Garden weddings are perfect for relaxed couples and can have a boho, festival or garden party vibe. Whether you are combining a Town Hall wedding or religious ceremony with a garden reception – or opting for a civil or celebrant-led ceremony in a garden, here are my top tips for garden wedding planning. 

Garden wedding planning

Garden wedding planning depends on several things:

• Rules about ceremonies – in England civil weddings need to be in a licenced venue. The rules used to mean you needed to be under a structure like a pergola, but it has changed and now you only need to be within the boundary of a licenced venue – opening up lots more options for outdoor ceremonies in licenced wedding venues. In Scotland you can get legally married outdoors wherever you like, but if you get the legalities out of the way and opt for a celebrant-led ceremony then you can do that wherever you like in England too. 
• The weather – it’s the UK… so you always need a wet weather back up plan! That might be a marquee or tipi, an indoor space, many umbrellas or the flexibility to change your timings to wait for a break in the rain. And remember to plan for sunshine too – umbrellas and marquees can double up to provide shade – putting sunscreen out for your guests can be helpful for those surprisingly hot days! 
• Daylight – daylight hours change a lot here depending on the time of year – so be sure to google to check the sunset time at your location on your wedding date. Garden wedding parties can continue late into the night as long as you have enough lights (fairy-lights, lanterns, candles in jam jars) and warmth (blankets, firepits or outdoor heaters). 

Garden wedding venues

The venue you’ll choose will depend if you’re looking for a garden wedding ceremony or a garden reception. The links below will show you weddings at some of my favourite English garden wedding venues:

• The Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire – a beautiful walled garden means you will be sheltered from the wind and it can be a real sun trap in the summer. 
• Fennes – this country house has a pretty white gazebo, an arching bridge and plenty of space for a larger garden ceremony. 
• Nurstead Court – this gorgeous venue has pretty grounds where you can set up tables for a garden party wedding reception. 
• Beacon House – while the seaside location may be the main draw, this pretty beach house has a lovely garden for an outdoor ceremony with a blue sea backdrop. 
• Ditton Manor – this manor house has a large lawn perfect for garden games, and the grounds stretch down to the river for romantic riverside photos. 

And London has beautiful garden wedding venues too – my favourites are: 

• Kew Gardens – weddings in botanical gardens are so special and while I’ve photographed at the New York Botanical Garden, Kew is still on my wedding venue wish list. There are a range of conservatories, cottages, orangeries and ever a little palace set within the gardens where you can have your wedding ceremony.

• Barbican Conservatory – so I know this is technically indoors, but the tropical jungle in the iconic Brutalist building is a true urban jungle and is licenced to host wedding ceremonies. 

• Petersham Nurseries– a mix of greenhouses, flowers and antiques this quirky spot is handy for celebrating after a Richmond civil or church ceremony – and is now licenced for garden wedding ceremonies too. 

• Chelsea Physic Garden – a walled garden perfect for a garden reception after a ceremony at the Chelsea Old Town Hall.

You can see photos & read more about these London garden wedding venues here. And of course if you’re lucky enough to have a gorgeous garden of your own for your wedding, then you’ll be able to set it up exactly as you please. 

Garden wedding photos

Gardens offer so many beautiful options for wedding photos – whether it’s a simple walk through the garden, finding the perfect frame using trees or hedges, a picnic blanket for relaxed seated portraits or finding blossoms & flowers for beautiful backdrops. Consider the season – gardens change a lot through the year so if you have your heart set on blossom or blooms be sure to check their typical timings. But even in winter garden weddings can make for magical photos – just be sure to wrap up warm! 

If you’re garden wedding planning, I’d love to hear more about your plans and arrange a time to chat about how I can photograph your day – please send me a message.