MARSHWOOD MANOR – A MAGICAL WOODLAND WEDDING VENUE

Marshwood Manor is a beautiful, exclusive use wedding venue nestled within the picturesque Vale of Marshwood, Dorset, catering to large celebrations and elopement weddings alike.
Holding sustainability close to its heart, it offers an eclectic mix of preloved furniture, antiques, and décor and employs a variety of sustainable practices.

Sounds idyllic right?

Let’s get to know this venue a little better.

Upon arrival you are greeted with a stately gateway and long drive, obscured by ancient trees. Atop the gate posts sit two ornamental pinecone finials – perfect for a woodland setting.

As you approach the venue, signposts direct you past a row of quaint, red brick cottages, each with their own fenced garden. Marshwood can accommodate up to 31 overnight guests and you’ll be pleased to know, dogs are welcome too!

Beyond these cottages you’ll find The Haybarn – a rustic dream with its wooden beams, vaulted ceiling, hessian drapery, and timber-clad feature wall. This multifunctional space, like all of Marshwood Manor, is a blank canvas, enabling you to style it as you please. The Haybarn is fully licensed for indoor civil ceremonies, allowing up to 120 guests to witness the happy occasion. The space can then be transformed for mingling, eating – seating up to 80 on solid oak banqueting tables, or dancing.
The dais (a low platform) makes an ideal stage for the ceremony itself, top or sweetheart table, or band to serenade you into the early hours.
The Haybarn also benefits from a set of large doors leading out onto its own glass covered terrace with portable hand-crafted bar.

From The Haybarn you’re lead through a timber-clad passage, lined with antique candle sconces and beautiful arched windows, to the warm and inviting bar and lounge area. The rich, luxurious colours and textures of this space make it the perfect place for relaxing and catching up with loved ones. There’s even a log burner to keep you toasty during the colder months, and an upright piano to tinkle away on.
This is where you’ll find the lovely Romla, owner of Marshwood Manor, and perhaps a four-legged friend or two waiting for you.
Romla’s knowledge of Marshwood’s history, the local area and local vendors is extensive. She is happy to recommend the best local suppliers, rearrange the layout of any function space to suit your needs, and well, accommodate most other requests too – consider her a fairy godmother of sorts!

Her dedication to sustainable practices is something to behold, no single-use plastics here!
She is always on the hunt for sustainable solutions to everyday items: chemical filled cleaning products have been swapped out for non-toxic alternatives, dustpans and brushes are made of metal with natural bristles, in-room toiletries are refillable, even the drainage system has been overhauled to a Biorock System by Ecorock.
The tenacity of this lady is admirable.

From the lounge and bar, you head through the wooden arched doors to the large, gravelled courtyard. From here you have access to the aforementioned row of cottages. These four cosy yet deceptively spacious cottages sleep 19 people in total, making them the ideal lodgings for family and friends who want to make the most of the festivities and stay on site.

Across the courtyard is yet more accommodation sleeping 6 additional guests. This single storey building is perfect for those with limited mobility.

Each cottage has been fully furnished with hand selected, preloved furniture and décor, and finished to a high standard.

The gated courtyard itself has more than enough space for all manner of activities. Whether you decide to hold an outdoor seated wedding breakfast, hire food trucks for that festival vibe, toast marshmallows over the huge firepit, or dance the night away beneath the stars, the possibilities are vast, limited only by the imagination.

Through the iron gates you follow the path to several lawned areas perfect for games, or even a giant tipi.
Anyone for croquet?

From here you’re able to see just how much space you have to play with at Marshwood. Acres in fact. So let your creative side run free!

Across the drive you spot a gap in the rustic wooden fence with a pathway weaving its way through the wild meadow and towards the ancient woodland beyond.

Prepare yourself, things are about to get even more magical!

As you approach the woodland, a wooden archway and woodchip path marks the entrance, replenished twice a year using only felled trees and branches found on site so as not to upset the ecosystem by introducing any new bacteria or spores.

Following the path, you hear the trickling stream, and birdsong. You continue over a bridge and through the trees, and then you see it.
The woodland bower.
With its tiered log benches where 80 of your family and friends can watch as you walk down the aisle, over the wooden bridge and stream, towards your love. You’ll proclaim your “I do’s” beneath the majestic bower before crossing back over the stream as a married couple.

The romanticism is off the charts!

Dress this beautiful area with flowers and foliage, or leave wonderfully wild, the choice is yours.

The bower itself, originally serving as the porch of a church, was acquired to adorn the main entrance of Marshwood Manor’s house, but Romla had other ideas. The porch was repurposed to be the magnificent bower.
There’s something very special about it sheltering married couples once again.

As you meander back along the woodchip pathway and over the bridge you re-enter the wild meadow – a great spot to host your cocktail hour and greet your guests as newlyweds.

Beyond the meadow and a short walk down the drive you’ll find The Lodge. Sleeping six, this white single storey building offers the perfect place for the wedding party to stay and get ready before the ceremony.
It has its own veranda, ideal for evening meals, conservatory with oodles of natural light, and a large garden with a thriving pond.
If a more intimate wedding is what you’re looking for, The Lodge’s veranda sets the perfect stage!

Marshwood Manor goes beyond being just a wedding venue and becomes an experience for you and your guests. Their ‘slow’ wedding philosophy allows you and your loved ones to soak in the festivities over 3 days and look back on your celebration with fond memories.