Wedding Photography at Penshurst Place, Kent
A summer wedding at Penshurst Place in 2027 is published from £6,450 to £8,450 including VAT, with dinner for up to 136 in the 14th-century Baron's Hall.
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Penshurst Place is a privately owned medieval manor house near Tonbridge, the home of the Sidney family since 1552. Its Baron's Hall was completed in 1341 and has an original chestnut-beamed roof about 60 feet high (wedding brochure). The house hosts one wedding a day, with three banqueting rooms under one roof, two outdoor ceremony spaces, and 11 acres of Tudor gardens for photographs. It has been licensed for weddings for more than 30 years.
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. Penshurst's brochure describes couples being taken into the gardens by "your chosen photographer" after the ceremony, and we are glad to photograph at Penshurst Place. Coverage starts from £750. Penshurst is a long drive from Northwood, so travel is set out in the written quote before you book. Below is what the venue publishes, and what it does not.
Penshurst Place at a glance: rooms, licence and access
| Address | Penshurst Place, Penshurst, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 8DG; wedding entrance TN11 8DH on some satnavs |
|---|---|
| Banqueting team | banqueting@penshurstplace.com, 01892 870307 |
| Weddings per day | One |
| Baron's Hall | Ceremony 200 (brochure) or 180 (ceremony-only tariff); dining 136; evening 200 |
| Sunderland Room | Ceremony 136; dining 88; upper floor, reached by a spiral turret staircase |
| Buttery | Intimate ceremony up to 40; dining 30; evening bar |
| Outdoor ceremonies | Inner Courtyard (120 or 136, depending on the tariff sheet) and Nut Garden (136 seated) |
| Winter marquee | Heated marquee in the Inner Courtyard: 120 or 160 for dining, 140 or 200 in the evening |
| Summer timings | Baron's Hall ceremony from 4pm; Sunderland Room ceremony from 2.30pm; dinner from 5pm; evening until midnight |
| Catering | In-house packages from £91 per person (2027); external caterer allowed for a £225 fee |
| Gardens | 11 acres of Tudor gardens until 6pm or dusk in summer; open to the public until 5pm |
| Drones | Strictly prohibited without written consent from the General Manager |
| From our studio | About 39.1 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
- Penshurst Place: weddings
- Penshurst Place: our venue
- Penshurst Place: wedding tariffs
- Penshurst Place: summer tariffs 2025 to 2027 (PDF)
- Penshurst Place: winter tariffs 2025 to 2027 (PDF)
- Penshurst Place: ceremony-only tariffs (PDF)
- Penshurst Place: wedding dining packages and menus 2027 and 2028 (PDF)
- Penshurst Place: wedding brochure (PDF)
- Penshurst Place: visitor FAQs
- A Kentish Ceremony (Kent County Council): Penshurst Place
What a Penshurst Place wedding costs in 2027
Penshurst publishes venue tariffs including VAT. Summer weddings, mid-May to mid-October, in 2027 (summer tariff PDF):
- Saturdays £8,450; Fridays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays £7,450; Monday to Thursday £6,450.
Winter weddings, mid-October to mid-May, in 2027 (winter tariff PDF):
- Garden Room weddings for up to 88 guests: Saturdays £6,950; Fridays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays £5,950; Monday to Thursday £4,950.
- Marquee weddings for 88 to 160 day guests: a 40ft by 50ft marquee (120 dining, 140 evening) at £9,100, or a 40ft by 90ft marquee (160 dining, 200 evening) at £11,500.
- Winter ceremony and daytime reception, six hours, up to 88 guests: £2,950 to £4,950.
Ceremony-only hire in 2027 is £2,000 Monday to Thursday and £2,500 on Fridays and Sundays, for up to three hours (ceremony-only tariff PDF). Food and drink is extra: the 2027 dining packages are £91 (The Lavender), £116 (The Rose) and £159 (The Peony) per person, a children's menu is £25, and corkage on your own wine is £12 a bottle still and £17 sparkling (2027 and 2028 dining packages). Marriage fees are paid separately to the Kent Registration Service; Penshurst makes no extra charge for a ceremony room when the ceremony and reception are booked together.
Ceremonies in the Baron's Hall, the Sunderland Room, the Buttery or outdoors
Three rooms are licensed for ceremonies: the Baron's Hall, the Sunderland Room and the Buttery, plus the Inner Courtyard and the Nut Garden outdoors (ceremony-only tariff PDF). In summer, Baron's Hall ceremonies are from 4pm (or before 11am for a ceremony only) and Sunderland Room ceremonies from 2.30pm. In winter, from mid-October to early November and from mid-February to mid-May, the Baron's Hall is only available for ceremonies on weekends after 4pm; from early November to mid-February and on weekdays, any time (winter tariff PDF). Humanist and non-legal ceremonies are also offered, and couples who marry in church can hold just the reception here.
The in-house menus include a spiced cauliflower korma with samosa and pilau rice among the vegetarian mains, and an external caterer can be used for a £225 fee, from Penshurst's small recommended list or your own (dining packages). Penshurst does not publish anything about Hindu, Sikh or Muslim ceremonies, a mandap, fire or a baraat. Ask the banqueting team in writing, and confirm which Baron's Hall ceremony capacity applies: the brochure gives 200 and the ceremony-only tariff 180.
No drones, gardens until dusk: Penshurst's rules
Penshurst is open to visitors, so the gardens are shared with the public until 5pm, then available to your guests until 6pm or dusk, whichever is earlier, in summer (summer tariff PDF). Its visitor FAQ sets a strict line on aerial photography.
| Photography during the ceremony | Not published; ask the registrar |
|---|---|
| Own photographer | Allowed: the brochure refers to "your chosen photographer" and thanks a range of photographers for images |
| Gardens for photographs | 11 acres of Tudor gardens until 6pm or dusk in summer, until dusk in winter |
| Flash | Not published |
| Drones | All drone and aerial photography and filming is strictly prohibited without written consent from the General Manager, given only in exceptional circumstances |
| Confetti | Not published; ask the banqueting team |
| Fireworks | An area for fireworks is provided if required |
| Finish time | Evening entertainment until midnight |
Where a rule is shown as not published, ask the venue in writing before the day.
Getting ready for a Penshurst wedding
Penshurst's wedding pages and tariffs do not list bedrooms or a getting-ready room, so plan to get ready at home or nearby, and ask the banqueting team whether any room can be used on arrival. The brochure describes the wedding party arriving by the private driveway with its sweeping entrance and views of the front of the house (wedding brochure), which makes the arrival an early photograph to plan for.
From a 4pm ceremony to midnight in the Baron's Hall
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Afternoon | Arrival by the private wedding entrance and sweeping driveway (suggested order based on Penshurst's brochure and summer tariff). |
| 2.30pm or 4pm | Civil ceremony in the Sunderland Room from 2.30pm, the Baron's Hall from 4pm, or outdoors in the Inner Courtyard or Nut Garden. |
| After the ceremony | Drinks and canapés, while the couple go into the Tudor gardens for photographs. |
| From 5pm | Wedding breakfast in the Baron's Hall, or a smaller room depending on numbers. |
| 6pm or dusk | Gardens close to wedding guests in summer. |
| Evening to midnight | Speeches, cake and dancing in the Baron's Hall in summer, or the marquee or Garden Room in winter. |
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 Penshurst Place
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Golden hour from | Clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:57 | 16:21 | 15:24 | GMT |
| February | 07:13 | 17:15 | 16:27 | GMT |
| March | 06:14 | 18:03 | 17:19 | GMT |
| April | 06:05 | 19:55 | 19:10 | BST |
| May | 05:09 | 20:43 | 19:54 | BST |
| June | 04:43 | 21:16 | 20:23 | BST |
| July | 05:01 | 21:09 | 20:17 | BST |
| August | 05:45 | 20:21 | 19:35 | BST |
| September | 06:34 | 19:14 | 18:31 | BST |
| October | 07:22 | 18:07 | 17:21 | BST |
| November | 07:16 | 16:11 | 15:19 | GMT |
| December | 07:57 | 15:52 | 14:51 | 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 in the Tudor gardens and the Baron's Hall
- The Baron's Hall has a 60-foot arched chestnut ceiling, a stone-tiled floor and a central hearth; after dark, candelabras burn in each of the arched Gothic windows and the fire is lit (wedding brochure).
- The Sunderland Room, on the upper floor and adjoining the Minstrels' Gallery, has part-panelled, part-sandstone walls, mullioned windows and 16th-century portraits.
- The Inner Courtyard has a manicured lawn and climbing roses, framed by the walls of the Baron's Hall and the King's Tower; vows are taken in front of the King's Tower.
- The Nut Garden ceremony takes place under the canopy of cobnut trees, with a central pergola of roses and climbing plants (our venue).
- Each of the eleven gardens within the Tudor gardens has its own character, and much of the layout dates from the reign of Elizabeth I.
- The Buttery, the original bottle store, has 17th-century tapestries and a fire when required, which suits low-light portraits in winter.
From Sir John de Pulteney's hall to the Sidney family home
The brochure says Sir John de Pulteney, a wealthy merchant, chose Penshurst for his country estate, and the original house was completed in 1341 (wedding brochure). The Grade I listed house has been the ancestral home of the Sidney family since 1552; Sir Philip Sidney, the soldier, courtier and poet, was one of the first Sidneys to live there. Penshurst describes itself as a privately owned family home on an estate of nearly 700 years (visitor FAQs).
Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells and the A21
From junction 5 of the M25, follow the A21 to Tonbridge, leave at the Hildenborough exit and follow the brown signs to Penshurst Place. From junction 2A of the M20 and M26, take the A25 towards Sevenoaks and then the A21 to the same exit (wedding brochure). The postcode TN11 8DH finds the wedding entrance on some satnavs. By train, take Charing Cross to Tonbridge and a taxi for the six miles, or travel to Tunbridge Wells or Edenbridge and take bus 231 or 233 to Penshurst, which does not run on Sundays. We travel to Penshurst Place from our Northwood studio; travel is set out in the written quote.
Parking at Penshurst Place for wedding guests
The tariff sheets include use of the private entrance, with "ample, free parking" for you and your guests (summer tariff PDF). Coach access and overnight parking are not published, so ask the banqueting team.
Penshurst Place wedding photography, frequently asked questions
How much does a Penshurst Place wedding cost?
How many guests can Penshurst Place hold for a wedding?
Can you get married outside at Penshurst Place?
Can I bring my own photographer to Penshurst Place?
What time do Penshurst Place weddings finish?
Can we use our own caterer at Penshurst Place?
How do you get to Penshurst Place by train?
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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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