Chiddingstone Castle Reviews
Reviews
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4.9 out of 5 rating
4.9 out of 5 rating
63 reviews
98% recommend it
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Elisabeth R. Sent on 14/07/2024The Venue of your dreams!
I could not recommend Chiddingstone Castle enough. Natalie as the wedding coordinator of the castle is simply a dream. She was the sweetest and most organized coordinator we met and chose the castle because of her! She made our entire experience and planning so much easier. We couldn’t have done it without her. Chiddingstone Castle is such a stunning venue and the guests were blown away! Everything is personalized to your preferences; your choice of catering, florists, cake, band, decorations but all with suggested options from Natalie which we of course used and loved! It was a fairytale wedding thank you so much!Chiddingstone Castle's reply:
Goodness me, that's very kind of you. Thank you so much for choosing Chiddingstone Castle, it was an absolute pleasure from start to finish.
With such a positive, joyful spirit there is nothing that could have spoiled your day for you and Tom. The driving rain at times and the unexpected thunder and lightening did nothing to dampen spirits. A day brimming with joy, love and laughter! -
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Alex W. Sent on 23/10/2024Beautiful venue, but with a few logistical challenges
Chiddingstone Castle is an absolutely stunning venue in Kent, and my husband and I were immediately captivated by its beauty and charm. One of the standout features for us was the privacy of having the entire venue to ourselves, which made our wedding day feel truly special. The grounds are gorgeous, and the flow between the indoor spaces and outdoor areas allowed the day to transition beautifully from one part to another.
However, there are a few important considerations for future couples. The main hall, which is marketed as seating up to 80 guests, felt very tight with just 66. It was quite a squeeze, and that’s something to keep in mind if you’re planning for a larger guest list. Additionally, while the top table is historic and beautiful, it’s unfortunately quite small for a traditional wedding party setup. We had to shuffle our seating, and I found myself unable to comfortably fit my legs under the table due to a large table leg right in front of me.
The staff were lovely and accommodating, but the overall organisation could be improved. Due to IT restrictions, they aren’t able to use cloud-based platforms like Google Sheets, which made it difficult to share updated schedules and planning documents. We also experienced some confusion with their records during meetings. After the wedding, we had an unfortunate incident with our leftover wine, which led to a bit of a back-and-forth with the staff. Although it was eventually resolved and the wine was found, the process was more stressful than it needed to be.
I’d suggest that they invest in something like Roll Pallet Mesh Cages to keep track of items during venue turnover. It would make a world of difference and avoid misplacement. For example, I had to return after our honeymoon to collect champagne that had been forgotten.
Lastly, when it came to personal touches, I sometimes felt discouraged. I wanted to do a few things differently, such as placing our cake on a mobile table so it could be moved into the main hall for cutting after being displayed. As I had made a 6-tier cake myself. I knew exactly how to execute this, but I felt the venue wasn't fully supportive of those kinds of unique ideas. While everything ultimately worked out brilliantly, and we were very pleased with the way our customisations added to the day, a bit more encouragement from the staff would have been appreciated.
Overall, Chiddingstone Castle is a breathtaking venue, and we had a wonderful day, but there are a few areas where improvements could make the experience smoother for future couples. -
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Selina W. Sent on 03/08/2024A dream to work with
We stumbled across Chiddingstone Castle while searching for intimate wedding venues online, and we couldn't have been more pleased with our choice. From the very beginning, Natalie, our wedding venue coordinator, was an absolute dream to work with. She is the sweetest person—responsive, flexible, and always willing to accommodate our needs.
Despite planning our wedding from abroad and never having seen the venue in person, we felt completely at ease working with Natalie. Her professionalism and warmth made the process seamless.
On the day of the wedding, everything went perfectly. Natalie, Lindsey and the rest of the staff were absolutely amazing—helpful, kind, and considerate. They went above and beyond to ensure that our day was everything we had hoped for.
We highly recommend Chiddingstone Castle for anyone looking for a beautiful and well-managed venue for their special day.Chiddingstone Castle's reply:
Hi Selina
Thanks for your kind words. Lindsey and the whole team agreed that your wedding on Friday was an absolute delight to be involved with. An intimate, international group of globe trotters joining you from three continents! David your independent celebrant helped create a very personal and beautifully written ceremony and what could be more decadent than the Great Hall laid up for 12! -
Rachel H. Sent on 15/06/2024
Fantastic venue, expertly run
My now husband and I got married at Chiddingstone Castle on the 3rd of May 2024 and, as expected, it was the best day of our lives!
From the time we first spoke with Natalie (the wedding coordinator at Chiddingstone) we knew she was the real deal and that the wedding team at Chiddingstone were seasoned experts.
The venue speaks for itself in terms of looks (inside and out) and it is an excellent venue in terms of flow of the day as well. This is for many reasons, one being how the rooms inside the castle all join one another. It feels intimate but not cramped and is great for both small or large weddings.
The bridal suite is stunning and the photos you get from there will be ones for the frame for sure. We didn't get the marquee and we're so glad we were able to use the great hall for dining. It was cosy as we had 82 people seated for the wedding breakfast but it felt really special and there was still enough room for people to get up and down and for the caterers to get through as needed.
Natalie was quick to respond to emails and very thorough when getting an idea of what we wanted for the day. She was unfazed by our "deer in headlight" moments and because of her experience she was able to fill in a lot of the gaps that hadn't even crossed our mind when it came to wedding planning! She really left no stone unturned, thank you Natalie!
Natalie was able to coordinate with the church in Chiddingstone (St. Mary's) as well and all ran smoothly between having the ceremony at the church and the reception/breakfast at the castle. We had our reception drinks at the orangery and were so pleased we did as it's such a beautiful space.
The supplier list that we were given was very good and you can't go wrong with any of their caterers. We chose Urban Pantry and they did not disappoint. They know the venue so well and have their execution down to an art, all our guests were very happy and well fed (and no one was left thirsty that's for sure!).
Because the suppliers all know the venue and Natalie it makes for a huge weight being lifted from the bride/grooms shoulders. Just knowing that all of those communications were going through Natalie directly was a huge plus for us.
Natalie was kind but firm in her running of the day, it was a real gift for us to be able to relax and enjoy the day knowing that her and her team were behind the scenes. Our parents commented multiple times about how easy going and stress-free our wedding was, which is a huge compliment!
Whatever was happening, Natalie made sure it ran smoothly. There was a minor mixup with the button holes but she came to the rescue and got that sorted. She even helped me with the buttons on the back of my dress.
The opportunity for photos at this venue are limitless, you've got the views out the front of the castle, the castle itself, the forest, pond, and bridge leading up to the church, and if you're lucky the flowers will be in bloom along the castle wall and around the orangery. We were lucky that both the bluebells and the wisteria were in bloom at the same time.
All in all we cannot thank Natalie and her team enough for making our day so special and most importantly, stress free! We highly recommend this venue for anyone looking to get married in this area.Chiddingstone Castle's reply:
Thank you Rachel for taking time to prepare such a thoughtful, considered and generous review.
It was such a pleasure to work with you both to prepare for the wedding and an absolute privilege to be here on the day. -
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![Eleanor]()
Eleanor Sent on 05/06/2024Beautiful and timeless venue
We had an incredible wedding day at Chiddingstone Castle thanks to Natalie and her team. We are so pleased we chose the beautiful village, Church and Castle of Chiddingstone for our wedding and are so happy with how well the day went!Chiddingstone Castle's reply:
Thanks so much for choosing Chiddingstone as your venue for the day; with your ceremony at St Mary's before walking back through the grounds to celebrate your reception at the castle. Such a very elegant late Spring wedding to kick off the season. -
![Clare]()
Clare B. Sent on 01/09/2023Very helpful in allowing us tailor-make our perfect wedding day
Perfect venue, perfect staff , and people who actually understood our vision xxx
Jake and I had seen Chiddingstone years ago. I joked and said If we ever get married this would be perfect .
Fast forward 12 years and we had decided to use Chiddingstone as our wedding venue as they could cater for the amount of people and the also being able to organise our catering with another company was a big thing on our list,due to probably over a half of the guest we're children we really didn't want a formal sit down meal and wanted a garden bbq party vibe with the bonus of getting married !
This was fulfilled and we had the most amazing, perfect day ever it was magical in every way. Natalie and the events team at Chiddingstone totally made our day run smoothly and took the stress out of things going wrong (groom forgetting hair stuff lol)
Chiddingstone Castle's reply:
Thanks so much Clare, it was an absolute dream! The whole team had a wonderful time at work that day. It was such a happy, relaxed atmosphere. Perfect celebration. -
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