Outdoor Weddings
Naturally, pretty outdoor weddings or blessings surrounded by nature for up to 150 in the romantic Wild Apple Orchard.
Exciting News!
The Glass Courtyard is coming 2025
As you know, we are always striving to enhance our venue to create the most magical setting for your wedding day, event or restaurant visit.
We are thrilled to share some very exciting news with you – our brand new Glass Courtyard has just received planning permission!
The Wild Apple Orchard, adjacent to the gorgeous Chapel House Arts & Crafts Style Garden, creates a beautiful, peaceful outdoor space for your wedding ceremony or blessing.
The Wild Apple Orchard Garden is available for outdoor weddings licensed during British Summer Time.
Or why not book a summer midweek Twilight Wedding for nuptials under the moon, stars, and fruit trees?
There are many wedding venues in Kent that have beautiful outdoor ceremony spaces. However, Chapel House Estate provides you with a uniquely gorgeous, breathtaking rustic Wild Apple Orchard licenced for your civil wedding, blessing, renewal of vows, or special celebrations. Due to its inherent natural beauty, the Orchard doesn’t need a ton of extra decor because it’s already a gorgeous setting with a laid-back vibe.
If you’re seeking a quintessentially Kent Wedding Venue, look no further than the Apple Orchard at Chapel House Estate. We celebrate the beauty of nature and offer you the best of the outdoors, set against the backdrop of this beautiful county, traditionally known for its apple-growing. Chapel House Estate truly encapsulates the essence of Kent County.
For centuries, orchards have played an important role in communities, providing a focal point to lay down on a warm summer’s day, a natural gathering space, and a place where people and nature successfully gather abundant harvests. They provided fresh fruit long before the time of air miles.
How to style the Wild Apple Orchard?
Being an outdoor space, if you want to walk down the outdoor aisle in your favourite shoes, you can style your aisle with traditional runners or rented vintage rugs.
The purpose-built, hand-crafted oak-framed pavilion is located at the far end of the stunning native heritage apple tree orchard, with views across the third paddock, where the helicopter pad is located.
It can be adorned with flowers, or you can use free-standing urns, which can be easily moved into the Old Malt Granary converted Rustic Barn if you need a weather plan.
The wooden folding chairs are usually set in rows of twelve or six on either side of your aisle.
These can be tied with ribbons, or extra large ‘buttonholes’ can be hand-tied onto the aisle ends.
Be inspired by all things orchard
With such a calming, relaxed air, consider extending the orchard theme by opting for a bridal bouquet or buttonhole of seasonal cut flowers, introducing apple blossom in the spring or apples and berries in the autumn.
Wild meadow grasses and wildflowers soften and blur the edges throughout the summer months, and in the autumn, once the meadow has been cut back, as the apple tree leaves change colours and the fruit ripens, the orchard takes on an earthy, rustic, rusty golden sunset colour perfect for those autumnal golden hour photos.
What does Chapel House Estate do with all of the ripened apples?
Good news for you apple connoisseurs or just the foodies amongst us: book your autumn table early for one of the busiest times in our No 9 Restaurant diary (mid-October to late November as the days get shorter), when the chef and the team get creative with the best-selected apples, and make the most of the deliciously sun-ripped, natural sugar-filled crop. But don’t worry. We are conscious of not wanting heritage fruit to go to waste. Still, we always leave some of the bumper fallen fruit for the foraging wildlife, including woodpeckers, bullfinch, redwings in numbers, field fairs, wood pigeons, and wild rusty red foxes!
We are so very proud custodians of this gorgeous orchard. We sensitively manage this garden-scale orchard and can’t wait to see you and your guests enjoying the shade, beauty, fruit, and natural space. And as the sun sets, why not dip into a ‘wheelbarrow’ of cider and raise a glass to toast your future with friends and family?
This beautiful, timeless orchard on the 35-acre Estate sets the tone for a relaxed, quintessentially English wedding day. Whether blossom-laden in the spring or heavy with fruit in the autumn, Chapel House Estate is your perfect outdoor setting for your “I do’s.”
Frequently Asked Questions
There are two exclusive-use areas on the estate:
The Walled Courtyard and Thorne Barn are for larger weddings.
The Walled Courtyard, Lounge Bar, and No 9 Restaurant are perfect for smaller.
However, you can take full exclusivity for both areas on the day.
Yes, we are licenced to conduct civil marriages and civil partnerships.
If you book us for your civil marriage or partnership, we will reserve your date and time with Kent County Council under the East Kent Ceremonies team in Ramsgate. They will then contact you directly with the next steps.
Yes. We have an experienced, knowledgeable, and supportive wedding and events team.
The team currently includes three Wedding and Event Coordinators, a Bar Manager, a Restaurant Manager, a Head Chef, and their respective teams, plus an Estate Manager.
Yes, you will have your assigned wedding coordinator on the day.
Suppliers can arrive at 08:00 to start setting up for your wedding.
We can ask that all suppliers’ equipment be collected on the night of your wedding or between 08:00 and 09:30 the next day.
The estate opens at 08:00.
This includes our beauty lodge, which is perfect for one partner to get ready in. We also have our chapel cottage on the edge of the estate, which can be booked for the night before the wedding.
Book a late checkout with us; it’s another great space to get ready.
Yes, you are allowed biodegradable confetti and cannons.
Non-biodegradable confetti will not be allowed. If used, clean-up fees will be charged.
We are sorry, but we cannot allow fireworks displays.
However, indoor fireworks are permitted if you have a larger Thorne Barn Wedding, and sparklers are always welcome.
If you have booked an outdoor wedding and it rains, we will move you into our indoor ceremony area.
The converted Old Malt Granary provides the perfect indoor ceremony space and seats up to 150 guests, giving you a stress-free wet weather contingency.
Finish times for all events at Chapel House Estate, Sunday through to Thursday inclusive, are as follows:
23:00 = Last Orders Called
23:45 = Music to finish and Bar to close.
00:00 = Premises are to be vacated.
Finish times for all events on Fridays and Saturdays are
00:00 = Last Orders are called
00:15 = Music to finish and bar to close.
00:30 = Premises to be vacated by all guest
Yes, we have a Luxury Honeymoon Suite with a private terrace overlooking the Arts & Crafts-style garden in the 12th-century Chapel House.
We are not prescriptive about which suppliers you use; we are happy for you to bring your own.
However, we have a list of our most loved and recommended wedding suppliers on our website, which is password-protected and available to all booked couples.
Thorne Barn has a microphone, and you can use the sound system for your background music (via Spotify).
Old Malt Granary has a corded, hanging microphone and a sound system for your background music (via Spotify).
You can definitely book a band for your wedding. We do not have a sound limiter, but we do monitor the sound levels.
Noise exposure levels must be within the maximum, which is called ‘Exposure Limit Values’. Our limit is 95dB. When a performer reaches this level, the music is not cut off, but we will verbally ask musicians to reduce their noise level if they are reached.
However, please note we will turn off the equipment at the source if the performer refuses to reduce their noise level. If your noise level exceeds 95dB, your guests will notice and tell us that the music is too loud.
We always include VAT at the current rate of 20% on your quote spreadsheet and Sonas transactions.
We offer bespoke and wedding packages like Twilight packages, depending on your needs and wants.
We provide napkins in four colours: White, grey, oatmeal and sage green.
Glassware, plates and cutlery are provided for your meal.
You can hold a date for ten working days or 14 days.
After this, if you choose not to book, please email us, ideally with your reasons, and we will take your date off hold.
Wedding Guests
If you are staying on-site as an event guest, check-in time is strictly from 12:00 noon. We can not offer early check-in.
For a Twilight Wedding, check-in is at 15:00.
Children are warmly welcomed at Chapel House Estate.
We provide four high chairs strictly for babies aged six months and older. Additionally, we offer a specialised menu for children.
We can also arrange for additional beds in certain rooms or Hideaway Lodges, children are charged extra.
We require children to be supervised at all times.
Yes, we are more than pet-friendly and welcome pets to be a part of your special day. We request that guests do not leave their pets unattended and clean up after them.
We have a spacious 80-space car park for wedding guests and several electric charging points. Upon reaching Thorne Hill, look for signs directing you to Chapel House Estate guest entrance on the right. Once you pass through the gated entrance, you will find the large car park on the right.
You can find detailed directions on our Contact Us page.
Yes, guests are very welcome to leave their cars overnight.
Cars must be collected by 12:00 the following day. Please be aware that vehicles are left at your own risk.
Taxis will drop you off in the Chapel House Estate guest car park, the same as the pick-up.
Once the taxi has turned into Thorne Hill, it needs to follow the signs for the Chapel House Estate guest car park.
