Wedding Photography at Hever Castle, Kent

Hever Castle near Edenbridge was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, and was restored by William Waldorf Astor after he bought it in 1903. Weddings use three settings on the 125-acre estate: the Castle itself, the Astor Wing (the Tudor-style village Astor built beside it), and the Italian Garden, where ceremonies take place under the Loggia overlooking the lake and dinner follows in the Guthrie Pavilion (wedding brochure). Ceremonies are booked with Tunbridge Wells register office and conducted by the Kent Registration Service.

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. Hever publishes a recommended suppliers list but says couples are free to source their own for any service apart from catering, fireworks and marquees, and we are glad to photograph at Hever Castle. Coverage starts from £750. Hever is a long drive from Northwood, so travel is set out in the written quote before you book. Below is what the castle publishes, and what it does not.

What a Hever Castle wedding costs in 2027

Hever publishes separate facility fees for each setting, all including VAT. For the Astor Wing in 2027 (2027 Astor Wing and Castle fees PDF):

• High season (May to September and December): Sunday to Thursday £5,500, Friday £6,750, Saturday £8,000.
• Low season (January to April, October and November): Sunday to Thursday £5,000, Friday £5,500, Saturday £6,500.
• Upgrading to a Castle ceremony or a Castle wedding breakfast adds £1,000; both together add £1,500. Castle upgrades are only on certain dates and times.
• A three-course menu with tea and coffee is £100 per person, and drinks packages start at £55 per person.

For the Italian Garden in 2027 (2027 Italian Garden fees PDF):

• High season, April to October (ceremony and reception): Sunday to Thursday £7,450, Friday £9,450, Saturday £11,550.
• Low season, November to March (reception only): Sunday to Thursday £4,750, Friday £5,500, Saturday £6,000.
• Italian Garden catering follows the same rates: £100 per person for three courses with tea and coffee, and drinks from £55 per person.

Accommodation is part of the arithmetic. For exclusive use of the Astor Wing, 12 of its 17 bedrooms must be booked; for an Italian Garden wedding all nine Anne Boleyn Wing rooms must be booked if you want accommodation, and any rooms guests have not taken eight weeks before are charged to the wedding account (Italian Garden FAQs). Italian Garden payments run as a £2,000 non-refundable booking fee, £5,000 nine months before, £5,000 six months before, and the balance two months before. Ceremony fees are paid separately to the register office.

Ceremonies in the Castle, the Astor Wing or on the Loggia

Kent County Council has licensed Hever Castle for civil marriages and civil partnerships. Once your deposit is paid, Hever reserves the registrars with Tunbridge Wells register office, who then contact you to take their own deposit and arrange notice of marriage (Astor Wing and Castle FAQs). The registrars will discuss music, as no religious content is allowed in a civil ceremony.

Tudor Suite ceremonies can take place on any day of the year between 10am and 8pm, except 25 and 26 December. Castle ceremonies in the Inner Hall depend on visitor opening times: the brochure gives availability from 6.30pm on days the Castle is open to the public and from midday when it is closed. On the Loggia, every ceremony is at 4.30pm, which the FAQ says "is not negotiable" (Italian Garden FAQs). Hever also offers ceremony-only weddings in the Tudor Suite and, April to October, on the Loggia.

Dancing is not permitted in the Castle or the Astor Wing because of the nature of the buildings, so an evening party with dancing moves to the Guthrie Pavilion or a sailcloth marquee or tipi on the lawns. Catering must come from Hever Castle Culinary. Hever does not publish anything about Hindu, Sikh or Muslim ceremonies, a mandap, or specialist Asian menus; the FAQ says the same menu must be chosen for the whole party with a vegetarian or vegan option. Ask the weddings team in writing before you plan a religious ceremony or a menu beyond that.

Getting ready in the Astor Wing or the Anne Boleyn Wing

For Astor Wing and Castle weddings, the wedding party may check in to up to three bedrooms from midday; other rooms are from 3pm (Astor Wing and Castle FAQs). Separate changing rooms can be booked at £175 per room. For Italian Garden weddings, accommodation is the nine-room Anne Boleyn Wing, and the wedding party may check in to one bedroom from midday (Italian Garden FAQs). Bedrooms have antique furnishings, panelled walls and leaded windows, with some four-poster beds (wedding brochure). Which rooms suit getting-ready photographs for each side of the family is not published, so ask when you allocate bedrooms.

From a 4.30pm Loggia ceremony to 1am carriages

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.

From a 1383 castle to Astor's restoration

Hever's history page dates the original castle, with its gatehouse and walled bailey, to 1383 (history). In the 15th and 16th centuries it belonged to the Boleyn family, and it was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife. It later passed to Anne of Cleves. From 1903 William Waldorf Astor restored the castle, built the Tudor Village now called the Astor Wing, created the lake, and laid out the Italian Garden to display his collection of statuary. The Astor Wing's craftsmen used traditional Tudor tools, according to the wedding brochure.

Parking at Hever Castle for wedding guests

Parking is free, and Astor Wing and Castle guests have a car park free of charge during their stay (Astor Wing and Castle FAQs). Italian Garden guests are signposted to the Lakeview Car Park, not the main entrance, and are not admitted to the garden before 3pm. No overnight parking is allowed in the main or Lakeview car parks for non-residents, and guests at a church service at St Peter's, Hever, must move cars to the Lakeview Car Park afterwards (Italian Garden FAQs).

Hever Castle wedding photography, frequently asked questions

Other wedding venues we cover

• Penshurst Place, Tonbridge
• Leeds Castle, Maidstone
• Chilston Park, Lenham
• Rowhill Grange, Dartford

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Kaushik Bathia, established 2001, FBIPP and FMPA, five European Kodak Gold Awards, photographs every wedding himself and travels to any venue from the Northwood studio.