June 26 will be a big day for Rowland and Megan Bassett. Five days after lockdown restrictions on weddings are due to be lifted, 130 guests will converge on their home near Brixton, Devon, for one of the first full-scale nuptials to have been held in Britain for more than a year.
But the Bassetts are not the bride and groom; they have spent the past two years turning Hareston Manor into a wedding venue.
The Jacobean house, with its mellow stone and elegant doorway, is certainly romantic, and it already has its own chapel. To make it wedding-friendly, the couple have invested around £200,000 in renovating the south wing of the house as a bridal suite, installing a tepee in the grounds with space for up to 150 guests, building a “glamping site” where guests can stay, and perfecting the garden.
This investment is designed to make the property pay its way; done right, weddings can bring in thousands of pounds every year. “It is expensive to live here and I wanted to do something with the manor, try to future-proof it to be able to stay here and keep the place in the family,” said Mr Bassett.
Of course, not any old home will make the grade. You need space: weddings require around 2,000 sq ft of indoor space, suggested Simon Foster of estate agency Savills – either a section of the main house, a converted barn or stables, or a marquee.
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