By coach
Two coaches leave the market square at 13:00 and 13:30 and return at 23:30 and 00:45. They are free and they are the sensible choice. Ask for a seat on your RSVP and we will hold one in your name.
Together with their families, on a Saturday in the Wren Valley
MaraandJonah
Are getting married — and would love you there
- The date
- Saturday 12 June 2027
- The place
- Hartwell Barns, Wren Valley
- The dress
- Summer formal, flat shoes welcome
A note from the two of us
The invitation
We met on a wet platform waiting for the same delayed train, and we have been arguing pleasantly about timetables ever since. It felt right to marry somewhere you have to make a small effort to reach.
Hartwell Barns sits at the top of a lane with a walled garden, a stone threshing barn and a granary long enough to seat everyone we love at one table. There is no rush to the day: an afternoon ceremony, a long dinner, and a band that has promised to play until we stop them.
Everything you need is on this page — when to arrive, how to get there, what to wear and what to do about the children, the car and the dog. Anything we have missed, ask us in the note at the end of the RSVP.
Mara & Jonah
- Date
- Sat 12 June 2027
- Doors
- 14:00
- Ceremony
- 14:45, seated by 14:40
- Place
- Hartwell Barns, Wren Valley
- Dinner
- 17:30, family style
- Carriages
- 00:30
- Reply by
- 7 May 2027
From the walled garden to the last coach
Order of the day
Nothing here needs memorising. If you arrive by 14:15 and stay for pudding, you will have done it perfectly.
14:00
Doors and cold drinks
The walled garden opens. Lemonade and something colder under the pear trees while everyone finds each other.
14:45
The ceremony
Thirty minutes in the stone threshing barn. Please be seated by 14:40 — the doors close on the hour and it is a short walk from the garden.
15:30
Photographs, then the lawn is yours
Group photographs take twenty minutes on the south lawn. After that there is tea, cider and an hour with nothing scheduled at all.
17:30
Dinner in the granary
Long tables, four courses brought out on platters to share. A seating plan is posted by the granary doors.
20:00
Speeches and cake
Three short speeches — we have counted the pages. The cake is cut at the end and the rest goes out with the coffee.
21:00
First dance, then the band
Two sets in the granary with the tables cleared back. A quiet room with beds and films opens next door for anyone small.
00:30
Carriages
Last song at 00:30. The final coach back to town leaves the top of the lane at 00:45 and will not wait long.
Getting up the lane, and getting home again
Travel & stay
The barns are twenty minutes from the market town along a single-track lane. Coaches are easier than driving, and far easier than driving back.
By car
There is grass parking in the top field, signed from the lane. Cars can be left overnight and collected before 11:00 on Sunday, when the field is cut. The lane is narrow, so please come up slowly.
Staying over
Rooms are held for us in the village and at two farmhouses within walking distance until 30 April. Mention our names when you book. The barns themselves sleep nobody, including us.
The small print, written kindly
Good to know
Six things guests usually ask us in the week before, answered now instead.
- What to wear
- Summer formal. The ceremony barn is stone-floored and the lawn is uneven, so heels are a brave choice. Bring something warm for after dark — the granary doors stay open.
- Children
- Very welcome at the ceremony and at dinner. From 19:00 there is a quiet room next to the granary with beds, films and a sitter, and you are welcome to use it or ignore it.
- Gifts
- Your being there is the whole of it. If you would like to mark the day, we are saving towards a long table of our own and would rather have a note in the card than a parcel.
- Photographs
- Please keep phones down during the ceremony. Ines is photographing the day properly and will share everything with everyone afterwards. After that, photograph whatever you like.
- Food and drink
- Four courses served family style, with a vegetarian main as standard and other menus made to order. Tell us anything we should know on the RSVP and the kitchen will handle it quietly.
- Weather
- If it rains the ceremony moves inside the granary and starts at the same time. Nothing else about the day changes, including the garden, which has umbrellas.
Asked more than once
Questions
If yours is not here, add it to the note at the bottom of the RSVP and we will reply properly.
Can I bring someone with me?
The RSVP lists the names we have saved seats for. If your invitation says “and guest”, add their name in the reply and we will set another place.
What time should I actually arrive?
Any time from 14:00. Aim to be in the garden by 14:15 so you are not walking in behind the ceremony — the doors to the barn close at 14:45.
Is the site step-free?
The ceremony barn, the granary and the washrooms are all on one level with a ramped entrance and a firm path between them. The lawn is grass. Tell us on the RSVP and we will reserve seats at the end of a row and keep a route clear.
Can I leave my car overnight?
Yes. The top field stays open and cars can be collected any time before 11:00 on Sunday morning, when the field gets cut.
What is the food, and can you cater for me?
Four courses brought to the table to share, with a vegetarian main by default. Allergies, intolerances and anything else go in the dietary box on the RSVP — the kitchen cooks to that list, not to guesswork.
Is there a bar?
Wine, beer and soft drinks are on us through dinner and until 21:00. After that the bar in the granary takes over and takes cards.
What if my plans change after I reply?
Send a second reply with the same name and a line in the note explaining what has changed. The later version wins. Numbers go to the kitchen on 14 May, so before then is easiest.
Who do I ask about something not covered here?
Use the message box on the RSVP. It reaches both of us, and we would far rather answer a small question in April than sort it out on the day.
One reply per named guest, by 7 May 2027
Will you be there?
Reply below whether it is a yes or a no — a straight answer now is a kindness to the kitchen and to us.