Pennard House | Wedding Venue Guide
Abby & Chris got married at Pennard House on the August bank holiday weekend, and it rained – properly rained, right through the ceremony. Their outdoor plans moved inside to the Conservatory, and confetti, group shots and couple photos all shifted back to after the meal and the speeches.
It is a big, sprawling Somerset estate, and it took a wet day in its stride without the day ever feeling like a compromise. So here is what I picked up from a full day there — where everyone ends up when the weather turns, what the team are like when the schedule has to move, and what is worth knowing before you book.
Real Pennard House Weddings
“Dave these are INCREDIBLE.”
“YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB!!! Omg was so so lovely to see all the behind the scenes and people’s expressions, all the stuff we missed when we were too absorbed in each other!”
Abby & Chris
Why I love Pennard House Weddings so much
Pennard House is a proper sprawling estate rather than one building doing all the work. The main house has room after room to welcome guests into & the Conservatory for an indoor ceremony, and then everyone moves across to the Coach House for the meal and the party.
The Coach House is where the evening lives – dining upstairs, bar and dancefloor below. The courtyard outside it does more work than you would expect: it is where the confetti happened after the rain cleared (a great plan B!), and later in the night the venue’s pizza van was parked there, which kept people drifting in and out of the party rather than everyone sitting in one room until midnight.
Abby & Chris were due to marry outside. The rain made that decision for us and the ceremony moved into the Conservatory — a recently refurbished, light-filled extension off the main house with a solid roof and chandeliers overhead. It is a genuinely great wet-weather option rather than a grudging plan B. Some of my favourite frames of the whole day came from in there afterwards: the two of them looking back in through the flowers, chandeliers glowing behind them.
Charlie, one of the wedding coordinators, was excellent throughout. He re-planned around the weather all day, talked each change through with Abby, Chris & me as it came rather than just announcing it, and still had the day running to schedule. He also pinned on buttonholes in a matter of seconds each, which is the fastest I have ever seen it done.
Essential information:
Where is Pennard House?
Pennard House, East Pennard, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 6TP — deep in the Somerset countryside, about 25 miles south of Bristol and Bath.
How many guests can attend a wedding at Pennard House?
The Coach House seats up to 120 upstairs for the wedding breakfast, with more room downstairs around the bar and dancefloor for evening guests. Those are the venue’s own published figures, so worth confirming when you enquire.
Food & drink
Pennard House has its own in-house chef team, and per their site they will build a menu around canapés, a three-course meal or sharing platters. Abby & Chris had pizza from the venue’s pizza van out in the Coach House courtyard in the evening.
Is there parking at Pennard House?
There is plenty of parking on site, with links to the M5 and A303, and Castle Cary station about 15 minutes away.
What accommodation options are available on-site or locally?
There are 13 bedrooms in the house according to their website, so a good chunk of your people can stay on site rather than getting late night taxis.
Getting ready spaces:
A bedroom in the main house
I only got a brief look at the room Abby got ready in, but what I saw was lovely — a freestanding bath, a big bed, and big windows, so the light is already good without anyone having to hunt for it.
Ceremony options:
Pennard House is licensed for ceremonies indoors in the house and the Conservatory, with outdoor ceremonies in the gardens and the village church at the bottom of the property if you’d prefer a church ceremony. Abby & Chris opted for registrar ceremony in the Conservatory.
The Conservatory
Recently refurbished, with a solid roof, big windows and chandeliers hanging over the whole room. This is where Abby & Chris had their ceremony when the rain came in, and it is the reason the wedding did not dent the day. In fact, Abby later described the rain as she came into the ceremony as one of the most romantic moments of the whole day. It photographs beautifully, and it is worth a look even if you are planning to marry outside.
The gardens
Where Abby & Chris had planned to be, before the weather turned — so I cannot tell you first-hand how a garden ceremony runs here. What I can say is that the grounds are clearly the reason people book this place, and I would have both an outdoor plan and an indoor one whatever the forecast says in the week before.
Confetti
Abby & Chris did theirs in the courtyard by the Coach House because the rain had pushed confetti, groups and couple photos back to after the meal and the speeches. It gave us a confetti shot we would never have got otherwise – everyone packed in tight in the courtyard. It worked so well I would suggest it whatever the forecast is doing! I have only shot the one wedding here so far, so check the venue’s current confetti policy and whether they have a spot they prefer.
Suppliers from Abby & Chris’s Day
Venue – @pennardhouse | Dress – @themewsbridal
Suits – @clifton_suits | Flowers – @greenstreetflowers
Hair & Makeup – @isabelwhile_makeupartist | Confetti – @proper.confetti
Cake – @bakedbybridget_ | Music – Cotswold Quartet
Top tips from a Pennard House photographer (aka me!)
– Ask about the Conservatory as your wet-weather plan, even if you are marrying outside. Solid roof, big windows, chandeliers — a rained-off ceremony still looks beautiful.
– The Coach House courtyard is a great confetti spot. Guests pack in close against the old stone and it works whatever the weather is doing.
– Do not panic if photos have to move later in the day. Ours went after the meal and the speeches and nothing was lost — the venue is set up for that kind of shuffle and Charlie kept everything else on time around it.
– Use the grounds if the weather lets you. Gardens, orchards, lawn games, room for everyone to spread out.
Looking for a Pennard House Wedding photographer?
If you are planning a wedding at Pennard House, I would love to hear about it. I will get in amongst the day and document it as it happens, rather than running it.