Filtering by Tag: Lewes

Josie and Rob - Anne of Cleves House

March 16, 2022  /  Rebecca King

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.

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categories / Wedding Photography, Wedding dress, Sussex Wedding, Photography, Lewes wedding, Lewes, East Sussex wedding
tags / wedding hair, wedding veil, weddings, wedding dress, Lewes wedding, Sussex wedding, East Sussex wedding, Anne of cleves, wedding bouquet, wedding blog, Lewes

A Family Photo Album

August 27, 2021  /  Rebecca King

In June I had the pleasure of photographing a wonderful family. We were supposed to have our family shoot the year before at Easter, but due to Covid-19 it was cancelled. In the end it worked out for the best as we had magnificent weather, and it was organised for Nanny’s birthday celebrations. We took some photographs in their lovely garden, we then went for a walk onto the Downs, even their beautiful dog came along. We made great use of a gate, it was a perfect prop for the family to lean on or against. There were eight family members, from sons, cousins etc. I don’t put a restriction on how many I will photograph at a family portrait shoot. the most i’ve ever shot was 15! It can be a bit crazy at times, but it’s lots of fun being in the middle of the family dynamics and glimpsing a small part of someone else’s family camaraderie.

it’s always a pleasure to document someones family. At the shoot we had a discussion about family photographs and how important they are for family history, they had been researching their family tree and had found some old photographs of their ancestors. They said they wondered if these photographs would be looked at in the future, and what would their future families think of them?

It’s why I think professional wedding photographs are so important, they’re a document of you and your family for many years to come.

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categories / Family photography, Portraits, Lewes
tags / family portraits, family, portrait, south downs, family photographer, Lewes, east sussex

The Fantastic Foxes

October 22, 2018  /  Rebecca King

We recently had a photo competition, where you could win an one hour portrait session. The family who won were, the Foxes.

We were going to have the photographs at Priory Ruins but the rain was torrential, luckily enough there is a tunnel in the same area, so we had some photographs in there, it was quite serendipitous, as the look of the graffiti in the tunnel really suited the family. The children of the family were adults so a more mature background was better.

They were great sports and happy to venture out in to the rain, I had my many different umbrellas with me, so no one was going to get wet, of course the rainbow umbrellas are always the favourite.

It was unusual to photograph such a mature family, I am so used to doing little children’s portraits. The family said that they felt awkward at first, because it’s not every day you have a professional photographer taking your picture, but they very quickly got used to me and my camera and they actually quite enjoyed it.

The most important part of being a photographer to me is to make your clients feel comfortable and happy. If the clients are relaxed then the photographs will turn out so much better, as everyone will act more like themselves and the end result will represent how the family and the individuals really are.

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categories / Photography, Family photography, Competition
tags / portrait, photo, photographs, family, family portraits, Lewes, priory ruins

Lizzie and Tim

September 26, 2018  /  Rebecca King

It was a rainy and cloudy day for Tim and Lizzie’s wedding but you couldn’t meet two more bright and sunny people. It was such a pleasure to be included in their wedding day with all their wonderful family and friends. It was also lovely that it took place in my home town of Lewes, so that meant I could walk there and I know the area so well.

They had their ceremony at the beautiful Southover Grange Gardens. It looked stunning, as all the flowers were out in bloom and in full colour. The ceremony moved on to the historical Anne of Cleves House, while the guests were having drinks and canapés we walked to the Lewes Priory Ruins for some photographs of just the two of them. We were lucky, as the rain held off for a short while but we came prepared with some glorious rainbow umbrellas. They really added some colour to the photographs, as well as Lizzie’s marvellous bouquet and the fabulous Lego mini figure button holes (I love Lego). The Priory Ruins are a favourite place of mine to go as the flint walls makes a lovely textured backdrop and the views over the South downs are glorious. There are so many little nooks and crannies to take photographs in, it even has a spiral staircase, that leads to nowhere. The site goes all the way back to the 11th century and was demolished under the reign of King Henry VIII, up until recent years it was fenced off to the public, that was until it received a lottery grant and they were able to open it up so it could be explored and appreciated once again. The party then moved a little further down the road to The Swan Inn. The sun came out and everyone was able to enjoy the rest of their day in the gardens with good food and drink.

This was such a special wedding to be part of, they were all so welcoming and kind, they were such a lovely family, I even got a little picture and note from one of the children there. An extra bonus for me was that my niece was helping me out that day and my daughter was supervising their wedding at Anne of Cleves, so I got to share it with them too. It really was a day about the importance of love and family.

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categories / Photography, Wedding Photography
tags / wedding dress, weddings, newlyweds, Lewes, wedding bouquet

Photo of the Month

February 13, 2018  /  Rebecca King

I’m very excited as my photograph was picked as Viva Lewes ‘Photo of the Month’. It’s always lovely to have people appreciate your work. The called it 'Robin in the Hood'.
Viva Lewes is a local free magazine that has been running for years. It has food reviews, information of what's going in the pubs and clubs in addition the front cover is always designed by a local artist. So it's always a compliment to be chosen as Photo of the Month. I have won a couple of times and been shortlisted a few more.  

So now all I need to do is to decide what t do with my £20 winnings. 

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categories / Photography, Competition, Wildlife photography
tags / photo competition, robin, Lewes, wildlife, Viva Lewes