Owners of Sissons Barn in Peakirk labelled as going the ‘extra mile' for couples in lockdown

Owners of a wedding venue have been recognised as going above and beyond for couples during lockdown.

Ben and Laura Harris, owners of Sissons Barn in Peakirk, have been labelled as going the ‘extra mile’ for those with cancelled or postponed weddings.

The extra mile venue campaign was founded by Olivia Riddiford, from Host Venue Consultancy, to celebrate the businesses going above and beyond during the pandemic.

Olivia said: “The wedding industry has been hard hit during Covid-19. Wedding venues especially have been faced with challenging times from furloughing staff, continuing to finance high overheads and most importantly dealing with their 2020 couples in a sensitive and thoughtful manner.

“So many venues have really showed such kindness at a time where couples have been forced to postpone their dream wedding.

“It was important to create a campaign to celebrate these venues, to get their story heard.

“Sissons Barn has gone above and beyond for their clients by postponing weddings from before the lockdown right through to mid October with some in November and December without question.

She added: “We’re delighted to have given the #extramilevenue title to such a worthy business”.

During the pandemic Ben and Laura have received 30 postponements, as well as dealing with ongoing and increasing overheads including wasted bar stock and on-going maintenance costs.

They have used the time invest into developing the gardens around the whole farm, creating more photo spots.

Laura said: “It’s such a personal business obviously we always wonder if we are doing the right things.

“So to have a someone saying we are going above and beyond is amazing.

“We are very proud, it definitely makes it all worthwhile and everything worth it.”

She added that while they are within their right to charge a postponement fee, the pair have chosen not to.

The couple, who have owned the venue since April 2019, have also been sending out flowers to all of the couples to let them know they are thinking of them.

They said: “Our couples mean the world to us and we are so glad to have been able to support them during this unusual time.

"We are really looking forward to hosting weddings again soon, when we can, and continuing to offer the best customer service to our couples and their guests.”