Charlotte & David’s Elmore Court Wedding

Elmore Court was the perfect setting for this October wedding, evoking a deeply romantic but uber cool vibe. Bride Charlotte’s favourite colour is black (scroll to see their black wedding cake – inspired!), so to elevate the dramatic colour palette they incorporated deep plum tones and gold accents – the dreamiest colour combo for an autumn wedding, no?

With the food and atmosphere being their most important wedding elements they prioritised music and decorated the Gillyflower with banqueting tables heaving with twinkling black candles and installed eye-catching neons, making the space feel cosy yet totally decadent.

Honestly folks, this is one GORGEOUS wedding, that you just know is unequivocally them.

Charlotte says…

Dave used to be in a function band, playing at venues up and down the country so he has seen every style of wedding going – outdoor, indoor, modern, traditional etc, but maintained that he hadn’t yet found anywhere that he would be happy to host our own wedding. It had to be perfect! We found Elmore Court and were immediately enamoured with the place. After taking the interactive tours of the House and the Gillyflower, we were almost completely sure that it was the venue for us. We did book a couple of in-person tours at different venues though, trying to convince ourselves that we needed to for benchmarking purposes. On our way back down the driveway from our first visit to Elmore though, we cancelled the others!

Elmore has everything you could ever want…and more. In my job at the National Trust, I have seen a fair few grand country manor houses, yet I was so impressed with how the house at Elmore has been so sympathetically renovated; authentic without being stuffy. The juxtaposition between the old and new, with the modern Gillyflower, satisfied the differing elements of our personalities. Dave’s musical background was satiated by the amazing sound and light system, and the house offered oodles of the original period details that are so important to me. Our decision was cemented by meeting Team E – we just knew that our best day would be in the best hands.

We wanted our day to be both relaxed and fun, but equally elegant and timeless. We were heavily inspired by the season – getting married on the first day of October, cosy autumnal vibes felt most fitting. We wanted the wedding to be authentically ‘us’. Black is my favourite colour, so I knew that I wanted to include as many black aspects as possible to stay true to my everyday style. We chose to have gold and plum accents to really emphasise the dark and moody theme, with lots of twinkling candlelight. Like a big, warm (but glamorous) hug!

The lovely Fi from Corky and Prince was our florist. I have never been very knowledgeable about flowers, so I went to her with just a vision and a colour scheme, and she expertly guided me through the world of seasonable British florals. Who knew that you could find black flowers?!

I knew that I wanted long, banquet style tables, and these were covered with black candles in gold holders and scattered with greenery. These were interspersed with single stems in a variety of different glass holders – we had amber apothecary bottles, clear bud vases and even brown glass beer bottles, which was inspired by a table display we saw at one of Elmore’s open days. Shout out to my Dad and Uncle for dutifully drinking plenty of real ale for the cause! So many of the floral arrangements were able to be used both for the ceremony and the reception, which both saved us money and minimised waste.

I spent a long time looking for a statement piece of décor for the Gillyflower. I wanted something fun and different that would be an eye-catching focal point, and when I came across the gold neon ‘to the moon and back’ sign from Elizabeth James Events, I knew I had found just the thing!  Elizabeth James also provided us with a silver sequin wall and ‘til’ death do us party’ neon sign which sat behind the DJ booth to give the space that extra party feel.

Looking back on the weddings that we have attended as a couple, the things we remembered most were the food and the atmosphere, so these were the most important things for us to get right for our day.

The kitchen at Elmore provided us with all our food for the day. We had the hardest time choosing our menu because all of the options were absolutely delicious! What a treat it was to be able to come along for a tasting in a gorgeous marquee on the Cedar Lawn to help us narrow down our choices. In the end, we went for canapés (you need to try the mac and cheese bites!) followed by an incredible three-course meal. We are still pining for the arancini starter! For the evening food, we went for Elmore’s bacon butties with halloumi baps for the veggies, and donuts provided by Pippin & Co. We had so many well-deserved compliments on the food. Team E were fantastic, and the chef was able to accommodate a host of differing dietary requirements.

Music is a huge part of our lives and so it was an important part of our big day. Ever since I watched Father of the Bride as a little girl, I have wanted to walk down the aisle to Pachelbel’s Canon in D. The Bristol String Quartet played this beautifully for us. Their repertoire was huge; waiting guests heard Linkin Park and Sigur Ros, we signed the register to the Foo Fighters, dance-walked back down the aisle to Sum 41’s In Too Deep and enjoyed drinks and canapés to classics from Muse to Blink 182 and Toto! With the party atmosphere being the other most important aspect for us, we knew that we had to find the right DJ. Luckily, Dave had the perfect man for the job from his days on the wedding music scene, and so DJ Mark Horsley was booked and kept the dance floor buzzing all night long!

I found my perfect dress when I was supposed to be helping my sister shop for hers… before even trying it on I knew it was the one! It was a simple, classic, white satin gown from Mikaella Bridal. Becky and Carol at Lace & Grace Bridal Boutique were so accommodating – ensuring that I tried on a variety of styles to make sure it wasn’t a case of my choosing the first dress I tried on just because I had my mind set on it! Several dresses later, we were back to the Mikaella, and my normally very stoic and unemotional self immediately shed a tear! My gorgeous cathedral length pearl-studded veil was hand made by Lace & Grace too. Wanting to be comfortable, I opted for flat black shoes with pearl details but when the evening dancing started I sneakily changed into my checkerboard Vans… and danced all night long in them!

Dave works in a suit every day, so we wanted to make sure his outfit felt different to his usual attire. In keeping with the relaxed but elegant theme, he opted for a black tuxedo with satin lapels from Moss Bros, complete with black bow tie and a white satin pocket square. He wore some very smart shoes by Ted Baker.

Best part of the day

Having all our friends and family in the same place after two years of being kept separate. It was extra special to be able to all be together after all the lockdowns and restrictions, and it made for an even better party as we were all SO happy!

From one couple to another…

Everyone tells you the old adages to take it all in because it goes so quickly etc. but honestly, taking ten minutes to ourselves was the best idea. We snuck off to the house after our portraits were finished and while our guests were being seated for dinner. In all the hubbub of getting ready, getting married, greeting guests, taking photos, it was a small oasis of calm with my favourite person.

Oh and the best thing that we booked for our day which is more of a nice-to-have than a necessity was a videographer. Peter from Velvet Wedding Studio was so lovely and unobtrusive, and it was so special to be able to relieve the day with our friends and family afterwards. There are so many moments that you don’t see yourself on the day that a videographer will capture for you. Watching the speeches that Dave, my dad and Dave’s best man Steve gave back over and over was my favourite activity for a long time! We’re planning on rewatching the video on every anniversary to remind us of our inimitable day.