Natural Barn wedding venue in Kent
This was my first time at Elmley Nature Reserve for this joyous unique outdoor Kent wedding. I was very grateful to be chosen to photograph the wedding of a couple who have been guests at a previous Hackney Round Chapel wedding. Since moving to the London-Essex border (I consider myself London as I am still on the tube line!) I’ve managed to get the best of London weddings AND benefit from a smoother commute out to weddings in the Home Counties. I’m very well positioned for Kent, Hertfordshire and Essex weddings. So even though I am not a Kent wedding photographer, I am actually less than an hour away from North Kent wedding venues like Elmley Nature Reserve and Mount Emphraim. As a result Elmley Nature Reserve struck me as the perfect Kent wedding venue if you have lots of friends who are travelling out from London.
Weekend hire wedding venue in Kent
If you and your friends love festivals or travelling together, it’s really nice to make a big weekend out of your wedding, so everyone can stay on site and spend time together. This couple chose to have a welcome party the night before the wedding, and have most of their friends and family stay on site. As well as the barn for the wedding reception and various outdoor spaces, Elmley Nature Reserve has the main house and plenty of cottages on site for wedding accommodation. I have photographed many weekend long weddings, my documentary style is perfect as I focus on all the moments between friends and family. Not only do you get wedding content, but you get treasured memories for everyone in the wedding party. As a result, I offer a special package for multi day wedding events.






Getting ready for your Elmley Nature Reserve wedding
Elmley Cottage
You can choose to get ready wherever suits you best based on your wedding party size. This bride chose to use Elmley Cottage so she could stay out of sight from the guests. As the ceremony takes place outside the Kingshill Farmhouse, if you get ready in the Farmhouse itself, you might get spotted in the morning. Elmley Cottage is lovely and light with gorgeous views over the nature reserve. The bride had her make up done by the lovely Aria.








Wedding preparations in the Farmhouse
The groom chose to get ready in the Farmhouse rooms. Each room is decorated in different opulent colours, it’s truly a beautiful space for your wedding morning.







Outdoor ceremony at an Elmley Nature Reserve wedding
The venue staff will put out wooden chairs for you to hold your ceremony with the gorgeous nature reserve as a back drop. The wedding party will then enter the ceremony from the Farmhouse doors, which looks gorgeous in your wedding photos! The wedding flowers were set up by the wonderful Roisin from the Verde Flower Co. The bold pink and orange palette popped so beautifully against the natural backdrop


















After the ceremony, you can use the same area for your drinks and canapés reception. This wedding hired Funthyme for their delicious catering and hired the lawn games from Vintage Charm.



Couple photos at Elmley Nature Reserve
There’s a few good spots around Elmley Nature Reserve, both inside the farmhouse and outside with the breathtaking landscape. As this was a windy day and the sun kept coming between the clouds, I advised the couple to do their sunset photos later on, and focus on the indoor couple photos during the drinks reception. The couple were super excited as they got to meet and hold one of the Elmley Nature Reserve chickens!







Wedding dinner in the barn at Elmley Nature Reserve
The barn at Elmley is black inside and out, with one large window at one short side. This creates a stunning natural light effect across the whole interior. The couple hired gorgeous rattan thrones to decorate the corner from The Little Wedding Warehouse. They held their speeches in between the courses served by Funthyme.

















The evening party at Elmley Nature Reserve
The couple hired festoon lighting to create a cosy evening atmosphere with the vintage furniture just outside the barn. The groom changed from his day suit into a special sparkly tuxedo and surprised the bride with it. To honour the groom’s heritage they had moon cakes as part of the evening sweetie buffet. They also set up a whisky bar outside in the courtyard and had one of their friends DJ.



















If you like the look of this outdoor Kent wedding check out my other tipi weddings. If you want a fun colourful wedding photographer to capture all the best memories and moments, then contact me for my availability here.