Rose & Frankie | Elmley Nature Reserve, Kent

Rose & Frankie

Elmley Nature Reserve · Isle of Sheppey · Kent

Elmley Nature Reserve · Outdoor Ceremony · Kent

A wild, outdoor wedding on a working nature reserve on the Isle of Sheppey. Big Kent skies, hares in the long grass, a barn with its doors thrown open onto the marsh, and two people so visibly in love with each other and their guests that the day practically photographed itself.

The Morning

Mornings at Elmley have a particular kind of quiet. You arrive down a long farm track, the marshes open up either side, and somewhere a lapwing is calling. Rose was getting ready in one of the converted farm buildings at Kingshill Farm, windows flung open to the sound of birds and bridesmaids. Frankie was on the other side of the yard, sleeves rolled up, already laughing.

Everybody stays on the reserve the night before, which changes the shape of a wedding morning completely. Nobody is driving anywhere, nobody is watching the clock, and the two hours before a ceremony stop being logistics and start being the best part of the day.

The Ceremony

Elmley is one of the only places in Kent where you can be married fully outdoors on a working nature reserve, and Rose and Frankie chose exactly that. Chairs in the open, guests in linen and sun hats, and the kind of view that does not need decorating. Frankie waited at the front with his groomsmen, tried very hard to look composed, and absolutely did not when Rose appeared at the end of the path.

Outdoor ceremonies are unforgiving to photograph in the middle of a bright day — hard light, no walls to bounce anything off, and a hundred guests all in direct sun. You work with the shade you can find, keep the sun behind them where you can, and otherwise let a Kent summer be a Kent summer.

Confetti

Then back down the path through the whole lot of them, and a confetti shower that got thoroughly out of hand in the best way.

Looking for a documentary wedding photographer for your own Elmley or Kent wedding? I travel from Bristol and shoot right across the south east. There are guides to the venues I know best, and a lot more on how I work, below.

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Drinks in the Sunshine

Out into the long grass for drinks. Sheppey put on a perfect Kent afternoon: bright light, a soft breeze coming off the marshes, glasses clinking, children running between the shepherd’s huts, and hugs from grandparents who had travelled a long way for it.

Ten Minutes on the Marsh

Rose and Frankie were clear with me from the start. They did not want to spend their wedding being marched around for photographs. So we slipped away for ten minutes, no more, out onto the edge of the reserve. The marshes were doing exactly the right thing with the light, the long grass moved with the breeze, and neither of them really noticed the camera. These are always the frames I come back to.

Oliver has captured the joy of the day, the messy dancing, the tears, the happiness and we are incredibly grateful. We did not want to spend lots of time away from our guests having portraits taken and Oliver made this possible by keeping everything efficient whilst still getting the shots.

— Rose, Google review

Dinner in the Barn

The barn at Elmley is a proper old timber-framed building with the doors thrown open onto the reserve, long tables running its length and wild flowers down the middle of every one. It is the counterweight to the ceremony — all that open sky in the afternoon, and then a room with a roof on it for the evening.

Rose and Frankie came in to napkins swung overhead and a noise that carried out across the marsh.

The Speeches

Speeches under the rafters. A father of the bride who did not need notes, a best man who absolutely did, and Frankie pulling the whole room together with one of those toasts that makes everyone reach for their drink at the same time. Rose laughed, cried, laughed again. Nobody checked the time.

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The Party

First dance under the string lights, the floor flooded a second later, and then it became the kind of night you photograph almost on instinct. Everything happening at once. Bridesmaids piling onto Rose, Frankie’s mates throwing him in the air, grandparents staying suspiciously late. The barn doors stayed open onto the dark marsh and the music carried out into the reserve.

Sparklers and the Fire Pit

And then outside, into the dark. There is no light pollution out on Sheppey to speak of, which is why sparklers work so well here — the background goes properly black and the only thing in the frame is the two of them and the light they are holding. A fire pit, the last of the drinks, and a marsh full of nothing at all in every direction.

Elmley Nature Reserve Weddings · Common Questions

Where is Elmley Nature Reserve?

Elmley Nature Reserve is on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. The address is Kingshill Farm, Sheerness, Kent ME12 3RW. It is around an hour and a half from London by car and is one of the most unique outdoor wedding venues in the south east.

Can you have an outdoor ceremony at Elmley Nature Reserve?

Yes. Elmley is one of the few Kent wedding venues to offer fully outdoor ceremonies on the reserve itself, with the marshes and big Sheppey skies as your backdrop. Indoor options are also available in the converted barns at Kingshill Farm.

What kind of wedding suits Elmley Nature Reserve?

Elmley suits couples who want something rooted in nature and unstuffy. Think wild flowers, wellies on standby, shepherd’s huts, long evenings outside and a reception that flows out into the landscape. It is a brilliant venue for documentary wedding photography because the day moves naturally rather than to a tight schedule.

Do you photograph weddings at Elmley Nature Reserve?

Yes. I am a documentary wedding photographer covering Elmley Nature Reserve and weddings across Kent, London and the South East. Travel from Bristol is included for most Kent and London bookings.

Rose and Frankie, thank you for letting me document a day that felt so completely yours. Elmley, you remain one of the most beautiful places in the country to get married.

If you are still choosing where to hold your own day, there are full guides to the wedding venues I know best, and more of my London and south east wedding photography to look through.

Venue: Elmley Nature Reserve, Kingshill Farm, Sheerness, Kent ME12 3RW
Photography: Oliver Holder

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