Hever Castle’s history is rich and varied and spans more than 700 years. Originally built as the first medieval defensive castle in 1270, with a gatehouse and walled bailey, it subsequently became home to one of the most powerful families in the country in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Boleyns.
The castle was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII’s second wife, who became Queen of England for just 1,000 days. It was Henry’s love for Anne and her insistence that she became his wife rather than his mistress that led to the King renouncing Catholicism and creating the Church of England. Later the home passed into the ownership of another of Henry VIII’s wives, Anne of Cleves, and from 1557 onwards it was owned by a number of families including the Waldegraves, the Humphreys and the Meade Waldos.
As a wedding venue Hever Castle is one of the best you could hope for and I’m lucky enough to have been there many time over the years, as a young lad, as an adult competing in the Hever Castle Triathlon, but most recently for three fabulous weddings and two equally fabulous pre-wedding shoots. With several locations for inside and outside ceremonies this has to be one of my favourite wedding venues in Kent, and quite frankly anywhere. It’s not just the location that’s great, it’s the attentiveness of the staff and their willingness to assist with the couple portrait sessions too and this sets them apart from the rest
My first photographic experience at the castle was for a swift pre-wedding shoot with Lauren and Christian, as seen below, and from that moment onwards I was hooked! The variety of locations is mind-blowing and the views throughout the estate are breathtaking and combine that with a cool couple is awesome. The gardens have so much colour to work with and the architecture is second to none. The weather for the pre-wedding shoot was hot and sunny, whereas the wedding was wet and cold, however it just doesn’t matter at Hever because there’s always somewhere to work comfortably. To see what you can expect from your Hever Castle wedding please feel free to browse the posts linked below. I’d love to help you realise the full potential of your wedding at Hever Castle, so please contact me to check availability.
Lauren and Christian’s gorgeous wedding ceremony in Hever Castle’s Italian Loggia and reception in the Guthrie Pavilion. Please feel free to check out Lauren and Christian’s Hever Castle wedding.
Michael and Cherry’s lovely summer wedding in the Astor Wing. Please feel free to check out Michael and Cherry’s Hever Castle wedding.
Morgan and Ryan’s amazing engagement shoot at golden hour – Please do check out their Hever Castle golden hour engagement shoot
Jessie and Martin’s lavish and beautiful wedding ceremony and reception in Hever Castle’s Astor Wing. Please feel free to check out Jessie and Martin’s Hever Castle wedding.
Lauren and Christian’s pre-wedding shoot – Please feel free to browse their pre-wedding shoot at Hever Castle
Please feel free to take a look at this wonderful evening Hever Castle engagement party and traditional ceremony.
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