The Reserve is divided into two separate estates; Chapel Barn and Sibton Park. The Chapel Barn estate is centred around Chapel Barn, a 15th Century barn that has been beautifully restored and updated whilst still managing to retain all of its original charm. It’s a real testament to the team of designers and crafts-men and -women who brought it back to life. The Sibton Park estate is centered around - you guessed it! - Sibton Park, an imposing Georgian mansion with 14 bedrooms. The two estates have their own distinctive character, with the tone set by the ‘home’ property. There is also a brand new, third estate, which will be available for weddings from April 2025.
The Estates
Situated in East England’s rural countryside, in the county of Suffolk, Wilderness Reserve is a truly special place. Occupying 8,000 acres of rural countryside, set amongst thousands of trees, wild meadows and beautiful lakes you’ll find a collection of 18 properties, including a Georgian manor house, a thatched cottage from the 15th Century, lakeside cottages and a farmhouse.
Wilderness Reserve, Suffolk
Under wraps until April 2025, the main property on the Blyth Estate will be Blyth Barn. Purpose-designed for hosting large weddings and events, the barn will house a banqueting hall and dining space, 18 en-suite bedrooms, spa facilities and a gym. The grounds will include a swimming pool and walled garden, so we’re expecting a number of options when it comes to deciding where to have ceremonies, receptions and dancing.
Blyth Estate
If you prefer a more classical setting, Sibton Park is likely to suit you best. The manor house greets you as you wind down the driveway, with a large lake and flocks of sheep making themselves at home. With 13 bedrooms, traditional dining and living quarters and a basement , it’s the perfect base. Ten further houses and cottages provide ample living space for your guests, with levels of comfort on par with those in the Chapel Barn estate.
Sibton Park Estate
The Chapel Barn estate has a real ‘picturebook’ quality. Think of thatched cottages sitting alongside a stream that running through the estate and you’ll get the idea! We were lucky enough to spend the night at The Cider House, a six bedroom house with its own swimming pool, sauna and massage room. Starting the next morning in the kitchen, overlooking the lawn with a fresh coffee in hand, underfloor heating keeping things nice and toasty, was a real luxury.
The quality of the architecture, materials and finishing touches really sets these properties apart. You can feel the solid wood that has been used for the beams, and feel the hand-finished joinery. Mixing traditional houses with a feeling of luxury can be a difficult trick to pull off, but they’ve absolutely achieved that here.
Chapel Barn Estate
Weddings at Wilderness Reserve
With such a beautiful setting and so many properties and areas to choose from, weddings at Wilderness Reserve offer an amazing opportunity to let your creativity shine. As wedding designers and planners, the chance to really make a venue your own and express the personalities of the couple is a dream, and Wilderness provides that in spades. You can choose to have exclusive use of one estate or both, with your guests staying around the estate in whichever houses or cottages you choose. It’s an unusual setup, but it’s an ideal way to have everybody on site whilst maintaining total privacy until the events begin.
Ceremony and Dancing
There are countless indoor and outdoor options for your wedding ceremony and party at Wilderness Reserve. We particularly love the idea of a ceremony by one of the lakes or in the Walled Garden. Indoors, the Orangery at Sibton Hall has floor to ceiling windows which open up fully to the garden, which creates a lovely open feel. The 3am curfew is an extra plus!
Catering
The in-house team at Wilderness, the ‘Estate Kitchen will work closely with you to produce a menu that meets all of your requirements. They produce some amazing dishes, using as many local ingredients as possible. For something a bit more unusual, you could opt for a ‘Fire Feast;’ walk into the woods and you’ll find the Estate Kitchen chefs cooking on an open fire underneath the stars.
Guest Activities
The grounds in which Wilderness is set make it what it is, so why not make full use of them and partake in some activities with your guests? The Wilderness team does a brilliant job in getting everyone involved, with axe throwing and wild water swimming a couple of our favourites. Or, if you have guests with children, a teddy bears’ picnic will go down a treat.
Capacity and Accommodation
Calling the guest accommodation 'houses' or 'cottages' seems insufficient; these are closer in design to mini-boutique hotels, with buildings and furnishings of exceptional quality. Wilderness suggest that the estate works best for weddings of between 60 to 300 people, with a total of 86 bedrooms across both sites (excluding Blyth Barn Estate).
Sibton Park Estate sleeps up to 89 people
Chapel Barn Estate sleeps up to 76
Blyth Barn Estate is TBC, but likely to sleep up to 66
Where is Wilderness Reserve?
Wilderness Reserve is a private estate in Suffolk, England (just a few miles down the road from local resident Ed Sheeran). If you’re looking for some tranquillity away from the hustle and bustle of the city, it’s the perfect spot. As a rough idea, it’ll take 2 hours to get to here from London by train, two and a half hours by car, or just 40 minutes by helicopter (provided by Wilderness themselves for the lucky couple's first visit after booking).
Address: Sibton Park Estate,Yoxford Road, Sibton, Suffolk, IP17 2LZ.
Address: Chapel Barn Estate, Halesworth Road, Heveningham, Suffolk, IP19 0EJ.
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Photos on this page provided courtesy of Wilderness Reserve
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