Licensed by Somerset County Council for civil wedding ceremonies (click for info)
The Old Milking Parlour at Cavokay House
Barn wedding venue in Somerset, UK
Welcome to our website and thank you for visiting. Please take a leisurely electronic stroll around our beautiful venue...
The Old Milking Parlour lies in an idyllic rural setting in the grounds of Cavokay House, near the village of Henstridge, Somerset - which also puts the venue within easy reach of Dorset and Wiltshire.
Nearby towns are Shaftesbury, Wincanton, Sturminster Newton, Blandford Forum, Gillingham, Mere, Sherborne and Yeovil.
For our address, email, telephone number etc, please see our contact page here
The Building
The Old Milking Parlour is constructed of the local stone (Forest Marble) and so retains its old world rustic charm.
It is, as the name implies, an old farm milking parlour. Parts of the building date from circa 1730 and cow chains still hang from the walls.
The building's internal dimensions are: 70ft (21.34 metres) by 23ft (7.05 metres) with an area of 1620 sq. ft (150 sq. m). The capacity is limited by fire regulations to 100 people seated (including children and top table).
Inside, it's more like being properly indoors than being in a barn. It's carpeted and cosy with a friendly, mellow atmosphere.
There is easy disabled access to the building and excellent indoor ladies, gents and disabled toilets.
Wedding Planning and on-the-day Coordination
We will always be on hand to help and advise with your wedding planning. We will attend all meetings at The Old Milking Parlour when you meet your suppliers to discuss and plan your special day. We will help you formulate a written plan for your day so as to make sure that everything runs smoothly and all of your suppliers are aware of the timings and any special features.
On your wedding day, we will be working away in the background to ensure that everything runs smoothly - so that you can have fun and enjoy your happiest day without having to worry about the logistics of running a wedding. From toilet rolls to amplification for the speeches - we've got it.
In short, we will have your back throughout the planning and the coordination of your special day.
So, relax, enjoy yourself and - most of all - have fun.
Civil Wedding Ceremonies
The Old Milking Parlour at Cavokay House is fully licensed by Somerset County Council to hold civil wedding ceremonies on the premises.
Ceremonies can take place in The Old Milking Parlour building itself, outside on the adjacent lawn or amongst the birdsong in a magical sun-dappled glade (pictured left) in The Old Milking Parlour's private woods. To see a beautiful real wedding in our private woods and the rest of this special day, please click here.
There is no extra charge from us for having your civil wedding ceremony at The Old Milking Parlour.
To begin arranging your civil wedding ceremony at The Old Milking Parlour at Cavokay House, click on this link: www.somersetweddingservice.org.uk/
The south-facing lawn is approximately three quarters of an acre in area and makes an ideal outside space for guests to mingle and chat.
The lawn has plenty of room for the erection of a marquee (approved marquee suppliers are available from our Approved Suppliers' list).
Music and Dancing
The whole of the wedding room is festooned with fairy lights which give a magical and romantic ambience - as well as making it very relaxing to sit and chat when you're not dancing.
The dance floor and the stage have their own digitally-controlled professional lighting system which gives a fantastic atmosphere for dancing.
DJ and Disco
Included in the price of your wedding at The Old Milking Parlour is a fabulous party evening provided by RS Sound and Entertainment's Disco. Rich and Si, RS's friendly, experienced and totally professional DJs, will keep the dance floor full and your guests bopping away all evening long. A fun time is guaranteed for all.
The Grounds
Twelve acres of private grounds comprise the surroundings. These include paddocks, a stream, a magic door and five acres of woods.
Parking
The Bar
The bar measures 13ft (4 metres) by 13ft (4 metres) with an area of 146 sq. ft. (16 sq. m) (approved and fully-licensed bar suppliers are available from our Approved Suppliers' list).
Toilets
As The Old Milking Parlour is a refurbished farm building, we are often asked: 'Do you have toilets?' The answer is that we have very high quality toilets within the building - Ladies' (pictured left), Gents' and Disabled.
Catering Kitchen
For the benefit of your caterers, there is a catering kitchen adjacent to the wedding room (approved caterers are available from our Approved Suppliers' list).
Chairs and Tables
We have a full complement of the chairs shown below. The chairs are wooden, in a light beech colour, have padded seats and are very comfortable. The style of chair is called 'Calcutta High Back'. You may use these chairs at no extra charge and decorate them as you wish. To see some styling ideas for these chairs, please click here.
We have 23 rectangular tables (size 6 ft by 2ft-6ins).
Using our included-in-the-price tables and chairs, the picture (left) shows a wedding reception laid out for 90 seated guests (not including the top table).
Room Layout
The diagram below show a wedding breakfast sample layout which will accommodate 60 or 90 guests, depending on the seating density. But, of course, you're free to choose any layout you wish
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Something Borrowed - Wedding and Photographic Props
We have lots of wedding and photographic props which are all included (without charge) in your wedding at The Old Milking Parlour - something borrowed, in fact.
These props include a beautiful phaeton horse-drawn carriage (no horse - sorry).
There are lots of milk churns which, when adorned with flowers, make a superb display and also make stunning rustic tables (great for arrival drinks on the lawn) when used with our selection of old plank doors.
Other props include dozens of candelabra, four-foot high illuminated floral love letters, a post box, many metres of flower garlands, white chair covers, a vintage mirrored dresser for your wedding cake, variously coloured chair sashes and chair bands, a two metre circle back-drop, a flower wall backdrop, a crisp wall, log slice table place name holders, three test tube and rack flower vases, eleven log slice table centre pieces, a three metre diameter white floral moon-gate arch, an arch with fairy lights for behind the top table, a pinboard and white vintage easel, an indoor swing, an indoor pink floral swinging hoop - which the bride can sit in - and we even have a swing for your wedding cake.
We're always adding to our prop store, so this list is probably already out of date.
Wealth and Happiness...
Everybody knows the traditional rhyme about what a bride should wear on her wedding day:
Something old
Something new
Something borrowed
Something blue...
But do you know the last line? If you don't, it's:
'And a silver sixpence in her shoe'
According to folklore and legend, a sixpenny piece in the bride's shoe is a talisman which will bring wealth, luck and happiness to the happy couple's marriage.
With this charming tradition in mind, every Old Milking Parlour bride is given - to wear in her shoe on her wedding day - a genuine, vintage (pre-decimal) sixpenny piece (otherwise known as a 'tanner') - which she can keep forever.
This lucky 'silver sixpence' comes in a pretty presentation box - complete with a miniature scroll on which is written the the 'Something old, Something new...' poem. This makes a lovely and lasting memento of the happy couple's best day ever.
So there you are. What could be better? An Old Milking Parlour wedding and lifelong wealth and happiness.
Confidentiality, seclusion and exclusivity
We are extremely grateful to our couples who give us permission to share publicly moments of their wedding day. But, for a variety of reasons, not all couples are comfortable with this.
The Old Milking Parlour site is totally secluded and is an exclusive use venue. Old Milking Parlour weddings are totally private. If our couples prefer not to have any aspect of their wedding day shared online or otherwise, we will always respect this preference.
Each year we host a number of weddings which couples have wished to keep private. And private they have stayed. And always will.
So, if privacy and seclusion are important to you for your wedding day, The Old Milking Parlour at Cavokay House is your ideal venue.
We will work with you as your advocates to plan your perfect day and take all your wishes into account. Respecting our couples' requested confidentiality is vitally important to us.
If you prefer to keep your day entirely private, then that is the way it will be. We will never breach your confidentiality, nor will we share anything at all about your wedding. Ever.
The Lawn
The private car park is constructed in hard standing and has parking for fifty-six cars. More, if carefully parked.