There is nowhere else quite like Port Lympne. The mansion was begun in 1913 for Sir Philip Sassoon and finished after the First World War, designed by Herbert Baker in a Cape Dutch style and then embellished by Philip Tilden, who added the terraces, the east forecourt and the extraordinary external staircase that climbs the hillside. Inside, Rex Whistler painted a room to look like the interior of a striped tent, and Josep Maria Sert covered the drawing room walls in moss-brown and gold. It is listed, and it feels every inch of it.
The gardens were laid out by Tilden across old sea cliffs and planted by Norah Lindsay, and the Italianate terraces still fall away from the house towards Romney Marsh with the Channel glittering beyond. What nobody in the 1920s could have anticipated is what surrounds them now: since John Aspinall bought the estate in 1973 the grounds have become a 600-acre wild animal reserve, and the mansion, restored and reopened as a hotel, funds the conservation work. You can be married on a terrace with a view to France and then, if the mood takes you, go and look at rhinos.
Weddings run at two quite different scales. Intimate celebrations of up to 50 use the mansion’s drawing rooms, the terraces and 14 acres of landscaped gardens. Exclusive weddings take 50 to 120 guests and centre on the walled garden and the Orangery, a 1920s glass building with a distinctly Gatsby air to it. The package is properly all-in — canapes, Gusbourne sparkling wine, a three-course dinner, a private bar — and the couple stay in the Philip Sassoon suite in the mansion itself.
Where the band plays
The Orangery is where the dancefloor ends up. It seats 120 with room for dancing, and it is a beautiful room to end a night in, but it is also glass on almost every side, and glass behaves very differently from the stone walls and timber roofs bands are used to. Sound bounces around rather than settling, and the mix that works in a barn needs rethinking here. It is nothing an experienced band cannot handle — they simply want to know before they arrive rather than discover it at soundcheck.
Two sizes of wedding, two sizes of band
At 50 guests or fewer, a duo or a small acoustic set-up carries the mansion’s rooms and the terraces far better than a full band, and roaming or acoustic music suits an afternoon spread across the gardens. Once you are up towards 120 in the Orangery, that flips entirely and you want a proper evening band. The Pergola in the walled garden is licensed for ceremonies and takes around 100 when live music is part of the plan, which is a lovely spot for a string duo or a guitarist.
How the day and evening run
The private bar runs until midnight, so there is a full evening to play with. Do bear in mind that a wedding here often has a safari or an animal encounter folded into the afternoon, which makes for a longer, more scattered day than usual — another good argument for having something musical carrying the daytime separately from the evening band, so the mood does not have to be rebuilt from scratch after dinner.
Bands available in Kent and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in Kent.
- Kent Wedding Bands
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- Tribute Acts in Kent
- Kent Wedding DJs
- Corporate Entertainment in Kent
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.