I’m so excited to share this with you all! As regular readers will be well aware, The Ferry House wedding venue in Kent is a member of English Wedding and listed in our wedding supplier directory. They reached out to one of their favourite wedding suppliers, Chris Blackledge Photography, to ask him all about their venue! It’s a brilliant read – and wonderful to learn about a place from the perspective of a wedding photographer. (Of course we’ve got some amazing photos from Chris to share with you too!)

Chris shot his first wedding at the Ferry House back in 2016 and the next was in 2017. He says, “from that point on I have had an amazing relationship with the team there. I remember being invited along to a attend a wedding showcase at the Ferry House in 2018 and my diary quite simply filled up with bookings from their couples, from then on I have loved every wedding I have been lucky enough to shoot there.”

What’s your favourite thing about The Ferry House?

Easy…..the team. I am very lucky to have shot weddings all over the country at some very amazing venues, but it is always a treat to get back to the Ferry House for another amazing day, that is for a large number of reasons but the team are what make this venue so special. A kind hearted family vibe across the board from the Weddings team through to the kitchen staff, front of house team, gardeners and everyone else. They welcome you with open arms and make any external vendors working experience an absolute joy……you’re made to feel like part of the team for the day.

What’s your favourite photo spot at the venue?

Something that is truly amazing about the Ferry House is the huge variety of photo spots, its difficult to pick one. The orchard is wonderful when the grass is long and the trees are full, the flower arch is always a winner when in bloom (definitely satisfies my need for symmetry in my imagery), it is easy to say a walk down to the estuary is the best spot for images so I have to mention it. The inside is as amazing as the outside so must be mentioned! Poor weather does not matter a jot when you have the rustic country pub vibe, window lit for some awesome indoor couples portraits 🙂

What’s your all time favourite image you’ve captured at The Ferry House?

OMG, probably an impossible one to answer! I could literally pick hundreds of moments that have put a smile on my face. I would have to pick a documentary moment over a posed portrait as that is my thing, that is what gives me the greatly pleasure to capture.

Let’s go with this….a moment from June 2023 when Joe married Jess. They chose to have their ceremony in the barn despite the weather being amazing, this made me happy as I LOVE the barn, the low light levels fits my style and elevates the feeling of real life because of it. The procession music started and Joe turned to see his daughter coming down the aisle towards him, he quickly turned back round to his brother/best man standing next to him with an expression on his face that spoke a thousand words. It was true emotion, a look of true love in a true moment and showed true vulnerability…..Joe’s brother put his hand on his shoulder for assurance and the word true was tattooed on his hand. Pictures like this, that tell stories like that, are what make me smile.

Is there anything you’d love to try at The Ferry House, that you haven’t before?

Having shot a huge number of weddings at the Ferry House I kind of have a style of image collection down to an art……however, that is always the challenge, how can I offer something new and fresh year after year. This year the challenge to myself is to utilise the pub area more when doing couples portraits. Every time I see the space I have ideas on what would look new and awesome. When the day and vibe feels right I will be jumping on that opportunity to test out my ideas.

What one tip would you give to couples who’ve booked The Ferry House for their wedding?

Take the advice of the weddings team, they are awesome, they know what they’re doing, and your day is in very safe hands. From a pictures perspective, again, take the advice of your photographer. Your photos should reflect the fun and enjoyment had on the day, your photographer should be able to advise and guide on what works great, what looks awesome and how to get the best pics from the day.

 

A little about Kent wedding photographer Chris Blackledge

How long have you been photographing weddings?

14 wonderful years.

What’s your favourite thing about being a wedding photographer?

Where on earth can I begin with this….On a professional and artistic level, I get to fulfil a life long dream to work in the creation of artistic material. I get to tell stories of the days in the lives of amazing people at the very best time in their lives. For a living I am invited to parties to celebrate happiness.

My love of photography started from my love of films, photographing weddings is a very close match to being a film maker as I get to tell very awesome stories.