Tag: wedding

Elsick House was a dream come true for Louise & James’ glamorous wedding

It was love at first sight for Louise when she saw Elsick House. Even before James had popped the big question, she had her dream venue in mind and the couple booked their wedding weekend here within 2 weeks of getting engaged. Following Louise and James’ wedding in September last year, we caught up with Louise and asked why she chose Elsick House.

How did you hear about Elsick House? I had seen Elsick House appear on social media about a year before we were even engaged, and I had kept an eye on it ever since. When James and I got back from Thailand, where he had just proposed, my Dad was shortly heading back overseas for work and I wanted us to view Elsick before he left. At our first appointment with Alison we booked the wedding date, I never looked at any other venues as I just knew this was the one.

What were your first impressions of Elsick House? We absolutely loved it. The grounds are beautiful. We first went to view the house on a miserable, cold and wet day in January and we still fell in love with it. When we returned with some family to look at the marquee it was a gorgeous spring day. We knew we had picked the right venue, whatever the weather.

  • Bride and bridesmaids enjoying prosecco and laughing
  • Bride and bridesmaids on wedding day with floral bouquets

Your ceremony and reception took place in our marquee at Elsick House. Did you have a theme or style for your wedding? I loved that the marquee was like a blank canvas so we could decorate it in our own style. I wanted our wedding to be glamourous and for it to stand out. I’ve been to many weddings in the past, so I tried to make ours a little different. I had     pictured in my head how I wanted the marquee to be styled and Higher Calling Flowers and Events made that vision real. On the day it looked perfect.

  • 4 tier wedding cake on cake stand in marquee at Elsick House
  • Wedding table plan with pink and white roses. Wedding Stationery
  • Cream floral wedding arch in ceremony in marquee at Elsick House

What were your favourite things about your wedding weekend? I really enjoyed the night before the wedding. All the bridal party came to stay at the house and Hudson’s Catering made some amazing food for us. Then we all gathered around the fire in the drawing room with a couple of drinks. One of my favourite memories of the day was seeing our dog Rudy walk down the aisle with my sister. Also, our little pageboy Rogan had a white balloon that he wouldn’t let go of all morning. When were just about to walk down the aisle he refused to let go of it so I said to my Maid of Honour Laura “just leave him with it.” It was those personal touches, even the unplanned things, that made the day special for us.

  • Black labrador at wedding and page boy walking down the aisle with bridesmaid and balloon in marquee at Elsick House

What made your day unique? I think we catered for everyone! We had a Prosecco and beer reception after the ceremony which was much to everyone’s delight! I think we’d added a lot to the marquee to give it that wow factor.

Would you recommend Elsick House? I would 100% recommend Elsick House. Alison and all the staff were absolutely amazing from that very first meeting right through all the planning stages and of course, on the day itself. The food and service from Hudson’s Catering was great. So many of our guests commented on how much they enjoyed their meal. Why wouldn’t you want to get married at Elsick? 

Bride Louise at the gate in the walled garden at Elsick House

Mr and Mrs Lawrie’s suppliers

Photographer: Iska Birnie Photography
Videographer: Brian Scott Weddings
Catering by Hudsons
Cake: Truly Scrumptious Cakes by Joanna
Venue Styling: Higher Calling Flowers & Events
Humanist: Leigh Bradley, Humanist Society Scotland
Wedding Dress: Elmar Bridal
Groom’s Attire: Gibbs Menswear
Hair: Chelsea Georgia
Makeup: Cassey Clark
Stationery: Paper & Petals
Band: Waterfront
Singer: Myke Black
Piper: Spud the Piper

THROUGH THE SEASONS

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.

Photo Credit: The Gibsons Photography

 

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.

Marquee-Garden-House
Marquee Weddings

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

Photo Credit: Hayley Fraser Photography

 

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.

Photo Credit: Blue Sky Photography

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

ROYAL CELEBRATIONS- TREE PLANTING TRADITION

Take a look at the video of The Queen showing Sir David Attenborough the trees that were planted in Buckingham Palace’s garden for her children here.

The photos below show various Royals at Elsick House.  Like at Buckingham Palace, many of the trees in the grounds at Elsick bear planting plaques, bearing witness to Elsick’s popularity with royal guests over the decades.

Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth marks the late Duke’s sixth birthday tree planting

Queen Mary attending the third birthday of James Carnegie (3rd Duke of Fife)

 

Trees still have all their plaques so it is a great opportunity for a treasure hunt with the children!

We carried on the tree planting tradition in 2017 to commemorate our first marquee wedding couple and our first house wedding couple.  Both couples came back to Elsick House to plant a tree to mark this memorable occasion along with the Duke and Duchess of Fife. We even managed to make use of the “Ceremony Spade” for the event which has been used by the Royals families since 1920.

Lauren and Justin – Our first House Wedding Couple

Jennifer and Keith – Our first Marquee Wedding Couple