It’s ok to share a Christmas wedding in May, right? We’re about to fill your screens with oodles of sparkly joy from Georgia & Sean’s romantic Christmas wedding in Kent. The lovely pair were wed in December. Their wedding was elegant and romantic with natural styling touches. This one’s been sent in by our friends at The Ferry House. All of the fabulous images are by Chris Blackledge Photography. (As always, there’ll be more of our top favourites on instagram – @englishweddingblog)
“Working with Sean & Georgia was a pleasure. They chose an elegant look with heaps of fairylights and candlelight. We balanced the soft pink table cloths and napkins with a mix of candle or floral table centres. Under the canopy of fairy lights and foliage garlands felt intimate and inviting for their guests. Finished with green votives and the cutest crackers that Georgia sourced, the final look was romantic, elegant and stylish. Setting the tone for their beautiful wedding which Chris Blackledge captured perfectly.” ~ The Ferry House
Photographer – Chris Blackledge Photography
Venue – The Ferry House
Dress – Isabella Grace Bridal in Tunbridge Wells
Suit – Hawes and Curtis
Groomsmen suits – Slaters
Hire & styling – Idyllic & Co
Hair – Bridal Hair by Suzy
Make up – Helen Lee MUA
Flowers – The Flower Company
Our wedding photographer: Chris Blackledge Photography
Chris is an amazing photographer. It was important for us to find someone that had worked at the venue before and Chris is a recommended supplier at The Ferry House. He is very friendly and was always on hand to answer any questions during the lead up to our wedding. On the day he made both Sean & I feel so at ease when being in front of a camera seemed a little daunting.
We are so happy with the photos and Chris captured the Christmas feel of our wedding perfectly. We couldn’t recommend Chris highly enough.
The venue: The Ferry House
We always knew we wanted a winter wedding, we loved the idea of combining a Christmas celebration with our special day. However, finding a venue with enough indoor space proved more difficult than we thought! I came across The Ferry House on Instagram. I loved the fact that they had three separate large indoor areas for the ceremony, drinks reception and meal/evening reception.
We fell in love with the venue on our first visit. The bar area felt so warm and inviting with the fireplaces. The barn for the ceremony is rustic and looks beautiful without having to add anything to it. The event suite was big enough to seat all our guests and provided a blank space for us to make it everything we wanted & more with the help of Sophie at Idyllic.
The staff at the Ferry House are incredible. We had a number of face-to-face meetings during the build-up and the regular communications always made sure we were on track with the planning process. On the day we had a dedicated member of staff, Maxine, who could not have done enough to make sure everything ran smoothly. The bar stuff were great, they even had a special Christmas cocktail menu which our guests loved! The food was incredible and so many people have complimented us on everything they ate throughout the day. The Ferry House is fantastic, we are so lucky that we got to have our wedding at such an amazing venue.
A special review for Idyllic & Co
We were so happy with everything you did for our wedding. The venue looked better than we ever could have imagined and we really appreciated all the hard work you put in, especially coming the day before to set everything up! It was just so lovely knowing that we didn’t need to worry about anything and we trusted that you knew the exact vibe we were wanting and you completely nailed it!
The Ferry House, a much-loved barn wedding venue in Kent, has revealed the first artist impressions of its soon-to-be ‘Spring Barn’ – a new ceremony and reception space opening in April 2026.
An artist’s impression of the new Spring Barn, coming to The Ferry House in April 2026
The Ferry House is set in the beautiful waterside hamlet of Harty, on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. Owned by local farming family, the Burdens, since 2000, the team has invested decades of wedding experience into designing the ideal, purpose-built space for wedding celebrations.
“We’re so excited to share this first look at Spring Barn with our couples,” says Victoria Burden, co-owner of The Ferry House. “We’ve designed it to feel timeless – in keeping with The Ferry House’s 16th century origins, yet with a modern edge.”
The exterior artist impressions reveal large windows and bi-folding glass doors that open to sweeping estuary views, filling the barn with natural light and creating a seamless flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces. Inside, exposed oak beams, textured brickwork, a polished concrete floor and soft, neutral tones will give the space a warm, rustic and refined simplicity – a perfect backdrop for couples to inject their own style.
Every detail has been meticulously planned with weddings in mind. “Spring Barn will have a ‘hammerbeam’ oak frame, which is a rare design due to its complex structure, with no vertical columns obstructing guests’ views”. The barn will also feature lounge-style seating, a dance floor and a large bar all in the room. This was really important to us in our design, because it keeps our wedding parties together, whether guests want to be up dancing, socialising or relaxing. They’ll never feel detached from the atmosphere.”
Spring Barn will be the venue’s third and largest ceremony space, hosting 130–260 guests for ceremonies and wedding breakfasts, and up to 350 for evening parties. For smaller, more intimate celebrations, the Hop Barn and waterside Oak Gazebo remain beautiful options, with the flexibility to host ceremonies for 10-130 guests.
As part of the venue’s transformation, Spring Barn will be accompanied by a new courtyard lounge. This will join the venue’s existing waterside terraces, landscaped rose garden, two readying rooms and 16th century bar, complete with Kentish hops and cosy fires.
Also new for 2026 are reborn wedding menus, crafted from the Burden’s homegrown, family-farmed and Harty estate produce, alongside quality Kentish ingredients. Guests can enjoy their Kitchen Garden-inspired cocktails and mocktails, and a carefully curated selection of Kent wines, beers, soft drinks and spirits, including those made from the Burden farm grains by the Copper Rivet Distillery in nearby Chatham.
With accommodation for up to 75 guests across stylish guest rooms and farm cottages, couples can extend their celebrations with multi-day wedding packages – perfect for night-before celebration dinners, farewell brunches, or simply making the most of time together.
Despite offering exclusive-hire as standard from 2026, couples will still be able to revisit and create new memories, with The Ferry House continuing to host select dining, stays and personal celebrations.
Work on Spring Barn begins in October 2025 with The Ferry House remaining open daily for restaurant dining and stays throughout.
Couples planning a 2026 or 2027 wedding can now view the new artist impressions and explore the latest development news on The Ferry House website. Personal viewings and wedding showcases are also available for those wanting to picture their day in person and meet the experienced wedding team.
Header image by Chris Blackledge Photography
It all goes by in a blur: the day of your wedding can be a whirlwind of people and emotions. One thing I hear again and again is advice to make time to pause, to take it all in. The phenomenon of the wedding whirlwind is one reason couples are looking to extend their celebrations. The Ferry House in Kent have come up with the perfect two-day wedding package so you can enjoy a relaxed couple of days with all of your guests.
Take the pressure off a little. Plan a wedding where everyone arrives to stay in charming cottages the day before. Mocketts Farm Cottages have space for 53 guests and are close to The Ferry House – but not close enough to spoil the surprise of your big day!
You’ll have a chance to say hello to everyone and share the excitement and build up to the big day. This takes a little of the wedding day nerves away for both of you.
Relaxed dining options for guests at Mocketts Farm Cottages include a grazing table or tray bakes, delivered to your cottage.
The morning after, look forward to a breakfast delivery of bacon or sub rolls, pastries, fruit and juices at your cottage as your wedding prep gets underway!
If you’re having a smaller wedding, or a relaxed and informal day, you can still make the most of The Ferry House’s two day wedding packages. We love this place because they really are flexible and welcome all couples. You can even book a twilight wedding package here, and invite your guests to stay over.
On the night of your wedding, guests can either return to Mocketts Farm Cottages or book one of eleven individually styled rooms at The Ferry House itself. As the newlyweds you’ll get a choice of honeymoon suite – and it’s complimentary! In the morning, The Ferry House will lay on a buffet breakfast so you can share your stories of all the best bits from your big day – and the moments you missed! – with your nearest and dearest.
It’s becoming common for venues to offer weekend wedding packages but at The Ferry House your two day celebration can be held any day of the week (subject to availability). And if you’d rather spend longer with your guests after the big day you can skip the pre-wedding day celebrations and opt for a laid-back grazing table for lunch the day after your wedding. Perfect!
Contact The Ferry House for more information on their two-day wedding packages.
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.
This wedding is an absolute beauty!!! Faye & Dean styled their day with a fantasy book theme (I’d be on the Rain Wilds table, which I love!) The gorgeous pair got wed at The Ferry House, one of our favourite Kent wedding venues. Danny Jack was their photographer. The images are out of this world, and Danny gets a glowing review from Faye & Dean below!
Wedding photographer’s website
Danny Jack https://dannyjackphotography.co.uk
Wedding photographer review
Danny was amazing. Having never had any professional photography done before we were both a bit wary about finding the right person to take the best possible photographs without it feeling too forced or posed. Danny was very easy going and fit in immediately – we shared several geeky interests and he was exceptionally easy to talk to. His natural and ‘in the moment’ photography style fit our wedding perfectly – allowing for an excellent mix of natural pictures and epic shots, without taking up too much time away from the party! He was able to capture all the magic moments – including an impromptu dancefloor cart-wheel from the groom! We would recommend Danny to everyone.
Your best moment or memory
There’s just so many, but if we had to pick one; the last dance of the night holds a special place for us; surrounded by all our closest friends and family (that had survived to the end!) whilst we danced as a couple at the center of the circle, allowing us to appreciate and soak up the final moments of the wedding evening.
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
We did not have any speeches – we felt that it would add unnecessary pressure to family members that were not confident public speakers which in turn, would affect their enjoyment and ability to relax. We also wanted a relaxed vibe, and we felt speeches too formal for us. We also took great delight at sneaking in as many geeky references as we could in the wedding, with varying levels of subtleness! Ranging from the barely visible ATLA runes on the invitations, to the D20 jelly wedding favours.
Venue name + review
The Ferry House. Absolutely perfect! We viewed the Ferry House Inn as our ‘wildcard’ venue as part of their wedding showcase and instantly fell in love.
The outdoor ceremony option of the gazebo was divine – surrounded by greenery and a lovely view of the water – it was exactly what we wanted. The gazebo option for the reception allowed us ample space for our guests – and the excellent quirk of hiding the dancefloor behind a screen until the evening reveal, was joyous! The wedding coordinators were incredibly helpful and made the whole process smooth and stress-free. Not to mention the food was sublime!
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
After seeing a green suit at the wedding EXPO in London we were surprised at how much we both loved the colour and thus began the hunt for a green suit, not nearly as popular as its blue or black counterparts. We finally found a friend in Edit Suits that allows for a custom design suit to be made – including several choices of material, pockets, colour and linings. After trying on several dresses – Faye chose the first dress she had tried on in the first shop: Bell’amore To fit with the rustic/relaxed/fantasy vibe Faye opted for a lace dress with floral patterns that had detachable sleeves(!).
Florist name + review
For our wedding we used Idyllic and Co. wedding designers who arranged and designed many aspects of our wedding – including the sourcing the flowers/florist (which ended up lovely!).
Cake maker name + review
Ericakes : https://www.ericakes.co.uk/
When searching for wedding cakes we knew we had found our cake maker when Faye saw Erica’s ‘Alice in Wonderland cake’ – the detailing and patterns were beautiful. Wanting something similar but a reflection of both Faye’s chaotic side and Dean’s ‘neater’ aesthetic, we met with Erica to discuss ideas and how we could tie in our fantasy/book theme. Erica came up with the brilliant idea of having a book page curled around one of the layers and it looked perfect. To add to this the cake flavours were varied and delicious. We were spoilt for choice! Would 100% recommend – we received many comments on how great the cake tasted and looked.
Stationery maker’s name + review
In the process of designing the table plan – Sophie (Idyllic and Co) recommended the work of LyndaLoves to do the stationery for the the seating places and table names. The colour choices worked perfectly with the table plan and, to ensure we were happy , samples were sent to us before a final decision was made. The calligraphy was beautiful!
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
We opted for sweets as our wedding favours and to hold them we purchased small white boxes and tied gold ribbon around them. However, looking a bit plain – we decided to tie them into our book theme by (spending many hours) making origami flowers from the pages of the book ‘The adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ which then perched upon the top of the boxes.
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
A serene cover by Romy Wave of ‘Something Just Like This’ by Coldplay.
Wedding planner name + review
The Ferry House Inn Wedding Co-ordinators were friendly and very prompt to reply to any emails we sent. It was obvious this was something they excelled in, as every step was planned and organised – allowing for very little stress on our part. Meetings and checklists ensured nothing was missed and all aspects were covered.
We met several co-ordinators throughout our wedding planning process and every single one was a joy to meet and put us at ease. We would highly recommend them. The Ferry House works closely with Idyllic&Co who often decorate the venue on showcase days. This is where we first met Idyllic&Co’s Sophie after she had put together a stunning Autumnal display.
We very quickly decided on hiring Idyllic&Co for our day, and we had several meetings to discuss wedding colours, themes and options that had not even crossed our minds! So much was covered, for example, having a central family table instead of a top table (which was a stroke of genius as no one was able to see the father-of-the-bride spill wine down the bride’s dress – thankfully white wine!), or using a board of books as a table plan to fully bind the theme.
Sophie took our small ideas and changed them to a spectacular vision! The combined efforts of the Ferry House wedding co-ordinators and Idyllic&Co. was a dream team – it allowed for a very smooth and enjoyable lead up to the wedding with minimal stress – on our part. We cannot thank them enough!
We would also like to mention, The Ferry House DJ Carl who ensured the dancefloor was never empty!
Hair + makeup name + review
Hair: Suzy https://www.bridalhairbysuzy.co.uk/
Suzy was simply an amazing hair stylist. Faye is not someone who typically spends a lot of time on her hair and so did not have much of a vision in mind. Once an enquiry was made Suzy took the time to call and discuss options prior to booking and meeting at her studio for a trial day.
Suzy had a great depth of knowledge and was able to offer great insight and ideas to a bride that knew very little about hair styling. On the day Suzy was a life-saver! Being summer a couple of pesky wasps had managed to find their way into the getting ready room – as well as being a superb hair stylist she is also a wasp-whisperer and managed to coax the wasps out of the room – saving the bridesmaids who may or may not have been cowering sightly in the corner…
Despite having fine hair that does not hold a curl well – the hair style lasted all day and survived long hours of dancing! I am very grateful to Suzy for her vision and expert styling!
Make-up: Clare Lake https://www.clarelakemakeupartist.co.uk/ Clare has a very happy attitude and is an expert in her field. She knew instantly what would or wouldn’t complement the dress and bridal style which was perfect for a bride that was not sure what would work and had never worn false lashes.
The trial was relaxed and amazingly fun, discussing several styles and brands. Clare was able to put together a look for the bride, bridesmaids, and mother of the bride that suited everyone perfectly! Providing exceptionally useful hints and tips about the day in general. The makeup lasted all day and night, and the bridesmaids and bride felt incredible.
