From the Wedding of Jo & Nidge, English Wine Centre, located in the New South Downs National Park, Sussex.

 

 

Jo & Nidge, English Wine Centre, Sussex

 

The first week of April and the weather was good, blue skies, warm but not too hot perfect conditions for photographing a wedding, maybe the wedding guests would have prefefferd the temperature a little warmer but I know from experience and photographing weddings for the last eleven years us men are happy for a cooler day as those suits can be a little hot at times especially whilst waiting for the bride to arrive (my wife was 30 minutes late for our wedding but then she did drive our vintage vw camper to the ceremony herself ! If you meet me at a wedding or wedding fair ask me about it !)

 

 

I think Jo was possibly the most relaxed bride I have ever photographed, which makes everything relaxed. The morning preparation was great Jo’s Dad used to work as a photographer before retiring so it was great to talk to him about cameras and film and how photography had evolved over the years.

 

Jo’s dress was by wedding dress designer  Chanticleer form the Ozone wedding boutique in Brighton and being a shorter dress showed off her fabulous shoes, Jo’s hair and make up was by the lovely Donna Stevenson who is a professional hair and makeup artist this made for a really cool and glamorous looking bride.

 

The wedding ceremony and reception was at the English wine center so a drive from Worthing to Berwick (just under 30 miles) and for this reason Jo made sure she was ready in plenty of time. this is really good as it gives your wedding photographer some time to photograph the bride in the dress and also some family groups before the wedding. I was then able to leave in plenty of time to go and photograph the guys at the wedding venue and I knew I had some really good photographs of Jo and Jo and her family.

 

The rest of the day was absolutely perfect. A great band  ‘The Daggers”  Played in the evening and really got the party going.

 

 

The first wedding of this year was march 10th at Wiston House located near Horsham, Steyning and Bramber in the county of Sussex.

 

I don’t tend to write too much about the wedding day preferring to post some of the wedding photography as this is a photography website and not a writers website.

 

March can be very varied with regards to weather, it can be very cold and grey or very bight and fresh or any combination of these. Fortunately it was dry and warm but fresh with a lovey blue sky . The sun is still very low in the sky at this time of year and can lead to a long shadows and contrasty light which is something a good photographer is aware of and an experienced wedding photographer can use creatively and turn to their advantage. So always use an experienced qualified photographer if you want truly great wedding photography.

 

Fortunately Wiston House as some great grounds and architecture so making full use of these features was possible due to the great weather an the assistance of Amy who was on hand all day to see that the wedding went with out a problem . Amy was really helpful  to us as photographers and is a real star at Wiston house as were all the staff .The food provided was also great (we do occasionally get forgotten about, hint, hint please feed your photographer/photographers, it’s a long day sometimes 12 hours and more photographing the whole wedding day). So a big thank you to Marie & David for arranging food for us.

 

The really nice thing about Wiston House is the luxury of space and there will only be one wedding a day so you have complete exclusivity of the house and grounds.

For brides and grooms looking at wedding venues always ask if yours will be the only wedding at that venue on the day.

 

There are some really great wedding venues in Sussex and Brighton so you are really spoilt for choice, some personal favourites of ours as wedding photographers in Sussex are the George in Rye it is a quaint Sussex town the George in Rye has  great decoration and also is a very short walk from the Town Hall which is a popular wedding ceremony location in Rye.

 

Lewes castle is also great and the registers are also really friendly.

 

In Brighton we really love the venues by the sea as this is what Brighton is all about. Their is a good mixture of large and small venues to suit your wedding and the amount of guests you have invited from Hotel du vin, The Grand , The Terraces , The Brighton hotel and Drakes.

 

Look out for the next blog post which features wedding photography from the English Wine Centre

Kirsty & Duncan are getting married in Brighton at the Grand Hotel Later in the year so what better excuse to have their ‘Engagement Photography Session ‘ on Brighton Beach .

There was a little vintage theme on the day which invloved one Brighton Pier, One Magic Roundabout, One Bandstand 8 oysters, The ocean , 2 lovely people and one very happy photographer (you know when you have a great photo session in the making).

All couples booking their wedding with Nigel Lees Photography will be able to have a lovely Photographic session prior to their wedding as its really good practice before your wedding day.

Lisa & Nigel’s wedding at the George in Rye, (West Sussex) featuring their amazing cake from choccywoccydoodah,  mmmm tasty tatse

I will be at the Massive Metropole Hilton Wedding Show this Sunday hosted by Stylish Events. I will be displaying my Favourite wedding albums from this year includeing the amazing Wedding of the year form ‘The George in Rye’ . I also have 100 copies of the current issue of ‘Just Weddings Magazine’ featuring by photography on the front cover  ! See you there 11am-4pm.

Image courtsey of Stylish Events

The front cover features a fashion article I photographed for just weddings magazine at the lovely Blue Bell Railway in Sussex, there is also a wedding fashion article in the magazine which shows some of  Sera De’s  range of fabulous  Wedding Dresses.  http://www.seradesbridal.com/

Sera De’s  is the premier stockist of San Patrick wedding dresses and they are based in Lewes East Sussex, Lewes is one of the most magical of  East Sussex’s villages boasting some great little independent shops bars,coffee shops and also Lewes Castle a really magical venue for your wedding day. www.sussexpast.co.uk12

My favourite location for ‘Engagement Session Photography’

My favourite wedding location changes more frequently than the weather changes during the English summer , certain venues such as Stanmer house are very grand and have fabulous rooms and is located very close to Brighton and a venue like the terraces, Hotel du Vin or Drakes have immediate access to the sea and the stunning views of the ocean .

There are so many great venues to choose from in Brighton and then there are venues in East and West Sussex , in East Sussex The George in Rye is a hidden gem as it’s set in the lovely Coastal town of Rye or West Sussex Bartfolmew Barn is very intermet and secluded but alo has acres of land should you be planning a firework display or bouncey Castles for your guest and yourselfs to enjoy.

I frequently photograph venues in London and further going as far as Norway, Ireland and Italy  and each venue,town and country has its great photographic qualitys and charms.

I think my favourite place for the ever popular ‘Engagement photography Sessions’ is Brighton this wofuld be my favourite location for this type of photography closely followed by Central London . Brighton offers the sea and London some great landmarks and architecture .When it comes to a Wedding and Wedding photography I’m happy to photograph anywhere as I really love photography it’s possible the best job you could wish for.

See Nigel Lees Photography at the new American Express Community Stadium  the purpose built home of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club.

Opening in the summer of 2011 the stadium is situated in Falmer near Brighton and the stadium and it’s facilities are truly state of the art and launches it as the most exciting new venue on the South Coast!

‘We are absolutely delighted to be able to hold the first ever wedding fair at this great new addition to the Brighton area and feel that our cutting edge wedding fair is absolutely suited to this cutting edge stadium – come and join us to see for yourself…’

words and images for this blog post courtesy of Stylish Events      http://www.stylisheventsfayres.com/index.html

The Wedding of Natash & Stephen was in the village of Firle , East Sussex .The historic village of Firle stands in an area of outstanding natural beauty, at the foot of the South Downs National Park in Sussex and around 60 miles to the south of London.

Firle village is home to the beautiful 13th Century St. Peter’s Church. Reverend Peter Owen Jones is very accommodating and is happy to marry couples from outside the parish as well as from within.  (extracts form www.firle.com)

was in the parish of Kirdford with Plaistow which is in West Sussex the ceremony was conducted at St John The Baptist Church and the reception was a short drive away at Bartholomew Barn which is located in Kirdford West Sussex, RH14 OLN.

The vicar was Rev Dr Paul Redparth and was very happy to have photography during the ceremony which was very kind and thoughtful, its always good as it captures the emotion of the couple during the vows .Certain parishes don’t allow  photography during a wedding ceremony which is always a shame as we attempt to document the day and this is an important part of the day and can be enjoyed and looked back on for years and future generations can view the wedding.

Think of the Royal Weddings all of these are filmed and photographed during the ceremony and have been since Queen Elizabeth 2 got married in 1947 .when photographing a wedding ceremony I dont use flash and don’t move , after the wedding ceremony Rev Paul Redparth remarked “I was the quietest photographer he had encountered” and “didn’t even realise I was there”. What a compliment proving less is more, you don’t have to dance around to get great photographs.

After the ceremony it was off to Bartholomew Barn just outside of Petworth which is a lovely little venue there are some great secluded areas to photograph and it has a feel of an enchanted garden . The grounds are not massive near the barn but this gives the venue a more intimate feel and is a exclusive venue so there is only one wedding per day which is not the case at some of the more larger hotel complexes in Brighton.Plus there are two very large fields adjacent should fireworks or other entertainment be planned.

To see more images from Emma and Deans wedding check out the spring edition of just weddings magazine or  dowload the app from the apple app store , see www.justweddingsmag.co.uk