When the owners of Rookery Meadow (that’s us, Rob & Gemma) became engaged there was no question about venues – for both of us the best place we could think of celebrating our special day was here at Rookery Meadow. Nowhere else could offer the freedom to choose everything we wanted or match the beauty and tranquillity of the natural surroundings that an outdoor wedding offers.
We loved having complete creative and financial control – choosing to spend our budget on the things we desperately wanted and saving on the things that didn’t matter quite so much. For example, we made our own centre pieces for the tables using old ceramic beer bottles found on the farm, but as music fans we splashed out on a six-piece live band.
We also loved adding a personal and unique touch that reflected our relationship and met our needs. Much of the furniture including the Old Oak Bar and infamous Tree of Cake were handmade by us from wood sourced from the farm (both now available to hire for free from our Barn of Curiosities).
The whole event really was everything we dreamt of, and more, and everyone said how personal and different it was. All the guests fell in love with Rookery Meadow that day. It was perfect (even though it rained!).
We know not everyone is as lucky as we are, so we decided to share our fairytale meadow by hosting a small number of outdoor weddings each year. In 2014 we became the first original true blank canvas wedding venue in East Anglia, giving couples the freedom and control they seek whether they dream of a tipi wedding, marquee wedding or festival wedding.
We have now hosted over 35 weddings, each and every one as unique and individual as the couples who choose to spend their special day here. It never ceases to amaze us how one venue can look and feel so different each time and we simply love hearing your ideas and seeing your creations. Some memorable moments to date include a circus performer spinning from an aerial hoop in the oak tree, a rugby match in the meadow, broom jumping in a ceremony, a surprise gin tent and a homemade sweet shop. And there are so many more magic moments created every year. Best of all is seeing the smiles on peoples’ faces.
We know from our own experience that planning and creating your own wedding can be a big task, so when we set about creating Rookery Meadow as an outdoor wedding venue, we knew we could add something extra by being on hand to help with sourcing quotes, creating a day plan and running the event on the day to ensure everything goes smoothly. We host a maximum of eight weddings a year to ensure our couples receive as much of our time, attention and support as they need. With all this, Rookery Meadow makes for a truly unique, personal outdoor wedding venue in Norfolk and Suffolk.
