I was so excited when Sophia and Oli got in touch about their relaxed wedding in the woods at Kingdom in Penshurst as it sounded like they had such a relaxed and fun day planned, and wow it did not disappoint! When I googled Kingdom in Penshurst it looked like such a unique place with the most beautiful backdrops and views over the Kent countryside. It’s also home to the largest living tree in the British Isles called the Seven Sisters, where you have your wedding ceremony at the foot of this gorgeous tree surrounded by nature.
Sophia got ready at a hotel in Tunbridge Wells with her family and friends while Oli got ready a few streets up in a different hotel. Because they were quite close together I did manage to pop along to see both of them which was lovely. I really loved the moment between Sophia and her Dad when he saw her in her dress for the first time, it was really special and emotional. I headed off with a bit of time to spare so I could get to Kingdom and grab a few shots of guests arriving and get settled in ready for the ceremony.
Stunning woodland backdrop
As I mentioned earlier, the ceremony area nestled within the woodland was such a stunning backdrop. I also love that you could actually go up into the tree to sign the register in the little nook inside. Oli waited for Sophia nervously and when she came up the aisle his reaction was so wonderful. He looked so happy to see her and it was such a beautiful entrance. It really felt like such a special ceremony and the angles from the front as well as the back were all beautiful. They chose to have their confetti thrown as they walked back down the aisle, which is always a lovely and natural way to do it.
Hugs and Hellos
Afterwards we headed up onto the roof of Kingdom to have drinks, hugs and hellos. All while looking out at the rolling hills. It was so cool to be up on the roof and surrounded by all the trees. It truly made it a relaxed wedding in the woods. We took some group photos down on the bottom level with Kingdom in the background. I quite liked the rustic wood backdrop for these shots. Sophia and her bridesmaids also looked stunning and I loved the blue colour they were wearing. Along with the beautiful flowers by Connie Vera Flowers. I loved the mix of yellow in there to compliment the blue!
Important time alone on your wedding day
While their guests got seated for dinner, we went for a short stroll around Kingdom. They had also bought some space hoppers for the garden but of course it was only fair that they got to test them out first! The main room at Kingdom looked lovely, so warm and rustic and cosy! It’s such a beautiful room. There were lots of lights and the pops of colour from the flowers against the wooden backdrop was so pretty. The cake by Glorious Little Cakes looked absolutely gorgeous. And it was at the top of a tower of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Such a dream!
Speeches and Spinning
After dinner and some absolutely brilliant speeches, everyone headed outside for another drink and some mingling. With it getting dark there were campfires lit and festoon lights coming on out in the courtyard. And the food truck on site being fired up for some more food for this relaxed wedding in the woods .
It was then time for Sophia and Oli’s first dance and to kick off the party. It was a really really fun one as they had the awesome Mint DJs providing the evening entertainment. I’ve worked with these guys a handful of times now and they’re great. They also had a sax player on the dancefloor too which was such a vibe! Love love love sax players at weddings. Then it was time for a crispy bacon roll before heading home – perfect way to end the night! Thank you so much to Sophia and Oli for asking me to capture their wedding at Kingdom in Penshurst!
If you loved this relaxed wedding style then I have some more blogs you might like to read.
