A Classic Spring Wedding at Elmore Court

Kelly knew Elmore Court was the one, even before they got engaged, so when he popped the question, she just needed Steve to agree. But if you know Elmore, you’ll understand why it was a done deal from the start! Not only is it a breathtakingly beautiful country house, the team is incredible, and the grounds are picturesque, but they also have super strong environmental credentials—some of the most admirable in this industry, I’d say.

Kelly and Steve’s wedding is a celebration of spring and a lesson in classic elegance, yet you might not realise at first glance that they also had a strong eco ethos when it came to planning their wedding. A subtle but truly inspiring undercurrent that they reflected on throughout their planning journey. The bride’s gown was second-hand, the gorgeous tonal green bridesmaid dresses are by eco-friendly and female-owned Supplier We Love Rewritten, a choice we can all appreciate (and swoon over), and the food and florals were, of course, as local and as seasonal as possible.

Congratulations, Kelly and Steve, on your beautiful day (they only tied the knot three months ago!), and *chef’s kiss* for the eco-friendly considerations AND the inclusion of your pets on your cake and cocktail napkins—all very important and admirable wedding additions, right?

Kelly says…

It felt like the venue chose us rather than the other way around! It popped up on my Instagram before we were even engaged, and I remember thinking, “If we get married, this will be the place.” Once we were engaged, it was the very first thing that I showed Steve! He loved it, too, and every other venue paled into significance when compared to Elmore Court.

Our favourite thing about Elmore was the contrast between the Ceremony Hall and the Reception space. You had the beautiful old house with huge fireplaces, old staircases, and that stunning stained-glass window. Then, you could lead your guests into the GillyFlower for the Reception, which was modern and eco-conscious and had beautiful glass walls and ceilings that filled the room with so much light. And the amazing dance floor was perfect for the big party we had in mind!

It was important that I try to be as eco-conscious as possible. My dresses and shoes were second-hand, and my veil was my mother’s, which was such a special touch. I wanted my look to be classic and timeless, especially as Steve would be in his Royal Air Force uniform, complete with sword and all the gold detailing. I had an ivory satin gown with Hollywood waves and pearl jewellery for the day before changing into a sparkly dancing dress and bright gold shoes for the evening party! My beautiful bridesmaids looked lovely in Rewritten dresses in shades of green, an eco-conscious women-owned brand.

Again, I wanted the styling of the day to be classic and timeless, with lots of personal touches. We went for an ivory and dark green theme with gold details. I collected many decorations in the year leading up to the wedding, purchasing most second-hand. Lucy from Lucy Ann Events did an amazing job of bringing everything together and my vision to life. Our favourite personal touches included our unique newspapers from Crafty Lab, stunning personalised stationery by Pink Peony Weddings, and cocktail napkins I designed with our pets on them.

Alexandra Sylvester Flowers was our incredible florist, providing us with the most beautiful ivory, light pink and dark green florals. I wasn’t fussy about the type of flowers; I just wanted them to be in season as much as possible. Holly Boo provided us with their big faux flower arch, which was a statement piece in our ceremony and reception spaces.

Most of our catering was taken care of by Elmore, who grow as much food on their estate as possible. We chose delicious canapés and a 3-course meal, including a sharing roast, which went down a treat with our guests. This was followed by our wedding cake from M&S, a delicious dessert table by local bakery Cake Box, and an ice cream cart by Wholly Gelato – a farm down the road. I have a sweet tooth if you can’t tell! We did a cocktail hour after dinner as well which was very popular.

Emma and her husband, James, from Emma Hill Film & Photography, did the most fantastic job with our photos and video. We loved that they were a young couple, and we got on so well. They even surprised us with Polaroids while we ate our wedding breakfast! We have so many beautiful photographs I don’t know how we will choose which ones to print! We also had Mel Bunn from MB Weddings & Events as our content creator, which was a great decision. She provided hundreds of stills and video clips within 48 hours of the wedding, which was fantastic while we waited for our main photographs.

best part of the day

Steve and I learned our first dance to an upbeat song by Avicii with Steph from Kelsall Choreo in the lead-up to the wedding. This was so much fun as a couple, and we loved surprising our guests on the night. We have some amazing photos of us dancing with our guests’ shocked faces in the background! Our band, The Rockets Collective, was amazing and packed the dance floor all night with their roaming singers and saxophone player!

Our other favourite element was having live illustrators (Wedding Illustrator & Sophie England) drawing us and our guests throughout the day and into the evening. We felt like it was a unique touch, and all our guests raved about being able to take home an illustration.

From one couple to another…

A tip would be to hire a wedding planner if you can. Having that support and expertise leading up to the day is invaluable. Our planner, Georgie from Lux Wedding Planner, was so helpful, and it meant that when the day arrived, I felt so calm! Having someone there to coordinate the day took a huge weight off my mind, which meant we could fully enjoy the day.

Also, think about which elements of the day are the most important to you and focus on them. For us, our focus was having a sentimental ceremony (my friend is a celebrant and led such an emotional and personalised ceremony) and having live music all day to create that atmosphere. We also didn’t want a lull in any part of the day, so we organised lots of entertainment and plenty of food and drink to keep our guests happy!

If you can, book your suppliers in early. Outstanding suppliers can get booked up really far in advance, so don’t hang around once you know who you want!