Kelham House
Keen to visit a dog friendly wedding venue in Nottinghamshire I contacted Kelham House Country Manor to ask about the possibility of visiting in order to write an article for this website. My visit took place on April 2nd where Lauren kindly showed me around the venue. I also got to meet Claire and Stanley the Dachshund!
Kelham House History & Location
Kelham is located just to the north west of Newark, Kelham House is an Edwardian Manor built in 1903 by a family who had also previously owned Kelham Hall. It remained a private house until the 1980’s when a businessman bought the property and turned it into a restaurant with overnight accommodation. It changed ownership a few times over the subsequent years until in 2010 Heritage Estates purchased the property. The venue was refurbished and redeveloped with the Garden Room being added in 2012. It’s main function now is as a wedding venue but they do also hold some other events too, whether that’s other types of family celebrations or business conferences.
Dog Friendly Wedding Venue
Having visited a number of dog friendly wedding venues it seems the majority seem to fall into two main categories. You either have a former stately home with some history, impressive architecture and lovely grounds or you have converted barns with grounds with a rustic charm. Kelham House is an example of the former. As you arrive and drive up the long tree-lined driveway, the main building stands impressively in the distance.
The gravel car park is large enough for all your guests and means your shoes will remain clean as you walk from the car park to Kelham House. Where Kelham House differs from many other wedding venues is the degree of flexibility they offer to couples. Most venues insist you use their in-house catering team whereas Kelham House offers a range of packages or bespoke options to suit exactly what the couple want. In the vast majority of cases couples will opt for one of their packages which includes the food option, partly because a package saves them money but also because the food at Kelham House seems to be of a high standard. Many couples also prefer a wedding package as it means less suppliers that they have to organise themselves!
Kelham House is suitable for wedding ceremonies up to 110 guests. They can either take place inside The Garden Room or outside by the purpose built gazebo. Apparently an outdoor marquee is also possible but I get the sense that most opt for the outdoor gazebo in good weather with The Garden Room being ideal when the weather is less predictable. The images below show both the Garden Room and the Gazebo but it should be noted that they would look very different on an actual wedding day with more chairs, flowers and decorations etc. The Garden Room also has a well stocked bar area at one end.
The Garden Room is also where the wedding breakfast and evening celebrations take place so it will take a little time to convert this space from a ceremony room, to a dining area and then to a party room. Normally there are natural spaces between these elements of a wedding where guests get some fresh air and chat amongst each other. Drinks and canapés may also be served to guests between the ceremony and wedding breakfast which allows the staff at Kelham House to get the space ready. With the tables and chairs removed after the wedding breakfast the space becomes large enough for up to 180 guests, allowing couples to invite more guests just to the evening celebrations.
In terms of their dog friendly credentials Kelham House really do come across as pet lovers. Dogs are not just welcome for the ceremony and some photographs afterwards. They can stay as long as the couple wants and indeed some of the bedrooms are also dog friendly. One of the dog friendly bedrooms I was shown had a dog friendly lounge area attached which is an ideal and quiet space to help a dog relax. Having such a space is ideal for a dog chaperone like myself as I find dogs enjoy the chance to relax in the evening. Where a venue allows dogs overnight I find most couples seem to want to book our Gold package where they require someone to look after their dog until 11pm, feed them in the evening and walk them around the grounds every few hours. At 11pm there is usually a family member who is ready to stop partying who has been tasked to look after the dog overnight. We do also offer overnight care where required, either at the venue or at the dog’s usual home address.
Kelham House Reviews
Having looked online at Google and a number of wedding related websites it seems reviews for Kelham House are very positive. Many refer to the staff that help plan weddings and those staff who work a wedding that help make things run so smoothly. There are also lots of glowing comments about the venue itself and the grounds which I can understand having visited the venue myself. Some venues just give you that great first impression and first impressions go a long way when it comes to the venue that a couple utimately books.
If you are looking for a dog friendly wedding venue in this part of the country I would suggest you might want to schedule your own visit to Kelham House. I’ve linked to their website below where you can find more information.
