About The Elephant Church RoadPangbourne, ReadingBerkshire, RG8 7AR Situated in the charming riverside village of Pangbourne, The Elephant Hotel is the perfect venue for your dream wedding. Dating back to the 19th century, our quirky boutique hotel in Berkshire has 22 bedrooms, each with their own unique character and style. Discover romantic secret gardens, a relaxed, informal friendly atmosphere, firside lounges & beautiful indoor & outdoor spaces, perfect for intimate weddings or larger celebrations. At The Elephant Hotel, no two weddings are the same, each wedding has the care and attention it deserves to create your perfect day, tailoring every detail to suit your requirements. From your very first enquiry through to the big day itself, our fantastic team will be on hand to help and support you every step of the way to ensure it all runs smoothly. We aim to create unforgettable moments which exceed your expectations. You and your guests can also enjoy exclusive use of the magnificent venue. This exclusivity means you can have a private celebration while benefiting from the dedicated service of the excellent team. The Elephant exudes style, elegance and boasts first-class service. Our unique venue also holds a licence for civil ceremonies, so you can have your whole day here. We can accommodate up to 140 seated guests for your wedding breakfast and up to 150 for a more relaxed event. • Quirky Boutique Wedding Venue in Berkshire • Licensed to Hold Civil Ceremonies for up to 140 guests • Exclusive Use (22 bedrooms for up to 50 guests) • Special Offers Available • Discover Romantic Secret Gardens • Delicious menus and excellent wine selection Upcoming Wedding Fairs Find out when the next Wedding Fair at The Elephant is
Facilities at The Elephant Venue Type : Civil Ceremony Licence Exclusive Use In the Country Small Hotel Historic Outdoor License Unusual Weddings Unique WeddingsEvening Entertainment : Evening Reception Facilities Marquee Available Dance Floor Entertainment Licence Live Band Facilities DJ FacilitiesOvernight Accommodation : Overnight Accommodation for Wedding Couple Overnight Accommodation for GuestsOther Features : Confetti Permitted Changing Room for Guests Disabled Facilities Car Parking Pets Welcome Dining Options : Seated Meal Facilities Buffet Meal Facilities In House Catering Alcohol Licence Corkage OptionCapacity : Less than 30 guests 30 to 50 guests 50 to 75 guests 75 to 100 guests 100 to 150 guestsVenue Staff Assistance : Wedding Coordinator Master of Ceremonies/ Toastmaster
The Elephant Reviews (26) Write a review Unforgettable experience from beginning to end Venue Service By Darryl Bedwell, on 30 Apr 2018Date of Wedding - 16 Feb 2018 After getting engaged in December 2016, choosing The Elephant at Pangbourne as our venue was the first (and one of the easiest) decisions we made when planning our wedding. Early on, we took our parents along to a wedding fair held at the hotel, and followed it up by a superb Sunday lunch in the restaurant which was met with a great seal of approval all round! In the following months and many decisions that had to be made, Clare (the events manager), was absolutely spectacular. She guided us through the process without rushing us or treating us as just means to make the bottom line better at the end of the year. Finally the big day arrived in February of this year and it was beyond perfect! The staff were always there, but extremely discreet - actually impressively so. All the rooms were presented immaculately, the bar has a superb selection that catered to everyones tastes. After our tasting evening, we had chosen to go for the roast beef as our main (largely down to the giant sized Yorkshire pudding that came with it!) and on the day it was just as tasty and just as impressive as I remembered. We got some great feedback from our guests about the venue - the brilliant elephant statue out front being the main focal point. Suffice to say, we had an unforgettable experience from beginning to end and would whole heartedly recommend it to anyone.Thank you Venue Service By Steve Cox, on 21 Jun 2016We were extremely well looked after by the entire team at the Elephant right from the beginning. The management and planning team were incredibly helpful with advise and assistance on everything we wanted and the entire staff working our wedding were friendly and engaging with us and all of the guests which was duly noted and commented on by lots of people on the day The venue itself was incredible in appearance and being fortunate on the weather just further complimented this!! The entire day ran to plan right from the florist to the DJ who all worked with the Elephant team to make sure everything was where it should be when it should be!! Our menu was incredible and I dont recall seeing one empty plate.....including our own!! All in all a great day - a big thanks to you Claire and all of the team!!" Steve CoxEverything was perfect! Venue Service By Kirsten and Greg, on 21 Jun 2016Hi Claire I just wanted to drop you a quick mail to say thank you for making our day so special! Everything was perfect! The room looked gorgeous, the food was fantastic and the staff were simply brilliant. They were always there when needed, but never got in the way. They were friendly and made sure everything went smoothly. You did such an amazing job with the room. When I walked in, I was taken back with how lovely it all looked. So a big well done to you and all the staff at the elephant. Our guests are still taking about what a great wedding it was. So thank you again and kind regards, Kirsten and GregAmazing Venue Service By Jen & Colm, on 20 May 2016We just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for such a brilliant day and night on Saturday. Everyone had a blast. We've had so many complements on the venue, from both the look and feel, how gorgeous the garden was to how relaxed and informal the event was - which was exactly what we wanted. We're delighted that we had the whole place, and we knew that we would probably need it!, and it felt just right. The kids were great and had a ball, we didn't lock our room all weekend and it just seemed to work. The staff were all brilliant, so helpful, attentive and friendly and really helped the day run smoothly but also added to the occasion. I know that i said this before but many people have commented on the staff. They're all stars though. The pavlova went down SO well and the food was gorgeous so please pass our thanks and complements on to the chef. My only regret was that i was so preoccupied and chatting that i didn't get to eat as much as i'd have liked but the chat about the pavolva being for pudding and how that worked went on for a few days! And everyone who stayed loved breakfast!Perfect wedding day Venue Service By Jen Fisher-Hickey, on 10 Aug 2015We just wanted to say a huge, huge thank you for helping us host the best day of our lives. Our friends kept telling us it was the best wedding they've ever been to and our families are still talking about it! The Elephant was just the perfect venue to hold the relaxed and fun (but still classy and beautiful!) wedding we wanted. The day was everything we hoped for and so much more. Claire was fantastic the whole way through the process (and Matt too, when Claire was out of the office!) and I'm sure she was a big reason that everyone kept telling me I looked so calm and stress-free! The staff (both the ones working on the day and the few we encountered in the lead up) were so sweet and so helpful. I can hardly remember seeing any of the staff on the day, yet the whole day was absolutely seamless; everyone must have been working very hard to keep things moving along without us even noticing! A lot of our guests commented on how much they loved their rooms and one of my bridesmaids who had her dog-sitting plans fall through last minute was very happy we'd ended up picking a dog friendly venue/hotel and very grateful she was so easily accommodated :) The day was just incredible and beautiful and we couldn't have asked for more. We keep joking about getting divorced so that we can do it all over again! I'm sure we will return for a few wedding anniversaries over the years :)Thank You Venue Service By Kirsten & Greg Wood, on 05 May 2015Thank you for making our day so special! Everything was perfect! The room looked gorgeous, the food was fantastic and the staff were simply brilliant. They were always there when needed, but never got in the way. They were friendly and made sure everything went smoothly. You did such an amazing job with the room. When I walked in, I was taken back with how lovely it all looked. So a big well done to you and all the staff at the elephant. Our guests are still taking about what a great wedding it was.Incredible Venue Service By Steve & Michelle Cox, on 05 May 2015"We were extremely well looked after by the entire team at the Elephant right from the beginning. The management and planning team were incredibly helpful with advise and assistance on everything we wanted and the entire staff working our wedding were friendly and engaging with us and all of the guests which was duly noted and commented on by lots of people on the day The venue itself was incredible in appearance and being fortunate on the weather just further complimented this!! The entire day ran to plan right from the florist to the DJ who all worked with the Elephant team to make sure everything was where it should be when it should be!! Our menu was incredible. All in all a great day - a big thanks to you Claire and all of the team!!"Best Day of Our Lives Venue Service By Adam & Kayleigh, on 28 Oct 2014To Hannah, Matt and All of the Staff at The Elephant! Thank you so much for al of your help making our wedding day the best day of our lives! Hannah - thank you for convincing us that The Elephant was the perfect pace to hold our wedding reception and answering our endless questions, however trivial! Matt - thank you for doing a wonderful job of running the evening and dealing so well with last minute requests and changes! And to all of you - thank you for your fantastic customer service, amazing food, charm, professionalism... we could go on! We had a perfect day and all of our guestsenjoyed themselves thoroughly - we can't thank you enough! We will be sure to pop in for dinner and drinks often. Best Wishes Adam & KayleighA massive thank you again!! Venue Service By Hayley & Craig, on 12 Sep 2014Good Evening Hannah Hope you are well and Wedding season is slightly more calmer for you! Well its been 8weeks since our big day and wow how fast has time gone! Now we are finally settling into married life and have some time on our hands, we would like to say a big thank you to yourself and your team. Our Wedding day was perfect and went so smoothly. Your staff, especially Irene, were very attentive and made our day extra special. Our guests loved the venue and the decor and commented on how lovely yourself and the staff were. We are so glad we chose The Elephant to hold our special day. Im so happy to finally breath out and relax and enjoy being married ?? A Massive thank you again!! Hayley and CraigThank You to EVERYONE at The Elephant! Venue Service By Cari & Andy, on 07 Aug 2014To Hannah, Irene, Matt & EVERYONE at The Elephant, Thank you so much for all of the work and help you all put into our wedding. We had an amazing problem-free day and everyone has been so kind, helpful and lovely right the way through. We can't have asked for a more beautiful venue amazing food, wonderful rooms and fabulous atmosphere - you helped us have our perfect wedding!! Hannah, we hope you had a lovely holiday - we will email photos over when they are ready! Thanks again - we will be back again to visit! Love Cari & Andy xRelaxed Wedding Venue Service By Sharon & Phil Whitney, on 16 Jul 2014Hi Hannah I had to email before we shoot off, and let you know what an amazing wedding day we had on Saturday. The Elephant was just the most perfect setting for the relaxed type of wedding we had planned, everything went so well, all of our guests totally loved the querkyness of the hotel. I would especially like to ask you to thank all your wonderful staff that couldn't do enough for us - so thank you again Hannah. Kind Regards Sharon & Phil WhitneyDay was Perfect Venue Service By Heather & Steve, on 12 Jul 2014Hi Hannah, Hope you are well :-) Firstly, apologise for this thank you email being so late...however we wanted to say a big thank you to you for everything you did for our wedding. You made it so easy, and the day was perfect for us. All the staff, Matt, Irene and all the staff at the Elephant made the day so memorable and all our guests said how good they all were. We have been back since - and just wanted to make sure that you also got a thank you :-) Thanks again (and we will be recommend any of our friends that get married to use one of your hotels) Thanks Heather & Steve x Prev Page 1 of 3 Next
Unforgettable experience from beginning to end Venue Service By Darryl Bedwell, on 30 Apr 2018Date of Wedding - 16 Feb 2018 After getting engaged in December 2016, choosing The Elephant at Pangbourne as our venue was the first (and one of the easiest) decisions we made when planning our wedding. Early on, we took our parents along to a wedding fair held at the hotel, and followed it up by a superb Sunday lunch in the restaurant which was met with a great seal of approval all round! In the following months and many decisions that had to be made, Clare (the events manager), was absolutely spectacular. She guided us through the process without rushing us or treating us as just means to make the bottom line better at the end of the year. Finally the big day arrived in February of this year and it was beyond perfect! The staff were always there, but extremely discreet - actually impressively so. All the rooms were presented immaculately, the bar has a superb selection that catered to everyones tastes. After our tasting evening, we had chosen to go for the roast beef as our main (largely down to the giant sized Yorkshire pudding that came with it!) and on the day it was just as tasty and just as impressive as I remembered. We got some great feedback from our guests about the venue - the brilliant elephant statue out front being the main focal point. Suffice to say, we had an unforgettable experience from beginning to end and would whole heartedly recommend it to anyone.
Thank you Venue Service By Steve Cox, on 21 Jun 2016We were extremely well looked after by the entire team at the Elephant right from the beginning. The management and planning team were incredibly helpful with advise and assistance on everything we wanted and the entire staff working our wedding were friendly and engaging with us and all of the guests which was duly noted and commented on by lots of people on the day The venue itself was incredible in appearance and being fortunate on the weather just further complimented this!! The entire day ran to plan right from the florist to the DJ who all worked with the Elephant team to make sure everything was where it should be when it should be!! Our menu was incredible and I dont recall seeing one empty plate.....including our own!! All in all a great day - a big thanks to you Claire and all of the team!!" Steve Cox
Everything was perfect! Venue Service By Kirsten and Greg, on 21 Jun 2016Hi Claire I just wanted to drop you a quick mail to say thank you for making our day so special! Everything was perfect! The room looked gorgeous, the food was fantastic and the staff were simply brilliant. They were always there when needed, but never got in the way. They were friendly and made sure everything went smoothly. You did such an amazing job with the room. When I walked in, I was taken back with how lovely it all looked. So a big well done to you and all the staff at the elephant. Our guests are still taking about what a great wedding it was. So thank you again and kind regards, Kirsten and Greg
Amazing Venue Service By Jen & Colm, on 20 May 2016We just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for such a brilliant day and night on Saturday. Everyone had a blast. We've had so many complements on the venue, from both the look and feel, how gorgeous the garden was to how relaxed and informal the event was - which was exactly what we wanted. We're delighted that we had the whole place, and we knew that we would probably need it!, and it felt just right. The kids were great and had a ball, we didn't lock our room all weekend and it just seemed to work. The staff were all brilliant, so helpful, attentive and friendly and really helped the day run smoothly but also added to the occasion. I know that i said this before but many people have commented on the staff. They're all stars though. The pavlova went down SO well and the food was gorgeous so please pass our thanks and complements on to the chef. My only regret was that i was so preoccupied and chatting that i didn't get to eat as much as i'd have liked but the chat about the pavolva being for pudding and how that worked went on for a few days! And everyone who stayed loved breakfast!
Perfect wedding day Venue Service By Jen Fisher-Hickey, on 10 Aug 2015We just wanted to say a huge, huge thank you for helping us host the best day of our lives. Our friends kept telling us it was the best wedding they've ever been to and our families are still talking about it! The Elephant was just the perfect venue to hold the relaxed and fun (but still classy and beautiful!) wedding we wanted. The day was everything we hoped for and so much more. Claire was fantastic the whole way through the process (and Matt too, when Claire was out of the office!) and I'm sure she was a big reason that everyone kept telling me I looked so calm and stress-free! The staff (both the ones working on the day and the few we encountered in the lead up) were so sweet and so helpful. I can hardly remember seeing any of the staff on the day, yet the whole day was absolutely seamless; everyone must have been working very hard to keep things moving along without us even noticing! A lot of our guests commented on how much they loved their rooms and one of my bridesmaids who had her dog-sitting plans fall through last minute was very happy we'd ended up picking a dog friendly venue/hotel and very grateful she was so easily accommodated :) The day was just incredible and beautiful and we couldn't have asked for more. We keep joking about getting divorced so that we can do it all over again! I'm sure we will return for a few wedding anniversaries over the years :)
Thank You Venue Service By Kirsten & Greg Wood, on 05 May 2015Thank you for making our day so special! Everything was perfect! The room looked gorgeous, the food was fantastic and the staff were simply brilliant. They were always there when needed, but never got in the way. They were friendly and made sure everything went smoothly. You did such an amazing job with the room. When I walked in, I was taken back with how lovely it all looked. So a big well done to you and all the staff at the elephant. Our guests are still taking about what a great wedding it was.
Incredible Venue Service By Steve & Michelle Cox, on 05 May 2015"We were extremely well looked after by the entire team at the Elephant right from the beginning. The management and planning team were incredibly helpful with advise and assistance on everything we wanted and the entire staff working our wedding were friendly and engaging with us and all of the guests which was duly noted and commented on by lots of people on the day The venue itself was incredible in appearance and being fortunate on the weather just further complimented this!! The entire day ran to plan right from the florist to the DJ who all worked with the Elephant team to make sure everything was where it should be when it should be!! Our menu was incredible. All in all a great day - a big thanks to you Claire and all of the team!!"
Best Day of Our Lives Venue Service By Adam & Kayleigh, on 28 Oct 2014To Hannah, Matt and All of the Staff at The Elephant! Thank you so much for al of your help making our wedding day the best day of our lives! Hannah - thank you for convincing us that The Elephant was the perfect pace to hold our wedding reception and answering our endless questions, however trivial! Matt - thank you for doing a wonderful job of running the evening and dealing so well with last minute requests and changes! And to all of you - thank you for your fantastic customer service, amazing food, charm, professionalism... we could go on! We had a perfect day and all of our guestsenjoyed themselves thoroughly - we can't thank you enough! We will be sure to pop in for dinner and drinks often. Best Wishes Adam & Kayleigh
A massive thank you again!! Venue Service By Hayley & Craig, on 12 Sep 2014Good Evening Hannah Hope you are well and Wedding season is slightly more calmer for you! Well its been 8weeks since our big day and wow how fast has time gone! Now we are finally settling into married life and have some time on our hands, we would like to say a big thank you to yourself and your team. Our Wedding day was perfect and went so smoothly. Your staff, especially Irene, were very attentive and made our day extra special. Our guests loved the venue and the decor and commented on how lovely yourself and the staff were. We are so glad we chose The Elephant to hold our special day. Im so happy to finally breath out and relax and enjoy being married ?? A Massive thank you again!! Hayley and Craig
Thank You to EVERYONE at The Elephant! Venue Service By Cari & Andy, on 07 Aug 2014To Hannah, Irene, Matt & EVERYONE at The Elephant, Thank you so much for all of the work and help you all put into our wedding. We had an amazing problem-free day and everyone has been so kind, helpful and lovely right the way through. We can't have asked for a more beautiful venue amazing food, wonderful rooms and fabulous atmosphere - you helped us have our perfect wedding!! Hannah, we hope you had a lovely holiday - we will email photos over when they are ready! Thanks again - we will be back again to visit! Love Cari & Andy x
Relaxed Wedding Venue Service By Sharon & Phil Whitney, on 16 Jul 2014Hi Hannah I had to email before we shoot off, and let you know what an amazing wedding day we had on Saturday. The Elephant was just the most perfect setting for the relaxed type of wedding we had planned, everything went so well, all of our guests totally loved the querkyness of the hotel. I would especially like to ask you to thank all your wonderful staff that couldn't do enough for us - so thank you again Hannah. Kind Regards Sharon & Phil Whitney
Day was Perfect Venue Service By Heather & Steve, on 12 Jul 2014Hi Hannah, Hope you are well :-) Firstly, apologise for this thank you email being so late...however we wanted to say a big thank you to you for everything you did for our wedding. You made it so easy, and the day was perfect for us. All the staff, Matt, Irene and all the staff at the Elephant made the day so memorable and all our guests said how good they all were. We have been back since - and just wanted to make sure that you also got a thank you :-) Thanks again (and we will be recommend any of our friends that get married to use one of your hotels) Thanks Heather & Steve x