Complete Freedom Over Your Wedding Day
If you've been searching for dry hire wedding venues where you're not tied to expensive in-house packages, overpriced wine lists, or menus that don't quite fit what you had in mind, Bridal Barn offers a refreshingly different approach.
We're a genuine DIY wedding venue. You choose your caterers. You choose your drinks. You design a day that reflects what you actually want, at a budget that works for you.
What Dry Hire Actually Means at Bridal Barn
Some venues call themselves dry hire but still come with restrictions, approved supplier lists you can't deviate from, or hidden charges that appear once you start planning. We prefer to keep things simple.
When you book Bridal Barn, you get exclusive use of our barn, courtyard, tipi, woodland ceremony point, and 100 acre estate for three full days. Fairy lights and festoon lighting throughout are included. What isn't included is catering, because we believe that choice should sit entirely with you.
This means you can work with any caterer you choose. Source your own drinks. Build a menu around your tastes and budget rather than selecting from a fixed list of options at venue-dictated prices.
No Corkage Wedding Venue
One of the biggest frustrations couples face when planning a wedding is corkage charges. You've found wine you love at a reasonable price, but the venue wants £15 or £20 per bottle on top. Suddenly that affordable fizz for the toast costs more than champagne would elsewhere.
At Bridal Barn, we don't charge corkage on drinks you bring in. Whether you're supplying your own wine, sourcing craft beer from a local brewery, or setting up a gin bar for the evening reception, there are no hidden per-bottle fees eating into your budget.
For couples searching for no corkage wedding venues in the West Midlands and Shropshire, this flexibility can make a genuine difference to what's possible within your overall spend.
Why Couples Choose DIY Wedding Venues
The appeal of dry hire goes beyond just saving money (though that's certainly part of it). It's about control.
Eat What You Actually Want
Perhaps you dream of a relaxed sharing feast rather than plated courses. Maybe you want your nan's favourite local chippy doing the evening food. Or you've found an incredible street food vendor whose tacos would be perfect for your crowd. At a dry hire venue, these aren't compromises or special requests. They're simply your choices to make.
Drink What You Actually Like
Venue wine lists are often limited and marked up significantly. When you source your own drinks, you can serve that specific English sparkling wine you discovered on holiday, stock the bar with locally brewed ales, or simply buy supermarket prosecco in bulk without anyone judging. Your wedding, your call.
Budget Where It Matters to You
Traditional venue packages bundle everything together, which sounds convenient until you realise you're paying premium prices for elements you don't care about while skimping on things you do. Dry hire lets you allocate your budget intentionally. Spend more on spectacular food if that matters to you. Keep drinks simple if it doesn't. The flexibility is yours.
Dry Hire Barn Wedding Venues
There's something about a barn setting that suits the DIY wedding approach perfectly. The rustic backdrop means you don't need elaborate decoration to create atmosphere. Fairy lights, candles, and simple flowers work beautifully against exposed beams and natural textures.
Our barn at Bridal Barn has genuine character, a converted hay barn with all the charm you'd hope for. Combined with the courtyard space (ideal for food trucks, outdoor bars, and relaxed mingling) and the choice of three ceremony locations, you have a flexible canvas to work with.
The space suits everything from elegant sit-down dinners to festival-style celebrations with multiple food stations. We've hosted fine dining caterers, wood-fired pizza vans, afternoon teas, hog roasts, and everything in between. Whatever style of wedding you're planning, the venue adapts.
Dry Hire Wedding Venues Near Me: Location
Bridal Barn sits near Claverley in Shropshire, right on the West Midlands border. We're ten minutes from Bridgnorth and well positioned for guests travelling from across the region.
Approximate distances:
Birmingham: 45 minutes Wolverhampton: 30 minutes Telford: 35 minutes Shrewsbury: 40 minutes Stourbridge: 25 minutes
For couples searching for dry hire wedding venues near me across the Midlands, our location offers countryside seclusion without being impossibly remote for suppliers or guests.
Caterers Who Know the Venue
While you're free to use absolutely any caterer, we're happy to recommend suppliers who've worked at Bridal Barn before and know the space well. This can make planning easier, particularly if you're new to coordinating wedding catering.
That said, if you've found someone you love who hasn't worked here previously, that's completely fine. We'll make contact with them ahead of your wedding to talk through facilities, access, and timings so everything runs smoothly on the day.
The Freedom to Create Something Yours
Dry hire weddings take a little more planning than all-inclusive packages. You're coordinating caterers, sorting drinks, and making decisions that other venues would make for you. But for couples who want genuine control over their day, who have specific ideas about food and drink, or who simply want to stretch their budget further, that extra effort is absolutely worth it.
At Bridal Barn, we give you the space, the setting, and the flexibility. What you create within it is entirely up to you.
Arrange a Viewing
If you're looking for dry hire wedding venues in Shropshire or no corkage venues across the West Midlands, we'd love to show you around.
Contact Jill on 07483 846 915 or email rsvp@bridalbarn.wedding to book a viewing. We'll walk you through the space and talk through how the dry hire approach works in practice.
