Planning

When a business embraces sustainability it takes a lot of thought, dedication, hard work, and passion. When it comes to wedding venues, sustainability is never a quick fix or an easy project. It takes a special kind of person and a dedicated team to instigate such a worthwhile process and to see it through. It seems that Anselm and his team at Elmore Court have taken on that challenge and have been working tirelessly to make Elmore Court a sustainable wedding venue for all of their couples and guests to enjoy. Read on to find out exactly how they have been doing that. And if sustainability is your vibe, don't forget to check out Recycle, our preloved wedding marketplace. You could have the venue of dreams and the dress of dreams all while caring for our planet. 


Sustainability has always been at the heart of the dream.

Since Anselm diversified his 800 year old family home and opened for weddings and events, sustainability has always been at the heart of the dream.

Elmore Court
Carbon Neutral Energy & Woodland Planting

The energy Elmore Court uses for both heating and electricity is via sustainable sources. The heating and hot water are carbon neutral; by burning wood grown on the estate in their biomass boiler. The carbon dioxide emitted from burning the wood in a biomass boiler is the same amount that was absorbed during the tree's life, making it a 100% carbon neutral source of heat. All other utilities are via 100% renewable sources and provided by a local eco-energy company. The Estate has also planted over 25 acres of new woodland, to supply fuel for the biomass which in return, provides wildlife habitats and helps them to lower CO2 in the atmosphere. 

The majority of lights at Elmore have been converted to LEDs. They also use advanced digital thermostats and window shutters to help control heat loss from the house. Remote access means they can adjust temperatures to within 1 degree at any time, from anywhere. 

 
Award-Winning Rammed Earth Eco Venue

The Gillyflower, a purpose-built wedding reception space was created using earth and timber from the estate. The RIBA award-winning rammed earth eco build is soundproof, and so the perfect party venue for loud revelry and late-night shenanigans. 

The walls are made from rammed Elmore earth and timber sourced from their woodland. It has a grass meadow roof as well as a view out onto a meadow. Both are planted with native flowers to help encourage pollinators, who also go on to pollinate the orchards on the grounds. 

 

Offsetting

By using the land in a way that allows carbon sequestration, the team at Elmore court is able to measure their carbon footprint and use that to offset any potential harm caused such as transport, waste etc. when running events. 

 

Kitchen Gardens & Farms

The recently revived Victorian Kitchen gardens are growing an ever-increasing amount of ingredients. These ingredients make their way onto the wedding menus at Elmore Court. This will be served alongside wild meat from the rewilding land in the very near future. But in the meantime, the other ingredients used on the menu are sourced seasonally and locally. Often from farms on the estate. You can even choose to have your wedding flowers composted on site after your big day to be used as mulch for the garden. A nice way to keep those blooms out of the landfill once they're past their best. 

 

Rewilding

Elmore Court has given 250 acres of the estate back to nature for their rewilding project, which is happily getting wilder each day. The Have added native longhorn cattle to aid with carbon sequestering and biodiversity support and will include other large herbivores in the future. The plan is to expand this with a further 143 acres in 2025. They also plan to build treehouse accommodation for guests so this wild land can be enjoyed by all. Including a wild swim in the pond for those seeking to feel fresh. 

2022 will see the beginning of using farming land to produce food using a technique that does so at the same time as improvising soil, supporting nature and improving nutirtion. Farming wild basically. 


And that is just a taster of the projects being put in motion by Elmore Court. We think you'll agree that this pioneering passion for all things sustainable is a huge selling point for Elmore Court as a wedding venue. Imagine being able to host the biggest party of your life whilst also knowing that you're contributing to a project this worthwhile? Elmore Court, we applaud you. 

Naomi Liddell

Written by Naomi Liddell

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