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Hydroelastic slamming is a phenomenon that occurs when there is a fully coupled interaction between the water surface and a deformable structure, and it has a significant effect on the local and global loads of the structure during high impact velocities in rough seas. Estimating the simultaneous structural responses caused by hydrodynamic loads during high impact water entry is a challenging task. This article, which is Part I of a two-part companion paper, deals with the experimental studies of the impact-induced loads and structural responses of a three-dimensional non-prismatic aluminium wedge with stiffened panel during free-fall water entry. Two different plates were considered on the bottom of the wedge in order to study the influence of flexural rigidity on hydroelastic slamming. A description of the experimental conditions, including the geometry of the wedge, material properties, and the test plan is provided. The effects of water impact velocity, deadrise angle, mass of the wedge, and bending stiffness on the slamming pressures and structural responses are discussed in detail. It is shown that the maximum strain and deformation occur during the partially wetted phase of the slamming problem. The study concludes that the hydroelasticity effects on slamming responses generally increase at lower deadrise angles and higher impact velocities. The importance of FSI simulation is assessed using a hydroelasticity factor (R F), which is found to have a significant effect on the unstiffened bottom for all impact velocities studied. For a stiffened bottom panel, hydroelasticity is only significant at high impact velocities.