Photos @gemwrightphotography
Exmouth Country Lodge Wedding Guide – Music, Atmosphere and a Personal Barn Wedding
The Setting and Overall Feel
Exmouth Country Lodge is one of those venues that makes much more sense once you are actually there.
It has a proper rustic barn feel, but without being so rustic that the wedding becomes hard work. The different spaces have plenty of character, there is a relaxed countryside atmosphere, and couples have a lot of freedom to make the wedding feel like their own.
I spent a full wedding day there with Serena and Max, from their ceremony through to the final song, and came away feeling that it is particularly well suited to couples who want something personal, informal and a little different.
The venue is built around several distinct spaces. There is the Orchard for outdoor ceremonies and daytime use, the historic Cob Barn for indoor ceremonies, the larger Cowshed for the reception and evening celebration, and a courtyard connecting everything together.
That separation gives the day a natural sense of movement without guests feeling as though they are constantly being moved from one unrelated room to another.
The Cob Barn Ceremony Space
Serena and Max chose the Cob Barn for their ceremony, and this was probably my favourite part of the venue.
It is a beautiful old stone and cob space with enormously thick walls and lots of character. It feels intimate but the vaulted roof elivates the space, so it's anything but cramped, and for a couple who want something more atmospheric than a conventional ceremony room, it works really well.
The venue has its own installed sound system, which I was able to connect into for the ceremony. That meant I could concentrate on the important part, making sure Serena and Max's chosen music happened at exactly the right moments.
Their soundtrack suited the venue and, more importantly, suited them. Guests arrived to piano interpretations of rock songs, before the ceremony itself led eventually to Serena and Max walking back up the aisle to Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me.
It was not what somebody might describe as traditional wedding music, but that was precisely why it worked. Their music felt like them.
That is something I particularly like about venues such as Exmouth Country Lodge. The setting has plenty of personality already, but it does not dictate what sort of wedding you have to create inside it.
The Cowshed for the Reception and Evening
The main reception takes place in the larger Cowshed Barn.
There are fixed bar areas, plenty of open floor space and a stage area in the corner where I set up my DJ equipment. There is also a mezzanine lounge, giving guests somewhere slightly removed from the main celebration without disappearing into a completely separate part of the venue.
For Serena and Max's wedding, the darker styling worked beautifully in here. They had black details, dark red tones and a deliberately moody feel to the wedding, so I actually changed part of my own setup to suit it.
I normally use white fabric on my lighting totems, but once I saw the room dressed for their wedding it looked far too bright. I swapped them for black instead and immediately everything felt much more intentional.
It is a small detail, but it is a good example of why I do not think a wedding DJ setup should simply be dropped into a room without considering everything around it.
The entertainment should look as though it belongs at the wedding.
A Wedding That Was Very Much Their Own
One of the things I enjoyed most about Serena and Max's day was that there was no attempt to make it conform to a particular idea of what a wedding ought to be.
After the ceremony there was a long, relaxed drinks reception, with music moving between rock, alternative tracks and more laid-back background choices.
A magician entertained guests later in the afternoon. Dinner came from a pizza van rather than a conventional wedding breakfast. The bridesmaids decided they wanted their own entrance into the reception, so we turned that into a proper moment with Man! I Feel Like a Woman! before bringing Serena and Max in separately.
Later, the evening soundtrack moved through everything from Muse, Metallica, Korn, Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance to Spice Girls, S Club, the Macarena and Cotton Eye Joe.
There was no need for the music to fit into one neat genre.
It just needed to fit Serena and Max - and their guests, who were totally there for them!
Hosting and Flow at Exmouth Country Lodge
Exmouth Country Lodge has a very hands-on venue team.
Anita was coordinating Serena and Max's wedding when I worked there and was involved throughout the day, from preparing spaces and looking after guests to keeping an eye on timings.
Because I was there as both Wedding Host and DJ, there was some overlap between the way the venue normally operates and the way I work. That simply meant communicating properly and deciding who was doing what rather than competing for the microphone.
The best hosting is rarely about being the loudest person in the room. It is about making the next thing happen naturally.
A good example came before Serena and Max's reception entrance. The bridesmaids decided they wanted to be introduced separately just before we were due to begin. Rather than seeing that as a disruption to the schedule, I reshaped the entrance around it.
They came in first and got the room moving, then Serena and Max followed with their own introduction.
It worked brilliantly because we responded to what was actually happening rather than insisting on the original plan.
What to Know About Sound Levels
One practical point I would discuss with the venue when planning entertainment is the sound level.
When I worked at Exmouth Country Lodge, evening sound levels were being actively monitored. The restriction was noticeable and I had to be mindful of it throughout the evening. It was manageable.
We still had people dancing, plenty of energy and a really enjoyable party. Serena and Max were very happy at the end of the night, and even Max, who apparently is not normally much of a dancer, still got his boogie on!
But it is worth understanding that this is not a venue where a DJ can simply turn a large sound system up without considering the surroundings.
For some couples that will make virtually no difference. For others, particularly if having an exceptionally loud club-style party is one of the most important parts of the wedding, it is something I would recommend discussing with the venue before booking.
For me as the DJ, it simply becomes another part of understanding the room and working appropriately within it.
What Kind of Wedding Suits Exmouth Country Lodge?
I think Exmouth Country Lodge particularly suits couples who want a relaxed Devon barn wedding with plenty of opportunity to put their own personality into it.
It works well when you want different stages of the day to have their own atmosphere, from the intimacy of the Cob Barn ceremony through to drinks outside and then a much more energetic celebration in the Cowshed.
It also lends itself to weddings that do not necessarily follow the traditional formula.
Serena and Max's day had rock music, gothic touches, pizza, a magician, a spontaneous bridesmaid entrance and an evening soundtrack that happily moved from heavy metal to 90s pop.
Nothing about it felt like it had been selected from a standard wedding template.
And the venue was perfectly comfortable with that.
Planning Your Wedding at Exmouth Country Lodge
Having now worked a full wedding day at Exmouth Country Lodge, I would happily return.
It has genuine character, a lovely ceremony space, plenty of flexibility and a team who clearly care about making the day work.
From an entertainment point of view, I would particularly recommend thinking about the whole day rather than simply the evening DJ set.
The different spaces give you opportunities to shape the soundtrack from guest arrival and ceremony music through drinks, entrances, speeches and eventually the evening party.
Used thoughtfully, that means the wedding does not feel like a series of separate events.
It feels like one celebration that gradually changes gear as the day unfolds.
https://www.exmouthweddingvenue.co.uk/
