Cowdray House Wedding Photographer

Sussex Wedding Venue Cowdray House

As Sussex wedding venues go, Cowdray House has to be one of the best. Not only is the house itself wonderful to photograph, but the setting within 16,500 acres in the South Downs National Park is spectacular. The views across West Sussex are glorious and the gardens themselves provide a great backdrop to a wedding. When I took Rachael and Mike off to do some photos of just the two of them I was spoilt for choice as the grounds have so many different areas, all with their own feel. The rooms are all individual & having only recently converted to a wedding venue, the house still retains the feel of a family home, which hugely adds to its attraction. The main hall has the added advantage for a Sussex wedding photographer of having a great upper gallery from where I can shoot down on the wedding. It’s surprising how seldom I can get a wide view of the wedding itself, but at Cowdray House I was able to get a wide view of not only the part of the wedding that was in the main hall, but also as guests were enjoying themselves on the lawns & in the gardens outside.

Getting Ready for Their Wedding

For Rachael and Mike’s wedding I started at Rachael’s parent’s house in Midhurst. It was great to meet Rachael’s bridesmaids and see Lauren Kimber at work doing their hair & makeup. From there, Rachael’s dad took me for a quick spin in his Alfa Romeo to be with Mike and the groomsmen. It was lovely to see Alex again after shooting his wedding to Polly last year, here’s a link to their Marquee wedding. Mike and his groomsmen were having breakfast in the Seven Fish and as I walked in they were having fun over their meal before the walk to the church. It’s in this sort of situation that it’s important to be as unobtrusive a wedding photographer as possible. Being in the middle of a busy cafe being photographed can make you quite self conscious, which is why I always have a chat with the bride and groom a month or so before their wedding about the way I like to work and to pass that on to their wedding party if possible. So when I walked in to the Seven Fish, while not ignoring me, Mike and his groomsmen just continued to enjoy themselves. As a result, I was able to get on with the job of capturing all those great moments you can see below without them reacting to the camera.

Getting to the Church on Time

Mike and the ushers headed over to the church while I photographed them walking and chatting as they went. The service was lovely and for me as a wedding photographer it was made so much easier because the light in the church was wonderful. Huge great windows all across the front flooded the whole church with light. After some confetti outside we headed to Cowdray House.

Documentary Wedding Photography at Cowdray House

The setting was wonderful and I have to give a mention to Jacaranda catering, who ran the day beautifully and served great food. We benefited from the gorgeous weather as well as a wonderful atmosphere created by all the friends and family. Rachael and Mike were wonderful to photograph, particularly when I took them off for some photos of just the two of them. They are so natural together it was easy to get shots of them laughing and joking together, enjoying a few minutes away from their guests and the whirlwind that was their wedding day.

If you like the look of this Cowdray House Wedding in the heart of Sussex, you might be interested in some other venues in Sussex I’ve shot weddings at. Have a look at this Ravenswood wedding, this Slaugham Place wedding and this Horsted Place wedding.