look great. The cut off time for music is 11.30pm. There are festoon lights outside on the patio which is nice for warm evenings so guests can sit outside.
Parking + Accommodation
They have a large grass car park available for you, your guests and suppliers to use. They don't have any accommodation so if your guests need somewhere to stay they can find BnBs in Petworth Town. The closest one is the White Horse in Graffham, they have 6 rooms available.
Photography
If you need a photographer for your wedding please get in touch! I'm a recommended supplier at Haylands Barn and I love working there.
