Woodland Glade, Meadow and Stretch Tents Wedding Venue Kent

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Morning and Happy Friday! I hope you have all had a good week and have some exciting plans for this weekend!

We have a fantastic new woodland wedding venue to share with you today and in such a prime location. Brand new to our Land Hire and Venue Page, The Oak Grove, situated in Upchurch in North Kent, is a versatile and intimate outdoor wedding venue that comes with a woodland glade, a very pretty live willow ceremony area (with plans to become fully licensed for civil ceremonies for 2017) gorgeous countryside views, a large stretch tent big enough to sit 140 people and countless photo opportunities. The best part about it is they still have plenty of availability for 2017 so if you are still on the hunt for a venue for next year, this might just be the ticket!

The Oak Grove is set within 5 acres of the north Kent countryside located at Twinney Wharf, a farm wharf dating back centuries. Nestled on the land side of the sea wall, between sheep fields and an apple orchard, is a 4 acre wooded glen which is the home of the wedding venue. Here you will find a beautiful living willow hand-fasting and blessing area, a large stretch tent in a pretty glade and plenty of space for you and your guests to use as you please. The venue also boasts 22 magnificent Oak trees that have been sympathetically lit and provide a spectacular backdrop to the venue.

Across a small stream, and on top of a low grassy mound, you will find the living willow ceremony area. This enchanting leafy structure is handmade using living willow which has been intertwined with metal to make a striking focal point for your ceremony. At night the space is transformed by twinkling fairy lights into a beautiful romantic haven for you and your guests to escape to.

The ceremony area can seat up to 140 people on hay bales or comfortable wooden chairs.

This wonderful (and huge!) sculptural stretch tent is included in the hire fee and sits under the canopy of oak trees which means it remains shaded and cool in the height of summer and protected from anything an English summer can throw at it. It can comfortably seat 140 people and comes fully equipped with power, furniture, lighting and a solid wood floor throughout.

Access to the venue is excellent with good links to the A249, M2, M20 and M25. Rainham train station, which has direct links to London, is 3 miles away and Ebbsfleet International Station is 20 miles away. The popular town of Maidstone is only 30 minutes away and is home to some fantastic accommodation and food options. It also has a beautiful registry office. There is a great selection of hotels and B&B's local to the venue and a local coach company who can run a shuttle service for your guests.

Parking is available for during the day and overnight and the venue is also proud to have excellent disabled access.

The venue is a blank canvas for you to tailor as you wish. You have the complete freedom to use your own suppliers (with no VAT, corkage or other fees) and the site is exclusive to you for the entire hire period.

Full Venue Hire (includes exclusive use of the The Oak Grove, parking field and surrounding meadows):

April & May - £5,850
June - £6,850
July & August - £7,850
September - £6,850

Exclusive use of all three magically lit stretch tents with wooden floor throughout, together with a solid wood dance floor
Use of Blessing and Hand fasting Space
Furniture and toilet facilities for up to 140 guests
A brassier for a log fire with a barrow of logs
The ability to use your own suppliers or friends for catering, drinks etc. with NO corkage or other fees
Access to the site the day before your booking for suppliers to set up and decorate
Access to the site the day after the event for your suppliers to clear away and for your guests to collect cars
Clear up and recycling (not including food waste)
Guest and car park assistants
Meetings and site visits prior to event
Supplier liaison and support via email and telephone
Up lighting of the trees within the Oak Grove
Car Parking and overnight parking for guests
A 15 KVA single phase power supply
A water supply
Details of some of the best local suppliers to make the day your own

You can 'save a date' with a £250 refundable deposit between September and December
A 50% non-refundable deposit is required to formally confirm your booking
This venue is not currently licensed for legal ceremonies but an application is in process to become licensed for 2017
This venue comes with good disabled access
No Camping
No Fireworks or Lanterns

Whilst this venue doesn't offer the site as a land hire only option, the following breakdown gives you an idea of the costs of putting together a similar package from scratch:

Rental of land: £2,000
Charge for delivery & petrol from various suppliers: £500
Rental of Stretch Tent (1.5 times as much floor area as triple hat Tipi): £4,500
Rental of solid floor: £500
Rental of toilets: £650
Rental of generator: £250
Rental of tables and chairs: £600

Total £9,000 plus the hassle of researching, booking and organising a number of suppliers.

Wedding packages often have an 'overpriced' stigma attached to them with couples taking the opinion that venues are including a large mark up on the items and are trying to rip them off. I hope the above explains that this is not the case with The Oak Grove and in fact, it should save you money.