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...
Wedding Insurance
…is often the response when we mention wedding insurance to couples during venue tours.
When you’re in that happy bubble of wedding planning, the concept of things going wrong is far from the beautiful, happy, fun filled vision that you have in your head for your wedding day.
And, don’t worry. Most weddings do happen without major problems.
But from time to time, things happen that you can’t control.
And with the average cost of a 2023 wedding in the U.K. at more than £20,000 and 65% of couples spending more than £15,000 on their wedding (Source: Hitched). Obtaining wedding insurance is a sensible way to protect yourself from the financial impact of some unforeseen events.
We decided to do a little research into wedding insurance.
All weddings are different and a quick look at the internet shows that wedding insurance policies differ too. Most policies seem to cover (amongst other things) rings, wedding attire and cancellation due to illness of a member of the wedding party. But there are lots of other things that some insurance companies also cover. For instance, marquees, W.C. units and even ceremonial swords.
You definitely need to do your own research on this (and actually, we aren’t allowed, by law, to advise you on different policies).
We were also interested to note that some policies cover lost deposits.
Whilst it seems that insuring against rain on your wedding day probably isn’t possible and you’re unlikely to get cover if you cancel due to one of you getting cold feet. You may be covered for wet feet (sort of) as we’ve seen some policies that do cover things like flooding and extreme weather.
An interesting point that we did notice during our research relates to wedding photography.
Lots of policies seemed to cover wedding photos, and photographer ‘no shows’.
But one we spotted actually stated that they only covered this if a professional photographer was being employed. So if a keen amateur photographer family friend was taking the pics, it’s unlikely that their work would be covered.
We wonder if the same principle applies to, say, the wedding cake – if the wedding cake were to be made by a family friend, rather than a professional cake maker, would it be covered by wedding insurance? If you’re not having a professionally made cake, then that’s definitely a question to ask your wedding insurance provider.
Like all insurance policies, the cost of wedding insurance varies.
Our own research appears to show that policy cost is generally proportional to wedding cost.
Whilst on the subject of insurance, it’s probably also worth mentioning that wedding suppliers should also have public liability insurance. And this is something you might want to check before booking with any supplier if you are unsure. It’s hard to think of a reason why any bona fide professional wedding supplier wouldn’t have public liability insurance.
We imagine that by the time you’re searching for your venue, you will have a good indication of what your overall wedding spend will be.
If you have an idea of how much you will be spending on your wedding and how much out of pocket you’d be if you had to rearrange your day, then that will give you a fair idea of the insurance cover you would need.
We would suggest that this is the time to be searching for wedding insurance… It really is a thing.
Lou and Colin, The Old Milking Parlour at Cavokay House.
Images from a photo shoot here at The Old Milking Parlour at Cavokay House.Photography: TP Photography. Dress: Gumtree. Accessories: Tessa’s Tiaras and Tessa’s Tiaras Embroidery. Hair and Make up: Amy Inwood, Outdoor arches: The Blue Box cake Co. Celebrant: Soulshine CeremoniesOur thanks to our fabulous models, Tommy and Clare
Wedding websites
Have you thought about a wedding website? It’s a great idea.
‘’What’s a wedding website?’’ I hear you ask.
A wedding website is a place where your guests can find all the information that they might need about your wedding. This website might even include management of RSVPs – so your guests can reply online to their invitation.
You can create your own wedding website, but such websites are also available commercially.
So what sort of information should a wedding website contain?
As well as basic information about date, location and ceremony time, a wedding website can contain useful information such as timings for the day. For example, parents of children , or people on certain medications, might find it useful to know when food is going to be served, just in case they might need to bring snacks with them or adjust their medication. Including the wedding breakfast menu on the wedding website also works really well.
Our experience is that guests find information about timings for the day really helpful.
Many couples these days are choosing to have ‘unplugged’ ceremonies. This is where they request guests to refrain from taking pictures and videos during the ceremony. If this sounds like something you might like to do, the perhaps your wedding website might be where you place this information.
On the other hand, you might be of the view that you’d like your guests to take lots of photos and video throughout the ceremony and the whole wedding day – some couples even devise a wedding hashtag so that guests’ images can be easily found when uploaded to social media. Without doubt, a wedding hashtag needs to be shared on a wedding website. As, indeed, do the details about wifi at the venue.
If you’re having a pay bar at your wedding, then including this info on your wedding website will remind your guests to bring a means of payment with them.
Confetti is another issue that you might like to address on your wedding website. Some venues don’t allow it at all, others insist that only biodegradable confetti is used.
If your wedding is in a rustic setting, perhaps in a marquee, a barn or even out in the open in woodland, then your guests may well be very grateful to know in advance so that they can plan suitable outfits with flat shoes rather than high heels or open-toed sandals.
Another couple of very practical items to include on your wedding website are details of local taxi companies along with a list of local places to stay. Booking taxis in advance will help guests avoid situations where they’re stuck in an unfamiliar and possibly remote spot with no transport.
Of course, we’ve all been to weddings where there is limited parking. If your venue has ample parking, your guests will find this information reassuring. If it doesn’t, then they will undoubtedly find details of local car parks really helpful.
There are certain delicate issues that could be diplomatically addressed on your wedding website too – perhaps you’ve decided that you’d prefer your wedding to be child free.
Perhaps your venue capacity or your budget is such that invitational ‘plus ones’ are not possible. A nicely worded sentence or two on your wedding website might well save you from an awkward conversation.
And of course, there is always your love story.
It’s possible that not all of your guests know you as a couple.
Life these days is busy, and families spread across the world.
Pictures and stories of how you met and fell in love are a charming way to introduce your partner to that favourite aunt that you’ve struggled to find the time to visit. If you have an engagement photo shoot you might like to share some of these images to your wedding website.
In short, your wedding website can be whatever you want it to be, from a source of basic information to a full on wedding colour themed information and photographic extravaganza where you include information about the bridal party and grooms men (and maybe even pictures of your guests too) – a digital celebration of you and your love.
Photo credits:
The Old Milking Parlour at Cavokay House
TP Photography
Exclusively Yours Bridal Boutique
Tasha Mae Events
Bournemouth Bridal hair and Make-Up
Tessa’s Tiaras
Ragtags of Blandford
Old Chapel Flowers
Pastel Designs
Melanie Todd Cake Design
Wedding themes
Those of us in the wedding industry often speak glibly about wedding themes.
Indeed, I sometimes hear myself speaking about various styled photo shoot themes and wonder if what I’m saying doesn’t sound a bit bonkers to anyone hearing it for the first time.
But a theme for a wedding doesn’t mean the wedding looks like a pantomime – unless that’s what you want, of course :-).
These images are from a photo shoot here at The Old Milking Parlour at Cavokay House that was organised and styled by Leanna of The Silk Studio UK, in Frome.
Leanna came to us with an idea to create a bridal photo shoot based on the Disney film ‘Frozen’.
But as you can see from these gorgeous images by Natalie Stevenson Photography, this is a very grown up and elegant interpretation, with not a cartoon in sight.
Notice though, how the delicate blue colour theme runs throughout the details of the day to give a feeling of cohesion and calm.
The flowers, the biscuits, the garter, the table details and the stationery all feature touches of pale blue and the overall result is feminine and stylish.
Adding to the soft feminine feel, that fabulous feathered dress and the photographic editing style.
We were thrilled when The English Wedding Blog featured the photo shoot.
Of course, you absolutely don’t have to have a theme for your wedding at all if you don’t want to.
It’s your day and we’re huge advocates of you having what you want.
But if you’re undecided about colours or how you see your day looking, then a theme can be a useful jumping off point.
We’d suggest maybe a favourite film or book, or even a hobby or even a favourite holiday destination…
Once you start to think about it, the possibilities are endless....
Photo shoot credits:
Concept, organisation and styling: Leanna of The Silk Studio UK - Frome
Photography: Natalie Stevenson Photography
Cakes and biscuits: Megan of Dainty Bakes
Hair and Make up: Maria Lucas
Crockery: Swingletree Vintage
Calligraphy: Jodie Rose Calligraphy
Chairs and plate chargers: Prestige Event Equipment Hire
Gloves: Lisa Redman
Garter, ring box and embroidered veil: Tulle and Blue
Jewellery: Glitzy Secrets
Ribbons: Heirlooms silk and ribbons
Rings: Christina Oswin
Flowers: Walled Garden Weddings
VW Camper: Cool Camper Hire
Tiara: Tessa's Tiaras
Dresses: Carina Baverstock Couture (That stunning feathery beaded dress is called Lalique and is from designer Eliza Jane Howell)
Huge thanks to models Dinja and Kimberly Hammelberg
'Bring on the spring'
~ In 2023 we were approached by the excellent 'Your Bristol and Somerset Wedding' magazine to contribute to their April/May 2023 edition.
The brief was to advise 'How can I incorporate the beauty of spring into my wedding?'
This piece was published on page 62 of that issue.