Wedding DJ at Hampton Manor

About Hampton Manor

Hampton Manor sits on Shadowbrook Lane in Hampton-in-Arden, a village between Birmingham and Coventry, close to Solihull. The estate was once owned by Sir Robert Peel, and the house dates from the early Arts and Crafts period. Today it is a small hotel with 24 bedrooms, around 45 acres of grounds and two restaurants, including the Michelin-starred Grace & Savour.

For weddings, the day usually moves between three places:

• The Birches, a rustic barn on the estate used for ceremonies
• The parish church next to the estate, for couples having a church wedding
• The Courtyard, a glass-roofed orangery where the wedding breakfast and evening party take place, with a heated garden terrace

The venue’s wedding page says the Courtyard is ideal for up to 130 guests and seats up to 160, with a pergola extension for larger summer weddings. Its wedding FAQs put the maximum number of evening guests on site at 170.

What the published rules mean for your DJ

Hampton Manor’s wedding FAQs (a downloadable summary on its website) go into more detail on music than most venues. The points a DJ will care about:

• Midnight finish. The evening reception runs to midnight, and bands, DJs and performers must finish by then. Plan your last song for just before.
• No sound limiter. None is fitted, but the team may turn things down if the village is disturbed. Expect a lively but sensible volume, not a club level.
• Where the DJ sets up. The FAQs say the band usually sets up after the meal behind the curtains at the back of the Courtyard. A DJ will normally go in a similar spot, so check this with the team.
• Power and microphone. Standard plug sockets are available. The house PA has one portable microphone for the Courtyard only.
• Lighting. DJ lighting and coloured uplighters are not provided by the venue, so they need to come from your DJ or band. The FAQs also mention that event lighting goes through recommended suppliers, so ask which applies to what you want.
• No smoke or haze. These set off the fire alarms and are not allowed.
• Paperwork. All external suppliers need £1.5 million public liability cover, and performers must supply PAT certificates.

Any DJ you consider should be able to send their insurance and PAT certificates without fuss. Our guide to what a DJ needs from your venue explains why venues ask.

Ceremony and drinks music

The Birches has Bluetooth speakers you can connect your own phone to. The FAQs note that staff are not in the room, so a guest needs to control the music. Plenty of couples are happy with that. Others would rather hand the walk down the aisle, the signing and the exit to someone who has done it before.

If that is you, look for a DJ who offers a separate, smaller ceremony setup. They can play in the Birches, then move to the drinks reception while the main system goes in later. The FAQs suggest acoustic sets work best in the lobby by the staircase during drinks, which is worth knowing if you are mixing a musician and a DJ. Read more about ceremony and drinks reception music.

Timing the evening

With a 7.30pm evening start and a hard midnight finish, the dance floor has about four and a half hours. That includes the first dance, cake and evening food. A DJ who keeps announcements short and gets people dancing early makes the most of it. Our wedding reception timings guide has a sample running order.

Questions worth asking your DJ for Hampton Manor:

1. Can you set up behind the Courtyard curtains after the meal, and how long does that take?
2. What lighting do you bring, and does it work without haze?
3. How do you handle volume in a village setting?

How we match you

Tell us you are marrying at Hampton Manor, along with your date and the music you love. We pass your enquiry to the one Birmingham DJ who fits best and is comfortable working within rules like these. They contact you directly to talk it through.

Venue details checked against Hampton Manor’s website and its wedding FAQs, October 2026. Always confirm the current rules with the venue.