Two Woods Estate does not look like anywhere else in Sussex, and that is entirely the point. Forty-two acres of woodland on Blackgate Lane at Pulborough, and standing through the middle of it, well over a hundred mature redwoods — enormous, rust-coloured, cathedral-straight trees that turn the light green and make everybody go quiet for a second when they first walk in. The estate is licensed for ceremonies among them, all year round, and no amount of styling will ever compete with what the trees are already doing.
Around the woodland the estate has been built out thoughtfully. There is a recently renovated barn for dinner and dancing, a covered terrace for eating outdoors without depending on the forecast, and an orangery that does duty for drinks and refreshments. Beyond that lies a 10-acre wild meadow with a firepit at its centre, which is where the afternoon tends to sprawl out and where guests who fancy camping or glamping can pitch up and stay the night. The wedding loft handles getting ready and then becomes the couple’s room, complete with a seven-foot bed and a collection of vintage and handmade pieces that suit the place exactly.
The estate is always let exclusively, and it is run personally by its owners rather than by a rota of duty managers, which is noticeable from the first visit onwards. You bring your own caterer, the bar is looked after in house, and numbers sit at around 120 for a ceremony and a seated meal. Pulborough station is five minutes away and London Victoria a little over an hour beyond that, so guests travelling down do not need to make a weekend of it unless they want to — though most will want to.
Where the band plays
The barn is the evening room, and it is the right size for a band rather than a cavernous one: at these numbers a four or five-piece fills it properly and the dancefloor never looks thin. With the covered terrace immediately outside, there is somewhere for people to stand and talk without abandoning the party altogether, which is exactly what you want once the music starts. Access is good and parking is on site, so loading in is straightforward, but do give any band the practical details in advance — a woodland estate at dusk is a lovely thing to arrive at and a confusing one to find.
The shape of the day and the night
A day here really does move through the landscape: vows among the redwoods, drinks and the firepit out in the meadow, dinner under cover, then dancing in the barn. Music runs to 11pm, with guests away by midnight, so the evening is a concentrated one — start the first dance promptly after the speeches and you get a full, unbroken run of dancing rather than a slow fade. A good many couples add something acoustic earlier in the day, which the woodland handles beautifully; a solo player among those trees is a hard thing to improve on.
Bands available in West Sussex and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in West Sussex.
- West Sussex Wedding Bands
- West Sussex Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in West Sussex
- Wedding DJs in West Sussex
- Corporate Entertainment in West Sussex
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.