Renowned as one of the South West’s top wedding venues and beloved by celebs – Jamie Dornan is just one of the A-listers who’ve tied the knot here – Orchardleigh Estate sits in 500 acres of beautiful Somerset countryside just outside the cool yet bustling market town of Frome and only 10 miles from Bath. The quintessentially British estate also hosts wellness retreats, corporate retreats, mini break escapes, and has its own 18-hole Brian Huggett designed golf course and a golf club.

At the heart lies Orchardleigh House, an impressive stately home built in 1856 and lovingly restored by the Vincent family – who bought Orchardleigh in 1999 – with a sweeping three-mile drive and beautiful views across the estate’s glorious grounds. Keep an eye out for the peacocks!

Elsewhere on the estate, Elmhay Park, a more modern venue often used for weddings, has an Orangery, pretty Walled Garden and Italian Garden. The medieval Orchardleigh Castle was built for the arrival of the Duke of Gloucester in 1485. A stunning Palladian boathouse overlooks the 35-acre Orchardleigh lake. An ancient church sits on its own island. The place has got romance coming out of its ears.

The estate can sleep up to 185 guests, with 41 bedrooms in the main house alone, each recently redecorated and retaining the building’s historic charm and original features. In the Oriel Suite, you can enjoy your wedding night in a four-poster bed once slept in by President Eisenhower; the Newbold Suite has a touch of the glamour of The Ritz. There are 45 more bedrooms in lovely homely cottages and houses around the estate, including 12 cottages set around a central courtyard in Elmhay Village.

Unlike some wedding venues, there’s no one size fits all here, with several delicious-sounding wedding packages, including exclusive use of the entire 500-acre estate (wow!), and stays of one, two, three or four days, culminating in a night in the secluded boathouse on the lake *swoon*. Did we mention they’ve got their own helicopter, if you want to really make an entrance?

If you’re planning your nuptials, call to discuss or visit on one of their upcoming open days. Book a self-catering holiday in the estate’s pretty cottages and houses, including Orchardleigh Castle and the Palladian boathouse.  And if you really want to focus on yourself, to relax and recharge, the transformative retreats at Orchardleigh Wellness (read our review) should do the trick.