Beachside wedding at East Quay Venue in Whitstable, Kent – Vix + Paul

Super cool East Quay Venue wedding in whitstable harbour

Possibly the coolest venue outside of the city, this unassuming shack on the seafront provides the perfect landscape for a cracking party and incredible wedding photo opportunities. I absolutely loved shooting Vix & Paul, East Quay Wedding venue was completely unique and a really fun place to shoot.

THE COUPLE

Vix and Paul, the most laidback couple there is, they are based in London and were looking for a super relaxed venue by the sea. The bride and groom are really into their photography and big foodies, when they found East Quay Venue they managed to tick all of their key boxes – Lobster, Oysters, incredible opportunities for photos with the sea in the background, broken lobster shacks and incredible natural light. The couple found me through the grooms brother, Chris, from the Wedding arrangers. We hit it off straight away and could’t wait to see this incredible venue, there’s nothing quite like it to my knowledge in the UK.

Anecdotally it took me 5 hours to get there from up north – I now know that 5 hours is the exact amount of time it takes to listen to the entirety of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography

It’s a lovely story for Vix & Paul, they had been together for 12 years when Paul dropped down on one knee out of the blue in front of their friend and family and proposed. Neither of them ever thought they would get married so when Paul went for it they used it as the perfect excuse to get everyone together and throw an unforgettable party.

One of my favourite moments was when parts of the family hijacked the band and took over in the evening, playing a set for the bride and groom.

VENUE

In the daytime East Quay venue or EQ Venue as its affectionately known is a sleepy little harbour, with major New England vibes, the seafood scene is thriving and the jingling fishing boats are a constant sound. East quay venue looks like a small hut on the sea front, with a lobster shack leaning next to it. On arrival the day before to reccy the venue and try some of the famed Whitstable delicacies I grabbed a nice cold IPA and a lobster roll whilst watching the sunset.

On the wedding day there was no shortage of local delicacies, oysters and every topping alongside an abundance of lobster rolls and the most incredible pork, crackling and apple sauce rolls in the evening. Even though you’re on the east coast of England the sunset at East Quay Venue gave off sunset vibes as if you’re sat in Cafe Mambo in Ibiza – the colours were incredible.

THE DAY

The day of the ceremony the weather was outstanding, the sea was perfectly still and the sun wad shining brightly with a clear blue sky. Turning up to bridal prep I met the Bride and the bridal party, followed by a quick catch-up from Chris at the Wedding Arrangers, the grooms brother, and the groom before the ceremony began. The wedding ceremony took place upstairs, with only a slight disturbance from a flower girl tantrum mid-ceremony – she was only 3 and soon perked up.

The guests really got into the confetti throwing, not a phone in sight, every single guest had 2 enormous fist fulls of confetti – helping to create one of my favourite confetti shots of all time, they really smashed it. Leaving the ceremony we headed down to the front for portraits, with a paddle boarding floating by it the distance.

Following the portrait session we headed back to the venue for the reception and party, where the bride and groom promptly got changed and made a big entrance into their own party – think Hawaii 5-0 meets dirty dancing. The bride and groom along with their wedding guests danced the night away with glitter face paints and a DJ set from their close friend until the early hours.

SUMMARY

East Quay venue is the perfect wedding venue if you are looking for a seaside / beach wedding venue in the UK. You can dress the venue as you like and it will work throughout each of the seasons, offering moody skies in the winter and bright sunlight in the summer. The surrounding area is a wedding photographers dream, with plenty of options for your portraits in and around the Whitstable harbour area. I loved shooting at East Quay venue and look forward to more weddings in the future.

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