The Friars, Aylesford Priory Wedding Photographer: a guide

The Friars at Aylesford is a Carmelite priory on the River Medway, near Maidstone, and a working Catholic shrine. It hosts wedding receptions in a 13th-century hall and a thatched barn. It doesn’t host ceremonies, so you marry in church first and come here afterwards.

The Carmelites arrived at Aylesford in 1242, left at the Reformation, and bought the priory back in 1949. They rebuilt it with artists of the time, including Adam Kossowski’s ceramics and Michael Clark’s carvings. So it’s a medieval priory and a 1950s Catholic art gallery at once, and both show in the photographs.

Can you get married at the Friars?

No. The Friars isn’t licensed for civil or religious ceremonies, even though Mass is said there every day. Marry in your own parish church, or at St Francis’ in Maidstone, four miles away, and talk to your parish priest first about the paperwork.

A Catholic wedding photographer for the Friars

I’m a Catholic wedding photographer based in Kent, and a Nuptial Mass in your parish followed by a reception at the Friars is exactly the kind of day I photograph best. I cover the whole Mass, not just the vows: no flash, out of the sanctuary, and still during the Eucharistic Prayer. Then I follow you to Aylesford for the rest of the day.

I also know the Friars’ own rules, which matter here more than at most venues. There’s more on how I work in church on my Catholic wedding photographer page.

The Pilgrims’ Hall and the North Barn

• The Pilgrims’ Hall is the friars’ old dining hall, built around 1280, with stone walls, beams, small leaded windows and a huge fireplace. It seats up to 80. It’s dark inside, and with candles and the fire lit it photographs like a painting, without flash.
• The North Barn is a 17th-century thatched barn with an oak frame and a tall glazed gable. It holds up to 150, including you and your suppliers. It’s bright by day and all fairy lights and timber after dark, so it’s where the evening happens.

What does a wedding at the Friars cost?

Two ways to book, from the venue’s 2026 brochure:

• Pilgrims’ Hall package (meal in the Hall, evening in the Barn, food and drink included): from £8,700 for 50 adults midweek, £9,300 on a Saturday, and £9,700 on a Saturday in 2027. Extra day guests are £85 each.
• North Barn dry hire (your own caterers): from £2,350 midweek, £2,950 on a Saturday. The bar has a £500 minimum spend.

Check current prices with the events team on 01622 717272 or events@thefriars.org.uk.

Where can you take photographs at the Friars?

Wedding photographs are allowed in the Great Courtyard, the pond lawn, the tree-lined avenue and the barn forecourt. They’re not allowed at the Shrine, the Rosary Way, the Peace Garden, the chapels or the residential areas. I keep to that without being asked, and the places you’re allowed are the best ones anyway:

• The Great Courtyard: ragstone walls, mullioned windows and carved saints over the doors. It’s sheltered, so the light is soft even at midday.
• The pond lawn: a weeping willow over the water, and the quietest spot for portraits.
• The forecourt: where everyone gathers. It’s shared with the public until 5pm.

The photographs on this page are from a spring visit, not a wedding, which is why the Shrine and a chapel appear.

The light

The Pilgrims’ Hall is low and lit by firelight, so it’s best in the evening. The North Barn is tall and bright, so afternoon speeches photograph easily. The Courtyard works for portraits at any time of day, and the pond lawn is best in the last hour of light: after 8pm in June, before 4pm in December. Spring and autumn mornings often bring river mist.

Practical notes

• No confetti anywhere at the Friars. Have it outside the church instead.
• Aylesford bridge, the medieval bridge over the Medway, is a few minutes away. Stop there on the drive from church for a portrait no other venue has.
• Rooms: there’s a guesthouse with a bridal suite, so you can get ready on site.
• Shared grounds: the Friars is open to the public daily. Music stops at 11.30pm.
• Dogs: assistance dogs only.
• Parking: free, but no cars overnight, so plan taxis home.
• Getting there: M20 junction 6 or M2 junction 3. The postcode is ME20 7BY.

How I’d photograph the day

Getting ready, then the Mass in your parish, a stop at Aylesford bridge, drinks and twenty minutes of portraits in the Courtyard and by the pond, the meal and speeches in the Pilgrims’ Hall, and the evening in the North Barn. That’s a full wedding day. If you’re having a reception at the Friars, get in touch.