Wedding Photography at Chilston Park, Lenham
Chilston Park takes 20 to 150 guests for a ceremony and up to 250 in the evening, with exclusive use of the whole house published from £13,000.
★★★★★ Rated 4.8 from 580+ reviews
Wedding photography from £750
Bespoke packages · fast response · free consultation
Chilston Park is a Hand Picked Hotels country house at Sandway, near Lenham, set in 77 acres of Kent parkland with a lake and manicured gardens (weddings). Ceremonies can be held in the Grade I listed Coach House, in three rooms of the manor house, or outdoors in the Garden Gazebo, and the hotel has 53 bedrooms for guests.
Our studio is at 21 Joel St, Northwood Hills HA6 1NU, photographing weddings since 2001 and rated 4.8 out of 5 from 580+ Google reviews. Chilston Park does not publish a rule on outside photographers, and we are glad to photograph at Chilston Park. Coverage starts from £750. Lenham is a long drive from Northwood, so travel is set out in the written quote before you book. Below is what the hotel publishes, and what it does not.
Chilston Park at a glance: rooms, numbers and access
| Address | Chilston Park Hotel, Boughton Road, Sandway, Lenham, Maidstone, Kent ME17 2BE |
|---|---|
| Operator | Hand Picked Hotels; 01622 859803 |
| Guest numbers | Ceremony 20 to 150; wedding meal 100; evening party 250 |
| Ceremony rooms | Coach House Suite 150, Garden Gazebo 150, Culpeper's 120, Orangery 100 |
| Evening rooms | Culpeper's up to 200, Orangery and Fitzhammond up to 150, Coach House Suite up to 120 |
| Outdoor ceremonies | Yes, in the Garden Gazebo |
| Cost range | £1,500 to £27,000 depending on package and requirements (hotel FAQ) |
| Exclusive use | From £13,000 for sole use of the venue |
| Bedrooms | 53, with a special rate for wedding guests |
| Date holds | Usually 7 days, until contract and deposit |
| Grounds | 77 acres of parkland, lake and manicured gardens |
| Nearest station | Lenham, 1.5 miles; M20 about ten minutes |
| From our studio | About 54.7 miles in a straight line from the studio at 21 Joel St, Northwood HA6 1NU (road distance is longer) |
Figures are as published by the venue or its licensing authority. Where a venue's own pages disagree, both are shown. Confirm anything you are planning around.
Sources
What a Chilston Park wedding costs
Chilston Park's FAQ says the cost of a wedding depends on the package and requirements chosen, "ranging from £1,500 to £27,000", and that exclusive use of the venue is available from £13,000 (weddings FAQ). The packages page describes two set packages without prices on the page (prices and packages):
- The Coach House: based on 60 day guests and an additional 40 evening guests, with exclusive use of the Coach House and its surrounding 23 bedrooms.
- The Manor House: a choice of three ceremony rooms; the Orangery holds 90 guests during the day and an additional 50 in the evening.
- Exclusive use of the whole of Chilston Park, by bespoke proposal.
Dates are usually held for 7 days, and are only reserved once the contract and deposit are in place. The year the price range applies to is not stated, so ask for a written quote for your date, and confirm whether the figures include VAT. Registrar fees are not mentioned and are normally separate.
Ceremonies in the Coach House, the manor house or the Garden Gazebo
The ceremony page lists four spaces (ceremony venues): the Coach House Suite in the Grade I listed Coach House, with a cobbled courtyard, floor-to-ceiling windows and chandeliers, for 150; the Garden Gazebo outdoors for 150; Culpeper's, overlooking the lawns and lake, for 120; and the glass-walled Orangery for 100. The minimum for a ceremony is 20 guests. The hotel also offers live streaming of the ceremony through a service called E-There for guests who cannot attend.
Which registration district conducts ceremonies, permitted ceremony times, catering rules beyond the in-house chefs, and anything about Asian weddings, religious ceremonies or a mandap are not published. The capacity figures also vary between pages: the FAQ gives 100 for the wedding meal, while the Orangery package gives 90 day guests. Ask the wedding team to confirm the room and numbers in writing.
What Chilston Park publishes about the day's rules
Chilston Park's wedding pages invite couples to "enjoy photos in the grounds" (weddings) but do not publish rules on confetti, drones or photography during the ceremony. Treat each line below as a question for the wedding team.
| Photography during the ceremony | Not published; ask the registrar |
|---|---|
| Own photographer | Not published as restricted |
| Photographs in the grounds | Encouraged on the weddings page: lake, lawns and gardens |
| Flash | Not published |
| Drones | Not published |
| Confetti | Not published |
| Finish time | Not published |
| Live streaming | E-There streaming of the ceremony offered |
Where a rule is shown as not published, ask the venue in writing before the day.
Getting ready at Chilston Park
Chilston Park has 53 bedrooms, and wedding guests can be offered a special rate (weddings FAQ). The Coach House package includes the 23 bedrooms around the Coach House, which keeps the wedding party close to the ceremony room. The weddings page also mentions finishing the day "in a romantic feature bed". A dedicated getting-ready room, and the time it is available from, are not published, so ask which bedrooms suit preparations for each side of the family.
A suggested order for a Chilston Park wedding
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Morning (suggested) | Getting ready in the hotel bedrooms. Chilston Park does not publish a sample day, so this order is a suggestion. |
| Afternoon | Ceremony in the Coach House Suite, Culpeper's, the Orangery or the Garden Gazebo. |
| After the ceremony | Reception drinks on the lawns in summer, and couple portraits by the lake and gazebo. |
| Early evening | Wedding meal for up to 100. |
| Evening | Party in Culpeper's, the Orangery, Fitzhammond or the Coach House Suite, with the gardens lit by lanterns. |
An outline for planning, not a schedule. Times are shown only where the venue publishes them; everything else is a stage to time with you and confirm with the venue.
Light by month at Chilston Park
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour from | Clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:55 | 16:18 | 15:22 | GMT |
| February | 07:11 | 17:12 | 16:25 | GMT |
| March | 06:12 | 18:01 | 17:17 | GMT |
| April | 06:03 | 19:53 | 19:08 | BST |
| May | 05:07 | 20:41 | 19:52 | BST |
| June | 04:41 | 21:15 | 20:21 | BST |
| July | 04:59 | 21:07 | 20:15 | BST |
| August | 05:43 | 20:19 | 19:33 | BST |
| September | 06:32 | 19:12 | 18:29 | BST |
| October | 07:20 | 18:05 | 17:19 | BST |
| November | 07:14 | 16:09 | 15:16 | GMT |
| December | 07:55 | 15:50 | 14:49 | GMT |
Computed for the 15th of each month of 2027 at the venue's postcode centroid with the NOAA solar equations. Evening golden hour starts when the sun drops to 6 degrees; trees and buildings shorten it. Times are UK clock time.
Planning photographs by the lake, the gazebo and the grand staircase
- Guests arrive past the hotel's herd of milk cows before reaching the house, which overlooks the lawns and the lake (grounds and gardens).
- The Garden Gazebo is surrounded by greenery and parkland, with enough seclusion for privacy.
- The Coach House Suite has floor-to-ceiling windows and neutral decor, which the hotel calls "the perfect light to get married in", plus a cobbled courtyard and stable bar for informal photographs.
- The Orangery has glass walls, panoramic views and direct access to the lawns.
- Culpeper's is reached down the grand staircase, a natural setting for an entrance photograph; it overlooks the lawns and lake (evening parties).
- After dark the gardens are lit with twinkling lights and lanterns.
From Childeston in 1100 to a country house hotel
The hotel's heritage brochure traces Chilston to at least 1100, when "Childeston" belonged to the Fitzhamon Lords of Leeds Castle (Our Heritage). Its walls date from the early 16th century, when the Hussey family owned it. John Hamilton remodelled the front door and porch in 1719, and between 1736 and 1819 the grounds were transformed into parkland with a lake. From 1821 the house was linked to the Douglas family, later Viscounts Chilston, until its sale in 1983. Aretas Akers-Douglas installed the oak staircase and early Renaissance carved panels in the staircase hall, and the two drawing rooms he joined are now Culpeper's.
Lenham station and junction 8 of the M20
Chilston Park is about ten minutes from the M20. From the M25, take the M20 (or the M26 from junction 5) to junction 8, then the A20 towards Lenham past Leeds Castle and Harrietsham. In Lenham head for the station, bear left into Boughton Road after about half a mile, go straight over the crossroads, and the drive is a quarter of a mile on the left (directions). Lenham station is 1.5 miles away, and local taxis include Lenham Village Car and Express Taxi. We travel to Chilston Park from our Northwood studio; travel is set out in the written quote.
Parking at Chilston Park for wedding guests
The wedding FAQ says Chilston Park offers complimentary on-site parking for wedding guests (weddings FAQ). A space count, coach access and overnight rules are not published.
Chilston Park wedding photography, frequently asked questions
How much does a Chilston Park wedding cost?
How many guests can Chilston Park hold for a wedding?
Can you get married outside at Chilston Park?
Can we have Chilston Park to ourselves?
Can I bring my own photographer to Chilston Park?
Where do guests stay and park at Chilston Park?
Can we have an Asian wedding at Chilston Park?
Our work
Asian wedding photography
Other wedding venues we cover
Related pages
Enquiries for this venue are handled by Kaushik Bathia, FBIPP and FMPA, who has photographed more than a thousand weddings since 2001 and holds five European Kodak Gold Awards.
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Planning a wedding at Chilston Park?
Tell us the date and the venue and we will come back with availability and a price. Coverage starts from £750.