Where do I start? Whilst we were planning our secret elopement I looked at countless possibilities and venues, but when I found Lower Barns’ website I fell in love with it and had my heart set on getting married there. I contacted Janie and she was so friendly and helpful, planning the wedding was an absolute breeze! As for the accommodation, every 5 star review they have already received has been more then deserved. I feel like 5 star is not enough!

Hosts:

Janie and Mike really are quite possibly the nicest and most attentive hosts you could meet. They are right there when you need them, but know when to leave you alone too. They have got that balance perfect! They were just so friendly I feel like I have known them for years already and I am so pleased that they were witnesses to our runaway wedding. I really cannot speak higher of the two of them.

Location:

Lower Barns is tucked away in a nice quite little area which is just down the road from the Lost Gardens of Heligan (where we went to get some wedding photos so this was perfect). Its, I think, an ideal location to see a lot of things in Cornwall as nothing is too much of a drive to get to. The day after our wedding we went to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek which was an hours drive away, then stopped off in Falmouth to have some food on the way back. If we had stayed a little longer we may have visited Bodmin Railway. Everything is a reasonable car drive away, so I would say for Cornwall, Lower Barns is near on perfectly located if you are not looking for something beach front.

Rooms:

We stayed in the Cranny which is located a little away from the main B&B, but they have a little car park for people staying there really close which was ideal. It has its own little enclosed patio’d front garden area which would be lovely to relax in on a hot summer day. The fire was already roaring when we got there and the entire place, kitchen area, huge 4 poster bed bedroom and the most amazing bathroom I have ever been in, was just beautiful. You can see this place was designed and cared for with creativity and love from the hosts Mike and Janie. That in fact goes for all of Lower Barns. You have access to the Hot Tub too which is near the main B&B but still tucked away just enough that you can feel you are able to use it in privacy. We used the Hot Tub every night! The pathway for us to get there from the Cranny lights up so you can get to it no problem.

Food:

We were staying in the Cranny which I think includes breakfast brought to us every morning at around 9-9:30am. Mike turned up and asks us what we want and comes back a little later with our breakfast which we chose poached eggs every morning. It was lovely! The eggs were fresh and the yolks super orange and tasty, poached to perfection every time. There was fresh fruit, cereal and bread in our room for us on arrival too, as well as a few treats and cake for us to help ourselves to. On our wedding day we had delicious canopies and champagne after our ceremony and on our wedding night we had arranged to have dinner cooked for us in the Party Shed. My husband had a meat dish and I had fish. Let me tell you now, it was like we had gone to a top restaurant. It was delicious! The desert, which was sticky toffee pudding, was out of this world too, which we were told was totally homemade. Those hosts of ours are talented in almost every way! I highly recommend having dinner at least one night if you are staying at Lower Barns. You have to plan it ahead of time but the food is so good I felt it deserved its own section.

Wedding:

It was just perfect. Janie was so helpful and guided me through the (very little!) planning leading up to our wedding, so when we finally met her is was like we were already friends! They took care of everything on their end. There was nothing for us to do on the day but have ourselves ready for our ceremony. The whole thing was just so relaxed, I feel like this way we were truly able to enjoy our wedding day! And although it was mid January, we were lucky that the sun came out. We left our room and almost directly in front of us was a little garden with a cute little footpath through to the Wed Shed. Large letters spelling “LOVE” had been placed along the footpath which was a beautiful touch for photos. The shed itself was cosy and warm. Candles had been lit and again I just thought that was a beautiful touch. Just so many wonderful little details. Janie and Mike were our witnesses and although we had only just met them less then 24 hours previously, I felt like they were our friends. Confetti was thrown after the ceremony which we weren’t expecting which made what are possibly my favourite photos from the day as our faces are genuinely surprised. We had canopies and Champagne in the Party Shed next to roaring fire. It was lovely to chill out and enjoy each others company after just getting married. There were so many photo opportunities at Lower Barns! We had a photographer for a few hours and she told us she was excited to finally get to photograph a wedding Lower Barns. I understand that weddings here at Lower Barns are still a relatively new thing, in the last year or so, but if your thinking about getting married here, do it! I truly believe that this place will be THE place to run away and elope very soon. If you want an easy, chilled out, yet unusually designed and beautiful place for photos, as well as hosts who will take care of the heartfelt little details, this really is just perfection. It was for us.

I have to end this at some point, but Lower Barns is the best place both me and my husband have ever stayed. We will be coming back next year for our first anniversary. I want to bring all my friends and family too just so they can see just how perfect and beautiful this place really is. We both fell in love with the whole package. Thank you Janie and Mike for helping to make our wedding the most amazing time.