The Oak Barn Frame Farm Wedding Photographer

A Hot Summers Day Wedding at The Oak Barn - August 2022

---

The Bride, Naomi getting down on the dance floor at The Oak Barn

---

Soon after the wedding my clients receive a sneak peek selection of photographs to see. I know how exciting it is to get your main gallery sent through so it’s lovely to be able to send an initial selection over.

It was about 34 degrees when I arrived at The Tickled Trout in Maidstone, Kent to see Sam and his ushers before heading off to see Naomi, his bride to be. The boys were in good spirits and all ready for the day ahead. Some were a little delicate, two were nervous and the rest were full of banter.

---

Their Ceremony was held at their local Church, All Saints, West Farleigh.

“All Saints is a small Norman church, built around 1100 AD and situated in a beautiful open position near the river. It has several architectural features such as two tufa arches thought to have been removed from a nearby Roman settlement….”

Naomi & Sam’s wedding at The oak Barn, Frame Farm was so much fun to work at and it makes my job an absolute joy to do when you have a friendly group of people. The couple were so relaxed on the day and they seemed to enjoy every minute which is what it is all about.

So when the first dance started it wasn’t long before the party was in full swing!

---

Deana & Tim started their vision to make Frame Farm into a wedding venue in September 2017 and it took 16 months to make it a reality. It is nestled in a peaceful valley below the village of Benenden. The grade 2 listed barns provide a stunning setting for weddings, parties, events and holiday lets with every convenience for private or corporate clients alike.

Deana, Tim and their team at The Oak Barn really make everyone feel welcome and it is a venue that you should consider for your wedding - for more information visit their website HERE.

Ceremony: All Saints Church

Venue: The Oak Barn, Frame Farm

County: Kent

Suppliers - Instagram:

Photography: @mattrockprophoto

Venue: @theoakbarnff

Make up: @gemmatutt_mua

Hair: @laurensimpsonhair

Suits: @slatermenswear

Rings: @goldsmiths

Flowers: @wanderlust_floristry

Music: @entertainmentnationuk - Krazykeys

You can see my other blog from The Oak BarN - HERE

---

Tudor Barn Wedding Photographer - Matt Rock

Wedding Photography at The Tudor Barn, Eltham, London.

“The Last remaining Tudor Barn in London”

— https://www.tudorbarneltham.com

Getting Married In a Pandemic

2020 was a year of cancelations and postponements and I was booked in to shoot a few weddings at this wonderful venue in 2020. Becky & Paul booked me to photograph their wedding a month or so before as they were originally due to be married in another country.

This was one of those surprise late booking wedding assignments…. I was recommended by a couple of different clients who’s weddings I photographed in the past and it was great to catch up with some familiar faces. Getting recommendations is a great confidence boost to any photographer - it shows that clients do really appreciate what you do. What I didn’t know until I arrived at The Tudor Barn was that two of the groom’s brother-in-laws were old friends of mine from senior school, over 30 years ago… It got even more weird when one of those friends is married to my sons teacher!

There is a lot of pressure on me at a wedding day because you only have one chance to get it right.

Everyone who runs their own business knows that reputation is VERY important and it doesn’t matter about how good you were for the last wedding. You will only be judged by the wedding you are working on that day for that couple.

So, I was recommended, which adds to the pressure, then you know two old friends are there watching you work and then you realise that your sons teacher is there too (the sister of Paul, the groom) So to say I felt a bit more pressure at this one was an understatement. Add to that the fact it was only my third and last wedding of the year due to COVID-19 meant (and I don’t mind saying this) I was a bit out of practice too.

Photographing the bride, her friends and her family getting ready is a fun part of the day and is important to capture. It is a time where I try to blend in and just be one of them. Observing the conversations, nerves, excitement and the amazing multi tasking that goes on too. I do love the candid fly on the wall nature of the images it’s possible to make at this time.

It was now time for me to leave Becky to finish getting ready and join the Groom for some photos of him and the other guests before the bride arrives for the ceremony.

I have found over the last 14 years or so that EVERY wedding is different but most of them follow a similar structure and timeline. So until this point the wedding day felt quite normal - as normal as it’s been up to 2020 at least. But the new 2020 COVID wedding format was going to appear again as soon as I arrived at The Tudor Barn for the ceremony and celebrations - A smaller than normal guest list and a bit less freedom to roam and of course Face masks…

With the ceremony over it was time for the Bride and Groom to say hi to their guests and then go outside for some more photos. Some candid photos, groups, couple portraits and most couples like to have some confetti thrown over them too.

Then it was onto the speeches - where I always find out some embarrassing info on the groom!

I do love to photograph weddings and this one was great to be apart of too. I am looking forward to what 2021 brings and I hope we can get a little more normality back in the wedding industry soon. Seeing old friends and past clients was a bonus too!

Music Photo-Film below:

Thanks for reading and as we look to March / April and the summer of 2021, let us hope it will be a bit more ‘back to normal’ and weddings can once again be a regular occurrence in our diaries.

Suppliers:

Ceremony: The Tudor Barn, Eltham, London

Dress: Together Forever Brides Crayford, Kent

Suits: Reiss

Rings: RPS Jeweller Hatton Garden

Flowers: Highflying Balloons & Flowers Welling, Kent

Need help deciding on your wedding photographer? See my BLOG below for some more inspiration.

““pandemic noun
plural pandemics
Definition of pandemic
1 : an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area (such as multiple countries or continents) and typically affects a significant proportion of the population : a pandemic outbreak of a disease
a global pandemic
Influenza pandemics seem to strike every few decades and to kill by the million—at least 1m in 1968; perhaps 100m in the “Spanish” flu of 1918-19.
— The Economist””

— — https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pandemic

Getting married in a pandemic - Kent Wedding Photographer - Matt Rock

Wedding Photography at The Manor Gatehouse, Dartford - 2020

2020 was a bit of a curve ball for us all.

I was all set for my busiest year of shooting weddings since starting my business way back in 2006.

It was 2019, and I had a busy year after winning the Kent Wedding Photographer of the Year - 2019. I was all prepared for a busy year ahead; I had a minor operation booked in for the start January 2020 (which went well thanks to our amazing NHS) and my first wedding of the year was booked in for late March. So plenty of time to rest and recover before the hard work and fun started.

Then came COVID-19…

Fast forward a year to December 2020 and out of the 32 weddings I had booked in, only 3 of them were able to go ahead due to government restrictions.

To say it was a stressful year professionally is an understatement. However, I still count myself very lucky. Receiving the government grants, having some great clients who were still prepared to stick with me and some who paid their fees upfront. This meant I was able to keep my business going and look forward to a busier 2021.

We are still not out of the woods just yet, but with the vaccine being rolled out and an amazing NHS - it’s got to a positive move forward.

2020 will be a year to remember - or maybe forget.

Amy and John were great throughout all of this. They had originally booked me almost 2 years before, in 2018 and their original date was set for 10th April 2020. They even recommended me to John’s sister and I shot her wedding in 2019. But as soon as the lockdown was looking like a possibility their date was soon changed to later in the year and we postponed it to 14th November 2020. At this point we were all hopeful this virus would be under control by the summer of 2020.

As this new date approached however it was clear that things were getting worse - not better. So they made the difficult decision to move their wedding date for a second time and bring it forward to 30th September 2020. Which as it turned out was a great move on their part as another venue lockdown was just around the corner…

Below are some of my favourite memories from their wedding day - 30th September 2020

So that was the moment it all happened - all the years of planning a wedding, postponing it twice, a pandemic and the compulsory wearing of face masks.

It all came down to the fact that two people just wanted to get married!

That’s it!

There was not going to be any lavish after party with 150 guests, no big embarrassing speech from the best man, no DJ, no first dance and no honeymoon.

Just two young people who were desperate to get married and start a new life together as Mr & Mrs.

Then it was all down to the local pub for burger & chips & few drinks.

It was great to be part of Amy & John’s special day and although it was not as they would have chosen, I felt they still had the best day, spent with close friends and family. I mentioned before that i’d photographed John’s sisters wedding back in 2019, so for me it was good to catch up with the family again too.

I made a music photo-film from their wedding and you can see this below.

Thanks for reading and as we look to March / April and the summer of 2021, let us hope it will be a bit more ‘back to normal’ and weddings can once again be a regular occurrence in our diaries.

Suppliers:

Ceremony: Manor Gatehouse, Dartford Registry Office, Dartford, Kent - A Kentish Ceremony @kentishceremony

Pub: The Malt Shovel, Dartford, Kent @maltshoveldartf

If you know any suppliers that I have missed, please contact me me as I would love to include their details here.

Need help deciding? See my BLOG below for some more inspiration.

“pandemic noun
plural pandemics
Definition of pandemic
1 : an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area (such as multiple countries or continents) and typically affects a significant proportion of the population : a pandemic outbreak of a disease
a global pandemic
Influenza pandemics seem to strike every few decades and to kill by the million—at least 1m in 1968; perhaps 100m in the “Spanish” flu of 1918-19.
— The Economist”

— https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pandemic

Darenth Valley Wedding Photography - Emma & Luke 2020

The Darenth Wedding Photographer

Recommended Wedding Photographer

Emma & Luke booked me for their wedding back in March 2019 and were meant to be married in June 2020 at The Darenth, a lovely wedding venue in Shoreham, Sevenoaks, Kent. This venue has changed so much over the last 4 years and it should be a venue you look at too. One of the great features at The Darenth is that you have the option to get married inside or outside.

So with the date set it was all go go go and looking forward to the wedding… Then 2020 happened! Being the year it is, over 95% of weddings were postponed to later in the year or into 2021. Emma & Luke wanted to move the date back to August 2020 and of course I still wanted to be involved and lucky enough I had the date available too.

We managed to get the new date booked in a couple of months later for August and they had a lovely outside wedding planned. Lots of couples book a pre-shoot to get used to the camera before the big day but due to COVID-19 and lockdown, we didn’t have many dates free for theirs so we met just a couple of days before the wedding for some photos and then it was wedding time soon after.

Pre-shoot at The Darenth

Planning a wedding can be one of the most stressful times for some of us; making sure all the people you love are there, the dress is perfect, the venue knows what you want, the groom arrives sober and the best man doesn’t ruin the day with the worst speech in history! Alongside that there are all the other little details that need to be planned, booked and paid for. Then add a little virus into the mix - COVID-19 - and it can take on a whole new level of stress.

But Emma & Luke seemed to be so relaxed and calm about it and the day went perfectly. Ok, it wasn’t exactly how they planned it to be but they got their outdoor wedding they wanted and all their close family and friends were there to celebrate with them too.

As with most weddings I shoot, coverage starts with the Bride getting ready. I love to blend in & capture these images of the excitement and sometimes chaos.

Watch their Photo-film below - just hit the PLAY button

As I said, I love starting the day shooting bride preparations. It’s a time that is full of expectations, nerves and excitement. I can really get the natural photos that I like to get which tell the story of the day. It also gives me the chance, if time allows, to get some beautiful portraits of the bride too.

As Emma came out of the house it started to rain very lightly - This was not a good start as she was all set for an outside ceremony at The Darenth and we were all a bit concerned about it getting worse...

However, by the time we’d arrived at The Darenth the rain had stopped and it was back to the original plan of having an outside ceremony - although it was very windy - terrible for my hair!

But I don’t think Luke the groom was too worried.

After a few reception drinks & the cake was cut, we were off out for some portraits & group photos. Then onto the Kings Arms, Shoreham for some food and more drinks. We took the short walk, just down the road & over the beautiful bridge.

The Darenth is situated near to the lovely little village of Shoreham, Sevenoaks. About a 5 - 10 minutes walk away and a great place to go for some couple portraits after your ceremony.

With all that has happened in 2020 with COVID, this wedding still went ahead and it was a great wedding day. Although it was a bit different to a wedding in a normal year, due to you know what but the wedding was a big success and from an outsiders point of view it went very very well and everyone seemed to love being there to celebrate it with Emma & Luke - I know I did! Yes it was different but every wedding I have ever photographed since 2006 has been different.

The one thing I try to do with every wedding is tell a story of the day and this wedding will be one of only a very small number of weddings that took place in 2020 (this was my first 2020 wedding & I’ve photographed just 3 up to this point - November 2020) and that will be the story these two lovely people will tell their grandchildren many years from now…

“What year did you get married Nan?”

“Let me tell you about COVID 2020…. “

The Darenth - Contact the team:

Station Road, Shoreham, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN14 7SA

info@thedarenth.com - 01959 522944 - www.thedarenth.com

DARENTH VALLEY PHOTO-FILMS - BELOW - PRESS PLAY & TURN UP THE VOLUME

SUPPLIERS:

Venue: The Darenth

Pub: The Kings Arms, Church St, Shoreham, Sevenoaks TN14 7SJ

Flowers: Mr Flower Ltd - https://mrflower.co.uk

Dress: Wed2b - https://www.wed2b.co.uk/bridal-shops/london/kent/wed2b-bromley

Rings: Beverbrooks - http://beaverbrooks.co.uk

Photographer: Matt Rock Photography

Other supplier information will be added as soon as possible.