Elsick House is a truly special place to be throughout the year. The house and private grounds surrounding the country house look sensational in all seasons. From the beautiful borders in June providing a colour explosion and striking backdrop for photos as seen at Michelle & Tom’s – Summer Wedding and Abbie & Neil’s – Summer Wedding to the Beech Hedgerow lining the drive that transform into auburn hues over Winter (Nina & Iain’s – Winter Wedding), be ready to fall in love.
I sat down with our House Manager Alison (while she skilfully prepared our House Keeper’s 60th Birthday Party meal in the Elsick House country kitchen) to get her take on Weddings and to understand how each season offers new opportunities.
Spring means Daffodils (lots of them), Bouncing Rabbits and a Birdsong Explosion
Spring at Elsick House is Daffodils (lots of them), Bouncing Rabbits and a Birdsong Explosion. With Elsick Farms based on the wider Elsick Estate, the background hum of birds, bees and new life is punctured by moo-ing calves enjoying the spring pastures. Spring brings the Marquee back to the walled garden after its winter hibernation. In addition, the pond at the front of the house comes back to life, framed by beautiful lush grass and tall ancient trees creating a beautiful spot for photos over the bridge.
Summer Sunshine
Following the beauty of spring, summer delivers beautiful borders, a blooming pergola, summerhouse cocktails and a sun drenched marquee. Although not guaranteed, summer provides more opportunity for outdoor weddings. We were extremely lucky in 2018 with the wonderful summer – we do hope to achieve many more in 2019!
As you will be aware, we cannot control the weather but we do give it every opportunity. You can decide on the morning of your wedding if you want to be married in the marquee (for weddings greater than 50) or if you want to be married outside. The marquee is set up in two halves with windows the full length so that your guests can enjoy the magnificent walled garden and rose pergola while they wait for you to walk down the aisle. The marquee is a lovely bright space, south facing and offers a complete blank canvass for you to personalise.
Our typical hire package involves a 3 night weekend (Friday to Monday) stay. We can however, offer weekday hire, venue only and a 2 night option depending on availability. If you have any specific requirements, get in touch via email at house@elsick.co.uk.
As Elsick House is an exclusive use venue, the whole house and grounds are yours for the duration of your stay. It is your home for the full hire period which means you have the opportunity to arrange a summer BBQ with your friends the day after the wedding, hog roast, lawn games or perhaps hire in a hot tub and watch the stars in the sky with your bridesmaids the night before the wedding, sipping champagne reminiscing about old times. You can chose for your wedding party preparations to start in the drawing room with family and friends or have your make-up artist and hairdresser visit your king size room with your bridesmaids. We want you to feel right at home at Elsick! We have some lovely examples of the Marquee in summer here.
Apricot Tree – Anne and Pierre
Hayley Fraser Photography – Stephanie and Matt
Autumn brings changing colours and conkers a-plenty
Autumn is a magical time with changing colours and conkers a-plenty. As the air turns cooler, leaves turn and fall from the tall trees, bronzed beech borders transform the drive, birds arrive and others make their journey to warmer climes – the garden is rich with berries, seeds and conkers. As the evenings draw in, there’s no need to retreat to the house just yet. In the evening, the house and garden is lit up to ensure you and your guests can enjoy the garden into the early hours.
As mentioned previously, we can set up hot tubs on our new patio – just a hop, skip and a jump from the kitchen fridge, the Champagne can be topped up without getting too cold! While the weather may be too chilly for an outdoor wedding at this time of year, Elsick House can accommodate smaller house weddings for up to 50 guests where you can choose to be married in our reception hall like Angie & Jim’s – House Wedding or in the drawing room. If your numbers exceed this, our marquee is still available until October and can accommodate up to 250 guests. See Louise & Peter’s – Marquee Wedding for some ideas.
Winter Wonderland and that Festive Feels
Last but not least is winter at Elsick House and the festive feelings this time of year brings. The open fire in the drawing room is a perfect place to gather around with the family the night before the wedding. The drawing room can also be set up for an intimate formal meal the night before if you choose or alternatively order in a pizza for a relaxed informal night. This is always a great opportunity for the wedding party to meet, relax and settle in to the house for the weekend.
The house can be dressed in any way you like and rooms can be flexible to suit your numbers and room pairings. The fireplaces in the dining room, drawing room, study and bedrooms can be beautifully framed to create a real focal point for your winter wonderland. In 2017 Robin’s Egg transformed the house for Nina and Iain’s wedding.
With the dark nights we offer the opportunity to light up the house, creating a stunning atmospheric backdrop for photos and impressive statement for evening guests arriving. Winter weddings at Elsick House are considered off season therefore are available at a lower cost when compared with summer weddings. Since the marquee is not available from November to March, Elsick House can accommodate only House weddings during this time.
So, what season are you?
We hope this has given you lots of food for thought. Be sure to click on the links above to see some beautiful examples of real weddings at Elsick House.
Keep up to date with news and special offers by following us on Facebook @elsickhouseofficial and on Instagram @elsickhouse. Current availability to book a wedding at any time of year can be viewed on our website