Filtering by Tag: East Sussex wedding

Jackie and Andy - Herstmonceux Castle

After a holiday and a case of the flu, I have finally got round to sharing the wedding photographs of Jackie and Andy, who met whilst working for East Sussex Fire Brigade (Thank you for your service).

I first met them in April of this year, about seven weeks before they tied the knot. We had messaged before and we knew of each other, as Jackie’s fabulous daughter is the best friend of my daughter. They girls met outside of school when they were young teenagers, so us mum’s never had the chance to meet each other. When we finally did get to meet, over a cuppa in Lewes, you’d have thought we’d known each other for years, both chatting away about our magnificent children (who are grown women now). We did let Andy join in, telling me of his lovely children and his young grandson. The conversation also went on to their new puppy, and their chickens, as they had bought me a gift of six freshly laid eggs. It’s lovely when you meet your couples and you get on well, it makes everything so much nicer. Remember you have to spend all day with your photographer, so it really helps and makes everything more enjoyable if you like them and enjoy their company.

Herstmonceux Castle was the chosen venue. It is a brick-built moated castle, dating from the 15th century, near Herstmonceux, East Sussex. It is one of the oldest significant brick buildings still standing in England. I hadn’t photographed a wedding there before so I was very excited. I love going to a new venue and discovering all the new photo opportunities. I knew there were beautiful gardens and that the wedding party would be in the cloisters and enclosed private courtyard. The wisteria had some flowers still in bloom, and the garden was full of country garden flowers of lupins, foxgloves and lavender, to mention a few. There were beautiful colours of pinks and purples and the sound of buzzing bees.

The ceremony was taking place in The Elizabethan Room it is a very intimate and charming room, perfect for a smaller wedding. It is a stone floored room with a grand fireplace, beautiful woodwork, tapestries and an incredibly ornate ceiling.

Jackie and her bridesmaids were getting ready upstairs in another ornate wooden panelled room and Andy was greeting the guests at the entrance of the castle. It’s not everyday you get to greet your favourite people on your wedding day, standing on a drawbridge, over a moat in a medieval castle.

When it was time for the ceremony Jackie, her Bridesmaids, who were her daughter and her step-daughter, made the way to the Elizabethan Room, we all had to negotiate an old wooden staircase. The only problem was it was a bit creaky and any high heels echoed around the room. Thank goodness for the entrance music. I was also really glad I was wearing my vans as they enabled me to climb the stairs quietly to take some overhead shots from a balcony above, and to photograph the beautiful decorative ceiling.

The ceremony was lovely with personalised vows. They didn’t leave a dry eye in the house, even the registrar was in bits. After they became husband and wife it was confetti time, outside the castle on the drawbridge. We then took couple, family and friend photographs in the courtyard, we had limited time as there was a delicious cream tea and plenty of bubbles waiting for the wedding party. So we didn’t get to explore more of the 300 acre estate including woodland, and gardens. I also didn't get to see the peacock I had been hearing calling out all day. I look forward to doing so when I return.

It was a special day spent in beautiful historical surroundings with lovely people. It’s why my job is one of the best jobs and I consider myself very lucky.


Fran and Martin - Brighton Registry Office and Pelirocco Hotel

Where do I start with the wedding of this fabulous couple? Firstly they are adorable, and so wholesome, secondly I had a blast photographing their wedding day, and spending time with their lovely family and friends.

The ceremony took place at Brighton Town Hall in Bartholomew Road. It is a beautiful Greek revival Grade II listed building. The bride and groom were arriving separately. I do love it when the couple surprise each other. It feels very traditional and romantic. The bridal party arrived, but disaster had struck as the sole had come loose off a bridesmaids shoe. Luckily enough at an art gallery up the road a kind person gave me some sticky pads and blue tac to get the shoe through the ceremony. Note to self…add superglue to my wedding bags for next time. Disaster averted and there was time for some pre-wedding photos with the bride and her bridal party. The bridesmaids dresses were a beautiful soft lavender, but all the styles were different to suit each person. The bouquets were a mixture of purple freesias, white roses amongst green ferns and other delicate purple flowers.

The bride wore an amazing white lace and satin dress from Dig for Victory. It was mid-length and had a full skirt with a petticoat, that flew when the bride spun. She was also wearing the most outstanding lace boots, which finished off the ensemble beautifully.

After the lovely ceremony the newlyweds and their guests walked along Brighton seafront, not only for the fantastic photo opportunities, but also to get to Hotel Pelirocco in Regency Square. This is where the reception was being held. Hotel Pelirocco is a boutique hotel with themed bedrooms from a Dolly Parton inspired room to Star Wars and Bowie.

We were blessed with the most glorious weather. Brighton is always at it’s best when the sun is shining. We stopped for photographs in one of the beautiful Victoria bus stops. They are painted in a vibrant sea-foam and are an iconic sight in Brighton. We carried on walking along the promenade and stopped for photographs of the family and friends with The West Pier in the background. I have such a fondness for the West Pier and I am still sad that we lost so much of it, and it was left to become derelict. It still looks stunning sitting in the sea, and makes a wonderful addition to any photograph. I was very happy to be able to photograph one of my favourite landmarks combined with this lovely couples wedding photographs. After all the family and friends photographs were finished, the guests made their way to Hotel Pelirocco. The happy couple and I walked to the beautiful Victorian Bandstand for their couple photographs. I love this point of the day where it’s them and me. They decided to practise their first dance whilst we were there. It was a salsa to Despacito. I’m not sure if it was the Justin Bieber or Luis Fonsi version. It was such a joy to get this advance preview, and I loved taking photographs of them dance with the stunning Seaview, and the West Pier in the background.

After the couple photographs were finished we made a short journey to Hotel Pelirocco. It is a fantastical hotel full of colour and life. It is packed of interesting curiosities, including decorated mannequin doll lamps. I recognised them as being made by Tracy at Dolly Fixtures. She’s a lovely lady who I had previously photographed for Viva Lewes.

The reception was a happy affair with lots of dancing and partying, and the official debut of the first dance.

A delicious buffet was supplied by the lovely ladies at Connie and Cooper Catering. It’s never a bad day when you have a C&C sausage roll. The tasty wedding cake was beach themed with a dolphin cake topper, made by Cloud 9 in Brighton.

I had the most wonderful day documenting this fabulous wedding for two of the nicest people you could hope to meet. I have really enjoyed looking back at their photographs and being able to share them.

Vicky and James - Piddinghoe Church/Pelham House

What a beautiful spring day we had for this lovely couples wedding. March can have very unpredictable weather, it can be snowy or rainy, but luckily we had glorious sunshine. It was so warm I didn’t need a coat, and that’s a big deal for me.

The wedding ceremony took take place at a 12th century, Grade 1 listed church in Piddinghoe. The reception afterwards was held at Pelham House, a 16th century renovated town house in Lewes. I really had a history lesson that day.

My day started at Pelham House, as the bride and her squad were getting ready there. Pelham House has a separate building where you can do this, away from all the preparations for the celebrations later. Claire from Modern Vintage wedding hair and make up was finishing off the brides make up. The beautiful lace fitted wedding dress from WED2B in Brighton was hanging up, and sparkly shoes were scattered everywhere. The two adorable flower girls were all ready in their powder blue floral dresses. They were angels all day, and were brilliant at having their photographs taken.

When everyone was ready we all made our way to the Church, grabbing the stunning exotic bouquets on our way. They were made by Lily’s Florist in Peacehaven.

Piddinghoe Church is a beautiful church, It has a stunning bell tower, stained glass windows, and a lovely vista of the River Ouse. And on this day the churchyard was full of daffodils.

When we arrived everyone was waiting in the church, except for the couple’s beautiful children, and the bridesmaids. They went in first, with the bride following on the arm of her very proud father.

The sun shone through the stained glass windows and it filled the church with soft dappled light. It wasn’t the best for photographs, but it does make the church look beautiful and serene. It was a traditional church service with hymns and a lovely reading, read by the brides aunt. After the service, it was outside in the Spring sunshine for Confetti throwing, and the group and newlyweds photographs.

I like to start off with the photographs of everybody, and then smaller groups until you get down to it being the happy couple and me. This way not everyone has to hang around, groups can go and make their way to the hotel or get a drink etc.

I think it’s important that the couple have this quiet time. It’s their first moment that it’s only them (and me) since they tied the knot, all the stress, all the planning has built to this moment, and now it’s over. It’s now time to relax, have fun and enjoy being with your loved ones, and celebrating this happy event.

After the photographs at the church were finished, and some Champagne was drunk (not by me), we left to go to the reception at Pelham House in Lewes. We had such warm weather that everyone was able to have drinks outside on the terrace. The bride had a brilliant idea of a picnic hamper that was filled with (non messy) food for all the children. This liminal space after the wedding ceremony and before the wedding breakfast can be a bit of a chore for the young ones, but it wasn’t for these little legends as they spent the time having fun by repeatedly rolling down the slope in the grounds. I’m sure there must have been plenty of grass stains to get out of some very pretty dresses. All the children were so well behaved and they were a pleasure to be around.

I then briefly took the couple away from the drinks and canapés for photographs on the sweeping staircase inside the house. We did what every couple that gets married there did and took photographs on the beautiful picturesque windows at the top of the stairs, above it on the ceiling has a striking hand-painted trompe-l'œil mural.

My couples like me to also take natural and candid photographs of their guests enjoying their day. It is a nice contrast to the more posed group and family shots. I do enjoy taking these photographs as everyone is relaxed and enjoying themselves. This enables me to focus on the guests. Everyone always makes such an effort and care with their wedding outfits, so it’s nice to be able to take the time to appreciate them, as sometimes on the day the couple are too busy to notice all of those details. There were some fabulous outfits at this wedding. The grooms mother was a particular favourite of mine. She looked outstanding in a royal blue dress with a red hat and matching red shoes and bag. There were some other fabulous outfits, from a silky emerald green dress to a brightly coloured floral suit. They were a very cool group of guests. Unbeknownst to me the at the time (until I looked through my camera lens) that the guest list was even cooler than I had originally thought as Liam Gallagher from Oasis was one of the guests. He was sporting an aubergine suit with a bouclé brown coat. If only we could all be as cool and iconic!

It was soon time for the wedding breakfast, speeches and cutting the cake. The bride had some how found the time between, three children, two jobs and organising a wedding to make a three tiered, multi flavoured wedding cake. Not only did it look stunning it also tasted delicious.

It was then the disco and the first dance, which the couple were dreading. It’s funny how traditions at weddings can make you do something you feel uncomfortable about. I think nowadays that it is your big day and you should choose what traditions to take forward and do, and what ones you want to leave behind. You need to feel as relaxed and as happy as you can. If you can’t make your wedding day about you, when can you?!

I had a thoroughly wonderful day at this wonderful couples wedding, I had taken lots of beautiful photographs, had some delicious food, I’d been given a big bag of flying saucers and fizzy cola bottle sweets to take home, and I met lots of lovely people including a rock star. If Carlsberg did weddings…

Josie and Rob - Anne of Cleves House

This was my final wedding of last season, and what a lovely one it was to end on. It was such a warm and intimate occasion. Everyone was so lovely and kind and there was so much love involved.

This wedding took place at the wonderful Anne of Cleves House in Lewes. It is a beautiful medieval home that was given in a divorce settlement between King Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves, his fourth wife. It is located about five minutes walk from the brides childhood home. I met her and her family there. We took the short, but picturesque walk to the venue. which was such a lovely thing to be able to do. What made the choice of venue even more special was that it was where the brides parents had also been married.

I am always in awe of my brides, the work they put into organising their weddings, all in-between working, home life, and a lot of the time, childcare. So many brides invest so much time in making their day perfect, and a lot of them also spend time making favours or decorations to bring a more personal touch to the day. Josie went one better, as she made her own wedding dress, and her daughters bridesmaid dress. I can sew, but I cannot master making clothes, let alone a wedding dress. It was the most beautiful dress, and I have to say, I’m so impressed by her for doing it. The decorations she made were brightly coloured pom poms wreaths and bunting, and even some fabric fortune cookies. The talent obviously runs in the family as Josie’s mum made the stunning wedding cake. it was a beautiful two tier chocolate cake, covered in flowers that matched the colour scheme and the bouquets.

It was such a beautiful and sunny September day, we even got a quick twenty minutes free to walk from Anne of Cleves House to the beautiful Southover Grange Gardens, to take a few Bride and Groom photographs. As I always recommend to my couples it’s a good idea to have that quiet moment with just them and the photographer, a little moment of calm and reflection on what is a crazy busy, but magical day. I love Grange Gardens for photographs. It’s a beautiful green space, that’s full of flowers and trees and different textures. It’s a walled garden, so it feels like your away from everything. Also the beautiful 16th century Grade II listen Manor House is a lovely backdrop. I love to get the chimneys and rooftops in the background of the photographs, sometimes you have to try to avoid other newlyweds though as it is also a registry office.

This was such a wonderful wedding, it was so informal and relaxed. The children were having a blast running around the house and gardens, they were enjoying all that this lovely venue has to offer, even wearing the costumes they have out for any visitors. It was a great day, spent with lovely people to celebrate this wonderful couple.

Victoria and Ed - The Gallivant

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog, as I have been very lucky to be busy working again, and I’ve been in the middle of a room renovation.

The wedding of Victoria & Ed was the first wedding I had photographed since the beginning of the pandemic that had no restrictions. I was a little bit nervous as I hadn’t been in a room with that many people for a while, but I was very excited too. Victoria and Ed were such a wonderful couple so they made my job very easy. They had their wedding cancelled the previous year due to Covid-19, so we were all very happy that this day was finally happening.

The Gallivant is a lovely venue. It is a boutique hotel at the beautiful beach area of Camber Sands. I had been watching the weather all week and hoping for sunshine so we could get out on to the sand dunes for some photographs. We were lucky. The sun shone for this beautiful couple and we got some amazing shots of them, with the most stunning views.

My day started in one of the gorgeous hotel rooms with the bridal party, they were getting their hair and make-up done by Kitty-Boo Creative. The bridesmaids were wearing delicate powder blue dresses that were able to have different styles for the ties at the back. The Maid-of-Honour was wearing a lovely and complimentary wine coloured dress. The brides beautiful Champagne coloured bodice dress was from Tying the Knot Bridal. It was hanging up in a perfect position above the roll-top bath. The pretty mixed coloured bouquets and boutonnières were by the in-house florist The Flower House Studio. It is always so lovely to be part of this pre-wedding moment, there is such a frisson of excitement. There were tears, laughter and plenty of champagne (obviously not for me).

When everyone was ready, and after some photographs it was time to walk to the ceremony room. It was decorated with fabulous vintage swimming costumes in frames. The hotel has a California beach theme with lots of plants and bleached wood. We were so lucky, because as soon as we got inside the heavens opened. It is said to be good luck to have rain on your wedding day, it’s even more lucky that it stops as soon as the ceremony is finished. The ceremony was a beautiful, sweet and an emotional event. It was such a special moment, especially as they had to wait over a year for it. After the I do’s and a quick hello to everyone I whisked the couple away to the Camber Sands dunes. It was only across the road. There was a steep hill of sand to climb so understandably the brides shoes had to be taken off, and the groom was such a gentleman as he helped with the shoes, flowers and the train of the dress. We got to the sand dunes and looked out across the sea, it was a stunning day with a glorious blue sky. The colours were beautiful, pale, yellow sand, azure blue sky and delicate wispy green grasses.

I always think it’s so import that the newlywed couple find this quiet time with only them and the photographer. The rest of their day will be so busy and crazy that you won’t get the time to be on your own and reflect that you’ve just tied the knot.

We took so many gorgeous photographs on the sand dunes, and Victoria and Ed were so much fun and were great to photograph. They really got into the spirit of it all they were relaxed and a delight to be with.

As with all weddings everything runs to a very tight schedule, so we didn't have too long at the beach for the photographs, and we wanted to go back to the hotel and photograph the bridal/groom parties and family members. The Gallivant had some beautiful gardens for the photographs, so we were able to really make the most of this stunning location. If you’re going to hire a beautiful venue it really seems a shame to only have photographs in one area of the grounds. Make the most of these stunning places as you don’t want to regret anything. Make sure there is time planned in for it. I have photographed some weddings and only been given fifteen minutes for the couple shots. It’s a bit mad and can be done, but it’s not as enjoyable or relaxing for all involved.

It was then time for the delicious meal and all the wonderful, emotional and funny speeches, there was even a song! After that it was the cutting the wedding cake. It was a stunning naked cake that was decorated with beautiful flowers. It was made by The White House in Rye. Then it was the first dance and party time! It was wonderful that dancing and music were allowed again, it really is the fun party element of what can be a very official and stressful day. It’s the time everyone can relax and celebrate to the joy of a wedding.

I had a wonderful day spent photographing this beautiful couple and their lovely family and friends. It’s been very difficult to choose what photographs to share from the hundreds of their gorgeous photos. It really was a special day and I am so grateful to have such a lovely job spent with fabulous people on one of their happiest days. Does it get better than that?!