Hever Castle Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A moated castle with gardens and a choice of rooms

Hever Castle is at Hever, near Edenbridge in Kent (TN8 7NG). Its wedding pages describe a moated castle with gardens, and its brochure lists the Castle Inner Hall for ceremonies of up to 60 guests and the Loggia in the Italian Garden for up to 180, with receptions in a tent, a tipi or the Guthrie Pavilion.

We photographed Paul and Charan's wedding here on 22 December 2018, and their day is the one in this guide: oak-panelled rooms, Christmas trees, a toast with champagne, a carousel in lights and a group of dhol drummers beneath the gatehouse arch. Our Kent guide shows the county more widely; here we stay inside the castle walls.

For current venue details, explore Hever Castle. This wedding was in the week before Christmas, so ask the castle how its rooms, gardens and lighting look on your date, and check its current wedding packages and capacities.

01 / The spaces / From the venue's own materials

Castle rooms, an Italian Garden loggia and reception spaces to choose from

The castle's own wedding pages and brochure describe ceremonies inside the castle itself and out in the gardens, with the Loggia, a covered colonnade in the Italian Garden, listed for the largest ceremonies. For receptions they list a tent, a tipi or the Guthrie Pavilion, with different numbers for each.

Capacities and prices differ between the castle's own materials and the directories that list it, so treat any figure you read elsewhere as a starting point and ask the events team for the current ones for your date, season and guest numbers.

02 / December 2018 / Paul and Charan

Paul and Charan: panelled rooms, a Christmas tree, a toast and a carousel in lights

Paul and Charan married on 22 December 2018. Paul wore an embroidered plum-coloured jacket with gold detail and Charan a blush off-the-shoulder dress with a jewelled hair slide, a pairing that glowed against the dark oak panelling. In the photograph at the top of this page they smile at the camera inside a panelled room with sofas and lamps behind them.

Christmas trees stood in the castle's rooms, and we used them. In one photograph Paul looks down at Charan beside a tree strung with white lights; in another the two of them stand with their backs to us, looking up at a tall tree hung with gold and white baubles in a panelled hall.

In a small panelled room with a stained-glass window glowing purple at the end, they stand side by side, a quiet frame in a busy day. Then, for a toast, they hold out two glasses of champagne towards the lens with a lit tree blurred behind them.

Outside, as dusk came down, they kissed in silhouette in front of a carousel lit with hundreds of bulbs and a wreath at its centre. Beneath the gatehouse arch, Paul and Charan posed with six dhol drummers in red jackets, their drums slung at their sides, and the last photograph is the castle across the moat at night, washed in pink light.

Planning your photographs at Hever Castle

Questions to put to the castle, and how we would plan around the answers:

1. Short winter days: In the week before Christmas, daylight is short, so we plan family groups and portraits early and keep the castle's rooms and lights for later. Ask the castle what time the gardens and gatehouse are open to you on your date.
2. Ceremony space: The castle lists indoor and garden ceremony spaces at different sizes. Ask which one fits your guest list and what the plan is if the weather decides for you.
3. Music and performers: A band of drummers at the gatehouse worked because it was planned. If you would like live music or a performance, ask the castle where it can happen and when sound is allowed.
4. Lights and decoration: Trees, wreaths and lighting changed the look of every room. Ask what will be in place on your date, so we know where to take portraits.
5. Group photographs: We make as many as you wish, usually around 15, which take about 20 minutes. Choose a spot with room for everyone and a sheltered fallback, and ask someone who knows both families to gather people.
6. Portraits: Our portrait walk usually lasts about 15 minutes, with photo and video together. The panelled rooms, the carousel and the gatehouse each give a very different setting within a short walk.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a castle with panelled rooms, a loggia and a moat is planned once: one timetable, one list of questions for the castle and one shared portrait walk for photographs and film.

The photo and video team package carries a £120 deposit and a £400 saving over booking photography and videography separately. We are based near Cardiff, and travel across England and Wales is included in standard full-day packages. When the drive is over two hours we always stay in a hotel the night before and cover it.

Questions about a Hever Castle wedding