Chafford Park wedding photography by Martin Beddall Photography

Reportage wedding photography at Chafford Park

Chafford Park on the Sussex and Kent border, near Tunbridge Wells, was the venue for Katie and Adam’s rural wedding.

A new Sussex wedding venue for me and looks a bit different to what you see on the Chafford Park website. The large Granary Barn in which the wedding ceremony was to be held, had a makeover during the summer. Gone was the authentic ‘farming’ look of corrugated steel panels – it had been upgraded and clad in wood. Proper doors fitted too. As was mentioned, less ‘farm’, more 1970s Swedish sauna! 😉

Still a nicer location than many expensive, stuffy hotels… With a big tipi in the same field and guests staying in tents in the lower part of the field, it’s a good blank canvas for an English summer wedding. All you need is decent summer weather. The Sun came – as it often does – just as everyone heads into the wedding meal. But that was later…

Coverage starts a few miles away, at the home of Katie’s parents. Just the other side of Tunbridge Wells. A very chilled out getting ready – so relaxed that the bride was found ironing out the creases on her father’s new shirt for him!….

Chafford Park Festival-style wedding

Across at Chafford Park, Adam was waiting for the day to kick-off, as family and friends gathered. A ceremony and a wonderful dry bit of humour from Katie’s father, at the start, to help everyone relax. A confetti run down the side of the barn before Katie and Adam led everyone up the hill to drinks outside the large tipi. Traditional wedding speeches, with mentions of ‘tinder’ and ‘sex tourism in Thailand’ – the usual stuff! 😉 The sun even held on for some sunset portraits in the long grass. But not before a young posse arrived, excited by watching the effects of alcohol on some of the adults… A wedding can be educating!

Then music in the tipi….as Katie admired the sunset outside, Adam was inside the tipi, belting out Erasure songs!

Anyone in the airliners, high above the field, coming into Gatwick, who was looking out – there was a story, a party going on below in the twilight.

Here are a few images from this summer wedding at Chafford Park…