Shortmead Brochure 23/24

WEDDINGS AT SHORTMEAD

Your wedding your way

Why Shortmead House?

We LOVE weddings and we think we'd be perfect to host yours.

Shortmead House is a hidden gem of a wedding venue , located in Bedfordshire near the Hertfordshire border. Nestled within 24 acres of beautiful grounds, within further countryside, it has great transport links and easy access from the A1 and from Biggleswade train station.

Whether you are looking for a classic feel to your day or something utterly creative, Shortmead can deliver your wedding exactly how you want it.

Our Story & History

Weddings are our passion and expertise. We took over Shortmead House in 2023 to grow it as a wedding venue and provide this stunning estate with the recognition it deserves. We've made it our home, and we want to make it perfect for our couples and their guests too.

We are Esme and Lee, and we have both been in the wedding industry for almost twenty years. Esme is an award- winning photographer, who has been able to shoot weddings all around the country and Europe. Lee is an influential magician, speaker and host, who has performed for presidents and sheiks.

Between us, we have been a part of thousands of weddings and events, and we are excited about using our passion and expertise for weddings at Shortmead.

Shortmead House was first built in the 16th century before it was transformed in 1790 into the stunning Georgian mansion that you see today. In the last few years, the entire property has been lovingly restored and enhanced by Ian and Marilyn Bond, who first began to use the magnificent property and grounds for weddings and events.

Let's show you around ...

This is the day you've been dreaming of. All your favourite people, your chosen treats and decor, your chosen play list ... and a stunning venue to bring it altogether. Picture walking down any of our stunning aisle options whilst your guests look on - whether its an outdoor ceremony or our inside space.

Imagine confetti and drinks reception in the beautiful grounds, with your guests relaxing by (or even in) the pool. You might have decided on an intimate wedding or a huge celebration. Shortmead offers a variety of venue spaces and package options to cater for the perfect experience.

The mansion house, gardens and lake all offer amazing photo opportunities, before you settle into our highquality marquee with your guests for your meal, celebrating and dancing . We offer everything you need to make your day feel perfect.

You will be thinking of every little detail ... and so will we. We'll help you plan the day of your dreams with our amazing network of suppliers, or you can of course bring your own. We'll detail the main options, help you build the perfect experience and give you the wedding day you truly deserve.

Shortmead House

The perfect location to welcome you to your celebration.

Our beautiful Georgian mansion provides the perfect backdrop for photos with you and your wedding party and offers the perfect introduction to your venue.

We offer venue hire for weddings on an exclusive basis, with no other weddings or events taking place at Shortmead on your big day.

Ceremony spaces

We offer three different ceremony options and can cater for smaller, intimate weddings or huge celebrations. The Marquee area in the main gardens is available March-December, and the Stables and Courtyard areas are available for smaller weddings all year round.

The Thatch

Our stunning covered Thatch offers the best of both worlds & seating for up to 120 guests

The Pergola

Outdoors and overlooking the pool, the Pergola offers seating for up to 120 guests

The Stables

Our indoor ceremony space is perfect for winter & initimate weddings and offers seating for up to 50 guests

Ceremonies at Shortmead

Some of our couples choose to have their marriage ceremony somewhere else, for example, at a family church , before heading to Shortmead for their reception and celebration. Most of our couples get married on the premises, and we welcome any type of ceremony. We are registered to host legal ceremonies for up to 120 guests in either our Thatch or Pergola . - The Stables can accommodate 85 for a legal ceremony.

It’s your celebration, so have it how you like it. Love is love, and all are welcome to shout their love however they choose at Shortmead. We love to work with celebrants or family friends performing ceremonies, and we are always happy to accommodate any religious blessings or any ceremony personal or important to you.

The Thatch

The Marquee & Gardens

Overlooking the gardens and the pool, the marquee has the perfect setting within the grounds to provide just the right ambience for your celebration. It is built on solid ground, and its spacious design allows for flexible layouts and use. Our marquee is available for weddings from March through to December each year and hosts up to 130 guests seated or 190 guests for a less formal reception.

We always ensure that the marquee is well maintained, with heating included in colder months. You can go full out and decorate, or you can opt to leave it classic and elegant, as it already is.

The Pool

Another wonderfully unique feature of Shortmead is the swimming pool, which is situated in the main reception area. The pool makes a beautiful feature and backdrop, adding ambience during your celebrations.

As the pool can be heated throughout the year, many of our couples also choose to include it as part of their wedding - ideal for after the more formal aspects of the wedding. Younger guests get a chance to paddle and dip their feet, and the pool creates some truly captivating and original photo ideas. We have showers so guests can freshen up again for the rest of the evening.

The Stables & Courtyard

If you are choosing to celebrate your wedding in the heavenly main marquee area, you are still able to use our fantastic courtyard space for photographs. The Stables suite can even be used as an additional alternative for a drinks reception if the weather is less than favourable.

The Stables and Courtyard offer a perfect, year-round setting for smaller weddings. The Stables accommodates up to 50 guests for a ceremony and seating at our banquet tables for your meal. Alternatively, it can accommodate up to 70 guests for a less formal, buffet- style meal and reception. If the weather allows, we can even arrange the Courtyard with tables for an outdoor reception within the historic courtyard space. Lit with festoon lighting, this space really comes alive in the evening - a wonderful space for you and guests to chat and relax

Accessibility & Special Requests

We try to ensure that the vast majority of our wedding areas are accessible, to accommodate a wide variety of personal needs for you and your guests. Disabled parking is available near the main house, with easy access through the courtyard, and disabled toilet facilities are available.

Some areas of our grounds are deliberately kept a little 'wild', and some areas of the garden are stepped or uneven. Please let us know if you have any specific concerns or requests regarding access or comfort for your guests.

Quick reference guide

Quick reference guide

The Grounds

The main gardens and courtyard offer wonderful opportunities for great photographs to help you re-live your best day. This area is home to the stunning Cascade water feature as well as enabling access to the Orchard and wider gardens and our evergrowing photo 'features' throughout the grounds. The main house and its classic fountain also work beautifully as a photo backdrop.

But this is only part of the story of what we offer - Shortmead is positioned on the edge of the stunning Bedfordshire countryside and boasts a certain, intentional, wildness in places. Some couples choose to take images in this surrounding countryside using the attached bridleway for access to a completely different kind of backdrop.

Many couples choose to take a wander and have pictures along and around our gorgeous quarter-acre lake, utilising the classic gazebo and log arches for a quiet moment together. The longer grasses in this area create a really different feel to your photos, or bring your besties along with you for some unique wedding party shots.

An Eco-Friendly Venue

We believe we have a responsibility in protecting the environment and we work with our couples and suppliers to minimise any negative impact. Shortmead runs off its own natural water supply, allowing us to keep our gardens green without wasting water, it is also powered by Shortmead’s very own Solar Farm, which sits on a separate part of the estate.

We also endeavour to recycle, compost and are often planting additional trees within the boundary. We deliberately maintain areas of the estate to sustain wildflowers, grasses, wildlife, and our very own Great Crested Newt population, which can be found in the lake.

In addition to these, we ask our couples to refrain from balloon releases and only permit use of biodegradable confetti (petals or rice paper work brilliantly!) during weddings.

Catering

The one main aspect that we run separately to our wedding venue hire is the cateringthis one we definitely leave to the experts! We ask of couples to use one of two caterers that we have worked with for many years, they know our team, our fully equipped commercial kitchen and most importantly, we can rely on them to satisfy and impress our couples.

Both caterers provide serving staff, linen, and crockery as part of their service and both are able to provide for different tastes and dietary needs. If you are after something in particular, please ask them if they can help, as in our experience, anything from curry, to BBQ, to Caribbean options are all available. Food trucks and outside catering are possible, but please get in touch with us to discuss your needs.

Preece Burditt Catering (PBC)

Steve and team at www.pbccateringservices.co.uk

Steve has many years of experience keeping couples and guests happy and full at Shortmead and he and his team offer a wide range of different options for your perfect wedding breakfast. This includes canapes for your drinks reception and a wide range of options for your main meal, from 3-course formal meals to buffet BBQ's

Creme Catering

Dom and team at www.cremecater.co.uk

We have worked with Dom for over 15 years, and he always delivers great food for any event. Catering for both large and small weddings, and again offering a wide variety of choice co satisfy almost any couples requirements. His team provide a friendly and professional service whether you opt for a buffet or a formal sic-down.

The Bar & Drinks Options

We have a fully stocked bar, with a wide range of popular drinks available. We offer spirits, bottles, wine, and an optional cocktail add-on for our couples. The bar is staffed throughout the day as per your needs and requests, and we can discuss this with you as we help to plan your wedding.

We have put some serious imagination into our Drinks Reception package options, anything from a classic glass of fizz to a personalised cocktail menu. Our reception drinks also offer water and soft drink options and in colder months, we can even offer mulled wine and a magic menu of hot drinks for your guests.

Outside alcohol is a possibility, it does usually incur a corkage fee, please get in touch to discuss chis option if it’s something you chink char you will need.

Let’s Party

No matter how formal or informal you choose your wedding co be, there gets co a point in the day when everyone just wants to ‘let their hair down’ and our marquee offers the perfect party environment for your continuing celebrations!

With our dance floor included in your venue hire and the bar close-by, it really is the perfect environment whether you choose co have a band, a DJ or even just your own playlist.

The marquee also boasts its own state of the art ‘directional’ sound system, this amazing piece of technology means that those who want to go for it on the dance floor, can do, whilst others

A lot of our couples choose to have acoustic performers throughout the day, a saxophonist or singer by the pool during the reception can really add some beautiful ambience. We also love to welcome bands and performers co the marquee in the evening as well - please let us know if you are planning on a band for your evening celebrations.

You will be provided with all the contact details so that guests can easily book taxis and safe travel to their accommodation, we have also placed QR codes dotted around the venue and a dedicated pick-up area to make it as easy as possible.

Extras

We have a wonderfully unique wedding venue - so if you have unique ideas on decor, theming or activities, we will probably be as enthusiastic about chem as you are!

For us, and our team, each wedding and each couple are their own story and we believe you should tell yours any way that you want! If you want your bridesmaids to do a synchronised swim display in the pool, we are here for it. If you want multi-coloured, bunting or an evening Luau, we cannot wait either!

Please discuss any ideas chat you have with our team - From smoke grenades to photo-booths, Shortmead will bring your ideas to life.

Shortmead’s classic feel and it’s varied gardens and grounds, means it can be kept simple and elegant or it can be themed with only your imagination to limit possibilities.

We try and avoid ‘hidden extras’ and include the use of our table-tennis table and selection of outdoor games at all of our warm-season weddings. Our giant chess board is available all year around we add a lot of fairy lights to add magic and atmosphere after dark.

Some of our couples decide to go all out, they hire anything from fire-breathers to singing waiters to fireworks. With so many years in the industry, we know a lot of quality suppliers and if you are not sure how you want to personalise your day- just let us know!

Accommodation

The Cottage

The Cottage is situated on the estate and we work in partnership to help ensure availability for our couples and their key guests. Comprising of two bedrooms, both on the second floor and sleeping four adults, it also boasts a kitchen and log fire.

This Cottage is charming and full of character and as it offers such a great amount of space downstairs, it’s the perfect place co gee ready for the big day!

The Cabin

The Cabin is tucked away in the quiet of the Orchard and offers a double bedroom, and a smaller bedroom with a single, and a pull-out bed option. le provides a bathroom, kitchen, living space and can comfortably sleeping four adults. It's another great option for chose getting ready in the morning,

Local Hotels and B&B’s

We offer a number of accommodation options available locally for your friends and family who wish to stay nearby.

Biggleswade Town Centre is very easy to get to and offers two hotels within a mile of Shortmead House. The area also boasts some lovely, independent B&B’s and for chose with a wilder side, camping spaces are available too.

When you book, we will provide you with a list of various accommodation and taxi options co share with your guests. Some of the venues we provide you with even offer a discount for Shortmead wedding and event guests.