Grittenham Barn
As barn wedding venues go, Grittenham Barn has to be one of the best. I come across a lot of them as a Sussex wedding photographer, and it always comes down to one thing, the light. The barn at this wedding venue has particularly good light and this makes my job a total joy! Grittenham Barn is also set in some of the best scenery you will ever come across for a wedding. The grounds of the venue are beautiful, as is the grade 2 listed farmhouse. This made getting great wedding photographs of Sarah and Simon really easy, though a big chunk of that was also down to them. They were obviously so happy to be getting married to each other that I hardly had to direct them at all. We went for a walk around the estate and I photographed them having some time to themselves. They were very natural together and so happy on their wedding day, and that came across in the photos, not only of them out on their own, but also throughout their wedding day.
Wedding Preperations
I started the wedding day with Sarah in the bridal suite. She had lots of family and bridal party around her and I was able to get some great shots of them all getting ready. The rooms are within sight of the barn so as guests turned up Sarah was able to see who had arrived without being seen herself. That included when Simon and his groomsmen turned up too! For me it was great because as a Grittenham Barn wedding photographer I was able to see when it was a good idea to head out and get some shots of guests and of course of Simon saying hi to everyone as he waited for the wedding ceremony to start.
The Wedding Ceremony
Sarah and Simon’s ceremony was beautiful. Grittenham Barn has an area specifically for the wedding ceremony, it’s a lovely intimate area, really in keeping with the feel of the barn itself. After a beautifully emotional ceremony, we all poured out in to the courtyard for drinks and canapés as well as some group photographs. One of the things I like most about Grittenham Barn is that it is very much part of the estate. Rather than being on the estate but set apart from it as with most barn venues, you can see lots of different bits of the estate from right outside the barn in the courtyard. Coming in, you also see lots of bits of what is obviously a working farm too, which adds to its charm.
I had a wide choice of locations for the group shots, and chose some lovely Sussex stone as the background.
The Wedding Breakfast
After taking Sarah and Simon off for some photographs of just the two of them, and after lots of guests enjoyed the reception time drinking and laughing, everyone headed in for the wedding breakfast.
The barn boasts some amazing directional light, wonderful for me as a Grittenham Barn wedding photographer. It wasn’t just that it was a fabulously sunny day, though that did really help! The wedding speeches took place right next to a big window meaning I was able to get some lovely semi silhouettes, with the light creeping round Simon as he spoke.
Sarah and Simon’s First Dance
Once again I was able to use the natural sunlight to its best during Sarah and Simon’s first dance. Sometimes I have to use a bit of flash to capture the energy in the dancing, but this time I didn’t have to. I was able to photograph some very acrobatic dancing from guests as the evening drew on! Other guests spilled out into the courtyard and took advantage of the warm evening air to chat and laugh until late.
A couple of thank you’s. I need to thank Simon’s groomsmen for their help and also a shout out for Angel Like Flowers who did particularly beautiful bouquets and button holes, as well as the huge display in the centre of the barn!
If you enjoyed this blog post, you might like to see other blogs I’ve written about barn venues. Here’s one I wrote recently about Cissbury Barns, and here’s a link to a page about Farbridge Barns, with lots of links to blogs and articles I’ve written about weddings I’ve shot there.
