It’s wonderfully remote yet only an hour from London, and on the day the venue is exclusive to you.
Your ceremony can take place in one of three spaces, each with its own character. Choose the Hop Barn for exposed brick, Kentish hops and twinkling fairy lights, with four sets of French doors overlooking the water. From April to October, the Oak Gazebo lets you say your vows outdoors with the estuary as your backdrop. Or choose the Spring Barn, opened in April 2026, where a soaring oak frame and huge windows bring the view right inside. With its own bar, lounge and dancefloor inside, and a festoon-lit courtyard and a vast brick fireplace outdoors, it’s made for bringing your loved ones together.
Your morning starts in the Coach Lounge or the Garden Lodge, two getting-ready rooms made for a relaxed start to your wedding day with your closest people. After the ceremony, raise a glass in the estate’s private 16th-century pub, while your guests wander out onto the waterside terraces and gardens, where garden games and canapés await.
When it’s time to eat, the estate’s award-winning chefs serve up a feast, cooked fresh on site with estate-grown and Kentish produce on the menu.
Then the party gets going! The atmosphere is hard to beat, because the in-house DJ knows exactly how to fill a dancefloor, while drinks flow from a large, well-stocked bar serving all your Kentish and branded favourites. From fireside s’mores and a rustic photo booth to an LED dancefloor and a late licence, you’ll have everything you need for the biggest night of your life.
When the dancing’s done, 11 guest rooms and five cottages mean 75+ of your guests can stay the night, ready to reminisce over breakfast. Two-day wedding packages are a favourite too, because who wouldn’t want their wedding to last a little longer?
Ceremonies welcome 15 to 260 guests, with up to 350 joining you in the evening, so whether you’re planning something small and intimate or large and lively, you'll feel right at home.
Planning is personal from the very beginning. You’ll have a down-to-earth weddings team with more than 35 years’ combined experience by your side, along with several planning meetings, a handy online planning portal and, for full-day weddings, a tasting evening to choose your dishes and wine. On the day, your Venue Host will be a familiar face, a wedding coordinator you’ll have got to know while planning. With the whole team behind you and your décor set up and packed away for you, your wedding is in safe hands, so all you need to do is relax and enjoy every moment.
The Harty Estate has been owned since 2000 by the Burdens, a local third-generation farming family, who have been welcoming celebrations here ever since. The passion and care of a family venue shows in everything, from the relaxed, rustic setting to the warm, attentive service.
That care has been recognised, too. The Harty Estate was named Wedding Venue of the Year at the Kent Wedding Awards, and is a finalist for Best Barn Venue and Best Event Team in The Wedding Industry Awards 2027 (South East), with winners revealed in November 2026.
Oh, I really can’t choose! There have been so many incredible weddings, and we’ve been lucky enough to meet some lovely couples over the years. That’s probably the best thing about hosting weddings - no two weddings are ever the same.
Always choose a venue that offers personal planning and provides a Venue Host from the wedding team. You want someone who will take all the time you need to understand your vision for the day and help you bring it to life. Then, on the day itself, it’s best to have someone from that same wedding team as your Venue Host, because they’ll already know exactly how you want everything to be.
Every wedding has so many personal touches that I’m not sure I could choose just one! We once had a couple who invited a graffiti artist so they and their guests could get wedding tattoos, and another who treated everyone to a medieval swordsmanship lesson. I definitely haven’t seen it all yet, though, so feel free to test me!
Rustic, relaxed, idyllic, welcoming, homely.
Oooh this is a hard one! We have so many different places for photos. Personally, I have two favourite 'must-have' photo spots: by the water and in our orchard. Photos by the water are always beautiful and always look different, depending on weather, timing and tide. We had the most amazing shot of a couple by the estuary between the sunset and a rainbow. LOVE! The Orchard is also a must! We leave the grass and flowers wild - it's amazing at golden hour.
Did we ever say that Jude Law stayed here not long ago whilst filming?!
Oooh it has to be the roast beef mini Yorkshire pudding, with beef from our family farm.
Easy! Smores toasted beside the gorgeous Courtyard brick fireplace.
It has to be the view. Honestly, it still stops us in our tracks. You look out and it’s just water, wetlands and the biggest sky you’ve ever seen, with little fleets winding their way through the land and filling up with the tide. Some evenings the whole estuary turns gold as the sun goes down. We see it every day, and we’re still not tired of it.
We’d love to say the Spring Barn (and we are so proud of it), but honestly, it has to be our team. We really are a Harty Estate family, and without everyone in every department caring about the part they play, we couldn’t pull off the weddings we do. From the kitchen to the bar to the weddings team, everyone pulls together to make each day special. Plus, we have a great sense of humour, which definitely helps!