Venue Review: Deer Park Country House, Devon

Why book

Looking to tie the knot somewhere that exceeds ‘wedding venue’ expectations? Deer Park in Devon is an immersive wedding retreat and one of the UKs best kept secrets for hosting the ultimate exclusive-use wedding. Your guests are guaranteed to be blown away by this multi-award-winning venue with such a vast array on offer, stretching across 80 acres in the most serene South West Coast setting. If you’re looking to stretch celebrations across several days, various activities and formats, from pre wedding yoga sessions to cocktails at sunset in the walled garden, there’s plenty there to entertain guests and the wedding party.

Deer Park has some of the best accommodation we’ve seen, including a heavenly treehouse for the newlyweds. And what’s more, the farm-to-table ethos ensures the food is nothing short of exceptional. Each wedding here is bespoke, a one off party and sensory experience without the limits and restrictions of venues near residential areas. Deer Park ultimately turns weddings into a piece of art with endless possibilities, little touches and surprises throughout.

Venue Style

Built with a retreat ethos at its core, Deer Park has a mantra of eat, sleep, party repeat. It’s all about giving couples the freedom to use their imaginations and choreograph something truly magical and memorable for their guests. The key thing to remember here is that there really are no limits – Deer Park becomes your house for the duration of your stay with guaranteed privacy. A dedicated Wedding Coordinator will be on hand throughout the wedding journey to bring couples’ visions to life and help curate each element.

Food lovers will relish the estate-to-plate ethos, with fiercely seasonal and imaginative plates and canapés. What’s more, there’s also a huge emphasis on the outdoors with many options for al fresco events or country pursuits.

Set the Scene

At the heart of this 80 acre estate, sits the lovingly and tastefully restored Georgian manor house. Its pearly white, shuttered exterior, with all those perfect Georgian proportions, makes a beautiful backdrop for wedding photos. Inside, interiors have that rural-luxe feel – not too polished or stuffy, without being too modern and cold. The Drawing Room features a grand fireplace and exposed wooden floorboards, all painted in fresh, pastel hues. Flooded with light, the Main Lounge tempts you in with squishy velvet sofas and maximalist wallpaper. Antique furniture is sprinkled throughout the house, along with potted herbs and intriguing artworks.

The great outdoors is equally as important at Deer Park, with al fresco celebrations encouraged. There’s a manicured Italianate garden, pristine lawns alongside flourishing wildflower meadows and an enchanting woodland. An abundance of produce is grown onsite inside the working walled garden: hawthorn, cherries, plums, rhubarb, sage, parsley, chard, blackcurrants and cucumber to name a few.

Event Spaces

There are a number of locations for both inside and outside ceremonies and celebrations of all sizes, each can be tailored to your personal vision. First and foremost, Deer Park is home to one of the UK grandest orangeries which can accommodate up to 190 day guests, with space for more guests in the evening. It’s a transportative setting, a slice of the Mediterranean in Devon, surrounded from every angle by the Italian Gardens.

For an al fresco vow exchange, couples can opt for the Summer House, framed by archways of wisteria and enchanting raised flowerbeds. Receptions can be held in the walled garden, with a sharing feast – such as a mouth-wateringly delicious Moroccan Mezze – cooked over hot coals.

Food and Drink

An estate-to-plate ethos forms the foundations of Deer Park, with the kitchen being at the heart of everything they do. The dedicated team thrive on curating exceptional plates for weddings, with the freshest ingredients (often picked that morning) and are known for turning food into artwork. Each wedding menu is bespoke and never the same – though a popular formula seems to be couples opting for a relaxed al fresco feast cooked over hot coals the day before the wedding, a rustic roast post wedding and afternoon tea with a garden twist. Every dish and drink is inspired by the land that surrounds it, they serve local sparkling wines where possible and fresh fish comes from the early morning market at nearby Brixham. At Deer Park it’s all about championing nutritious, beautifully cooked British food – the sort that will linger in guests’ memories of the wedding.

Accommodation

Deer Park can sleep 80 guests across an alluring variety of accommodation. Within the main manor house, 32 en suite bedrooms are all individually designed with those little touches and comforts of a 5-star hotel. Tucked in the woods, the Playhouse, Shed and Treehouse are a playful, rural-luxe touch for guests of the wedding couple’s close circles. The Playhouse has a modern feel, with antler chandelier and blue hues throughout, while the ultra-chic Treehouse is a cleverly designed love nest for newlyweds, woven into the surrounding woodland with a log burner for chilly evenings, a roll top bath and balcony with tree canopy dining area. A diligent team will ensure all guests’ whims are catered to – no request is too big, they are all about making the extraordinary happen here.

The Story

Dating back to 1721, Deer Park Country House is a Georgian Squire’s Mansion, whose tasteful interiors and home-from-home feel comes courtesy of its private ownership. Following a stint as a hotel, the Wray Family took ownership of Deer Park in 2013 and, along with newly appointed Managing Director, Mark Godfrey, decided the Deer Park needed to embark in a new events-focused direction. The transformation took time, and considerable effort, with investment into the construction of a purpose-built dining and entertaining space, known as the Georgian Orangery. The Wedding Suite in the Tree House, was also built alongside modifications to the landscape to create the perfect setting for memorable celebrations. The creation of an Italian Garden, and other bespoke ornamental features, have all been designed for the simple joy of wandering aimlessly and allowing the visuals to soothe and thrill.

Eco-friendly

Deer Park is setting the standard and paving the way for sustainability in weddings with a plant-based wedding package. Solar panels, a Biomass wood pellet boiler and Air source heat pump have been installed to contribute to these efforts. All of the new buildings were built with wooden structures for extra insulation saving more energy. The team lovingly restored the walled garden, working with volunteers to help rebuild the walls and clear the acre and a half. An impressive 1,500 young cider apple and pear trees have been planted on arable land (they are making their own cider with plans to make a sparkling apple wine in the future). A further 50 specimen trees in the last five years have been planted with a plan to continue with 12 per year. It’s not uncommon to spy a wheelbarrow stacked full of fresh fruit and vegetables headed for the kitchen. And where the florals are concerned, the policy is ‘grown-not-flown’ with the majority of blooms coming from the cutting beds of fresh flowers, managed by the venue’s in-house florist.