The Old Kent Barn Wedding Photographer & Videographer

A historic barn on Smersole Farm

The Old Kent Barn is on Smersole Farm at Swingfield, Kent (CT15 7HF), in the countryside between Folkestone and Canterbury. The venue says the barn's story stretches back more than 250 years, from housing cattle and hay to the barn the Simmons family still own and run. It describes gardens with seasonal planting and wisteria, a flower-covered garden gazebo for ceremonies and an oak-framed New Barn.

We photographed Hannah and Adam's wedding here on 28 August 2026, and their day is the one in this guide: a gazebo ceremony in the gardens, confetti between their guests, a game of table football beside the old timber barn and portraits among tall grasses at the end of the day. Our Kent guide shows more weddings in the county, and here we stay with the barn. What we say about the buildings comes from the venue's own website, and what we say about the photographs comes from looking at them.

For current venue details, explore The Old Kent Barn. Ask the venue how the garden looks in other seasons, since this wedding was at the end of August.

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

The garden gazebo, the New Barn and the gardens

The venue says couples can marry in a garden ceremony or inside the oak-framed New Barn. It gives the New Barn as holding up to 150 guests for the ceremony and dinner and up to 250 for the evening, and says only one wedding is hosted each day, so the whole site is yours.

It lists five ensuite bedrooms for up to 16 guests, food prepared by its in-house kitchen team, and civil, celebrant, cultural and religious ceremonies of all faiths. The page does not give finishing times or a music curfew, so ask for both in writing.

02 / August 2026 / Hannah and Adam

Hannah and Adam: a gazebo ceremony, confetti and table football

Hannah and Adam married on 28 August 2026. The photograph at the top of this page shows them walking out of the white garden gazebo between lines of guests throwing petals, Hannah in a strapless gown with a bouquet and Adam in a black dinner suit.

Their ceremony was in the gazebo, shown here in black and white: they hold hands and face each other as the officiant holds a book beside them. Earlier, in a room with exposed oak roof beams and a pink sofa, Hannah stands ready in a fitted gown with a long cape.

Between the portraits, the two of them play a game of table football on the paved yard beside the old timber barn wall, Hannah in her long gown and Adam in his waistcoat.

As the light turned golden, Hannah sat on a low wooden bench beside Adam with a clipped hedge behind them, and later, in black and white, they kissed on a gravel path among tall grasses and wildflowers.

Planning your photographs at The Old Kent Barn

A few things worth asking the venue, and how we would plan around the answers:

1. Ceremony: Hannah and Adam married in the garden gazebo. Ask the venue about its plan for a wet day, and which ceremony space suits your numbers.
2. Confetti: The petals made one of the best photographs of the day. Ask the venue what it allows, so you know which kind to buy.
3. Getting ready: The venue lists five ensuite bedrooms. Ask which rooms you can use for getting ready and when they open, so we can plan the morning.
4. Evening light: The gardens and the gravel paths looked beautiful in low sun at the end of August. We check sunset times for your date in advance and agree the portrait plan with you before the day.
5. Group photographs: We do as many as you like and typically recommend around 15, which usually take about 20 minutes. Choose somewhere with room and a sheltered backup, and ask a groomsman or bridesmaid who knows everyone to round people up.
6. Portraits: We usually take a portrait walk of about 15 minutes, with photo and video together. The gazebo, the barn yard and the tall grasses give you very different backdrops.

One team for the photographs and the film

Cam and Beth have photographed and filmed over 400 weddings together, so a garden gazebo, an oak-framed barn and an evening in tall grasses is familiar territory. You get one conversation about the timetable, one set of questions for the venue and one plan for the portrait walk.

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 The Old Kent Barn wedding