Lower Damgate Farm Weddings and Events 

Farm Wedding with Accommodation in the District National Park. Licenced for weddings both inside and out with glorious views across the peaks. 

Thank you for thinking of us for your wedding.  We know this is a really exciting time for you where finding a venue is so important and should be special and fun. As a small family business we try to make it personal from the start and you get to know us and we you and if you have any questions or would like to visit please call us on 01335 310367 or 07779210791 or email INFO@damgate.com.

Our ethos is ‘nothing is a problem’ and we’ve tried to create a venue that is a little different and something we would want for ourselves 

(In fact this is our wedding venue too!)  

Sadly we are fully booked for Large weddings in 2024, however if other dates work for you or you are looking for a small wedding please look at the information below. If you would still like to visit, then please call or text us on 07779210791 or email info@damgate.com as we would love to meet you. 

Thank you for thinking of us for your wedding. We know this is an exciting time for you and finding a venue is so important and should be special and fun and as a small family business we try to make it personal from the start. If you have any questions or would like to know more after reading this, please call us on 01335 310367 or 07779210791 or email info@damgate.com as we are always happy to help, answer any questions or arrange an appointment to suit you. Our ethos is ‘nothing is a problem’ and we have tried to create a venue that is a little different and something we would want for ourselves with a relaxed and easy feel.

We only host a small number of weddings a year and all our weddings support Dovedale Animal Sanctuary with many of our guests enjoying photographs with our goats, alpacas, horses, and other farm animals. We lend ourselves to guests who love animals and do not mind them being part of your long weekend, as our cheeky goats and alpacas love to photo bomb and often come and say hello especially to those who have apple or a carrot or two! However, they are only part of your big day as much or as little as you want them.

 We are a slightly quirky venue and every wedding at the farm is different. Hire of the farm and accommodation is over three nights which means you to have time with family and friends before your big day as well as afterwards enabling you to make a long weekend of celebrations. Your wedding is completely your own as you’ll plan and design it yourself, creating your own dream wedding then handing it over to us on the day to manage to your specifications. You source your own music and caterers without the tie of having to use specific suppliers and though we have put the infrastructure together, it is your imagination that makes it special and unique to you. We do all we can to help and as well as supporting you on the day we also provide an unbiased helpful information pack which gives you a list of caterers and entertainment specialists (you book direct) as well as other information to help you create the best time. You use your own suppliers, and we pride ourselves on giving you the freedom to do and use whomever you like.

Please be assured that even as a DIY venue we do not leave you to do all the hard work yourself and over the months and weeks leading to your wedding we are there to guide and support you. For the wedding itself, Karl, and I together with our team are with you and will do all we can to help ensure your day is run as smoothly as possible to your requirements. As we only do twelve weddings a year, we get to know our couples well and offer a very personal service. We pride ourselves on the relationships we develop with our couples with many returning and visiting over the years.

Our website www.damgate.com has lots of information, reviews, and pictures as well as our social media pages on Instagram and Facebook LOWERDAMGATEFARM and DOVEDALEANIMALSANCTUARY

Dovedale Barn and Garden Room can host from 80- 180 guests,  (Small weddings of up to 40  guests can also be held at the farm with restrictions on music, so please enquire for details)   

Lower Damgate Farm is licensed to hold weddings in Dovedale Barn which has its own magical aura, in addition you can also marry outside in the field adjacent to the barn and this field has stunning views across the peaks and farm beyond. This means that you can choose right up to the last minute to be inside or out depending upon the weather!

We provide all the details for you to contact and book the registrar; and we support you from the moment you book. Alternatively, you can get married in our local churches of Ilam or Alstonefield (Our farm is in both parishes with a shared vicar). Wherever you decide to hold your ceremony or blessing you can be assured that you will be surrounded by the beautiful scenery of the Peak District National Park. We may be biased but we think it’s one of the most beautiful parts of England.

We have twenty-two acres of grounds for guest to explore, with hay meadows, woods, and gardens as well as a pond area and arbour for photographs. We’ve tried to create an ecological haven for over 100 animals who reside at the farm, and as well as the animal sanctuary, we have built hedgehog houses, placed bird and bat boxes in our woods and encourage wildlife and diversity for everyone to enjoy.

Hire is from the Friday to Monday with your wedding on the Saturday (3 nights). The price also includes* toilets, furniture, as well as the stage and dance floor. Fairy lights are also included plus a beautiful old sweet cart and post box for your cards as well as other props, thus saving you additional hire costs.

The Barn is hired on a DIY basis; however, we will not leave you to fend for yourself on the day and include staff which is a much-needed resource for your day, for example we serve your welcome drinks, canapés, pour champagne for speeches as well as helping with anything you need, this includes laying out evening buffets as well as cutting cakes, puddings, cheese etc. We also help with clearing tables on the night, washing up and leaving everything as clean and tidy as possible by the end of the evening, this helps you enormously with your clearing up over the following days.

We don’t believe in corkage, and you are welcome to provide a selection of personal drinks to welcome your guests, as well as a speech drink and table wine with no charge. In addition, we run a charity sales bar which you are welcome to contribute to, therefore if you would like to offer “free” drinks to your guests you can do so. All proceeds from the bar go to support the animals at the Sanctuary.

Exclusive use of our luxury holiday self-catering accommodation sleeping 32 + 6 guests over three nights as well as The Alpaca Hut with a Hot Tub (as a honeymoon suite) must be hired with the barn. Most couples sublet the cottages to their guests so there should be no cost to you in addition we have Rosie’s Retreat, an original Gypsy caravan available to hire in the summer months, as well as wild field camping on a price per pitch. 

Our farm accommodation has won the 2021 North west prestige award for best Farm Holiday Cottages. In addition, we have many 5-star reviews and have been high commended in the Sunday Times travel section and featured in several choice magazines. You can find lots of reviews on both our Facebook page as well as Google.

The cottages have been adapted for large groups where there is space to be together or separate depending upon your guests needs. The facilities include four poster beds, luxury furnishings, plenty of space with large areas for guests to dine together, a games room, parking, BBQ’s with decking and lawned garden areas. (Perfect for the day before and after the wedding).

We offer you a venue that is a relaxed three-night weekend experience rather than just a day, which is unusual! This enables you to spend quality time with all the guests who you’ve chosen to be with you on site. These guests will hopefully be helping you to set up and to take down your creations in the barn and adding to the camaraderie this entails. We also find that having the whole morning to get ready in the cottages with those closest to you, is often as wonderful as the day itself. Having the day after to unwind is also incredibly special, in so much that our guests often set up a BBQ or other such fun activity whilst the clearing up is done. This gives you more time to be together and after clean-up you can use the barn again for food or go for a walk or just relax and enjoy the ambience of the farm and reminiscing on the previous day! Feedback from guests say the added weekend break creates ‘amazing quality time’ and often breaks the ice for those meeting for the first time!

Dovedale Barn is quite different from a usual ‘farm barn,’ as it has a high vault like wooden ceiling which is strung with twinkly fairy lights. The barn has its own wow factor and creates the atmosphere for a completely different wedding day! You have to see it to believe it! There is a lot of space to mingle, meet & greet both inside and out and couples create their own theme, so whether it be an English garden party, festival, traditional or something a little different we can do it!

Facilities in the barn include an indoor garden room with far reaching views across the farm and peaks so if the weather is unkind, you can still enjoy welcome drinks whilst watching the animals. There is a purpose-built bar, inhouse toilets, a shower with disabled access, plus a parlour area for prepping or serving food.

We are in the Peak District National Park and the views from the farm and Dovedale Barn are amazing, and the sunsets are spectacular! Please look at our Facebook page Lower Damgate Farm Cottages and Wedding Venue to see all our pictures of our weddings, and don’t forget the animals as the goats and alpacas will surely love to share your weekend! Your very own wedding crashers!

You’ll get some amazing photographs and Karl, and I are often following you around with our cameras. You couldn’t have a wedding at the farm without including the animals as the goats and alpacas love to photo bomb and are good natured and tame so photographs with them is often asked for!

Now for the serious part! We are a very individual family run and relaxed venue, with a few quirky rules! This is due to the fact that we in The Peak District National Park which is classed as an area of outstanding natural beauty and therefore we are legally bound to abide by them.

Noise. Amplified music is welcome until 11.30 pm.

All non-resident guests must leave the site by midnight. We have a noise limiter installed set at 92db, however we also have soundproof insulation, so we welcome Ceilidh’s, live music, and Disco’s. however, if you are looking for a loud head banging, rock, heavy rave type event or even a full-blown jazz band we are not for you.

Parking. For smaller weddings we can accommodate most cars, but for larger weddings (we would assume most of your guests would stay in local B&Bs or hotels) the best option for parking is to use our local coach company Warrington’s in Ilam, who can be contacted on 01335 350204. This little coach company is only a mile down the road, and they are happy to ferry your guests to and from there accommodation, back to the farm and then back to their accommodation at the end of the evening. This is not an expensive option and works well and as it enables your guests to drink and relax without the worry of driving. We have space to park 25 cars around the cottages and barn, with additional disabled and catering parking. However, we do have extra space for those camping.

Other Accommodation:

If you have a large number of guests, you will find that additional accommodation is plentiful in the surrounding area, and we provide a detailed information sheet with lots of accommodation providers to help you. We live in one of the most beautiful parts of the Peak District with many Hotels, B&B’s, self-catering properties as well as Ilam Youth Hostel close by. Plus, in the summer we can accommodate campers and camper vans or hire out our gypsy caravan Rosie’s Retreat.

If after reading this you would like a wedding that is completely different, over three days, relaxed, happy, with your own theme and very much your own thing, plus a few goats, ponies, and alpacas in your photographs, stunning far-reaching views, hay meadows and the odd straw bale or two, then maybe we are for you! Please call 0777921091 or email info@damgate.com for more details.

With thanks Karl & Carolyn

What a wonderful world