Why marquee weddings are great

Marquee weddings form a large part of the weddings I photograph as a Sussex wedding photographer. They vary enormously because they can be pretty much anywhere you like. In the middle of a field, like Polly & Alex’s wedding, in a parent’s garden, like Georgie & Rory’s wedding, or sometimes at a venue that has a large open space like Sonya & Andrew’s wedding at Slaugham Place. There are many benefits to a marquee apart from being able to put it anywhere, you can get the right marquee for the amount of people you want at your wedding rather than having to limit your guests. I’ve even been at weddings where they’ve had to increase the amount of guests to fill the venue the wedding couple wanted! Marquees give your wedding room to breathe, they’re very sociable and even if it rains and everyone has to pile inside you still end up with a party atmosphere.

Why I love marquees as a Sussex photographer

Those are some of the reasons why I think you’ll love a marquee wedding, but I’ll now tell you why I love a marquee wedding as a Sussex photographer. It’s basically down to the light. Inside a marquee, come rain or shine you get beautiful soft diffused light, meaning I can shoot wonderful skin tones. The smooth light means I can shoot as I like getting great light on everyone without the harsh directional light you get in some venues particularly from downlighters. It also means I’m not fighting against the light or lack of it. Marquees also have lots of room, meaning I can move around pretty much unnoticed shooting on telephoto lenses from across the room, or on wide angle lenses close up catching all the moments I want as guests enjoy the happy couple’s special day. During the speeches in particular I don’t like getting in guest’s way as I choose my vantage point to get the best shots of the top table as the father of the bride, the groom and the best man give their speeches. Having a lot of room means I can float around making sure I’m not in anyone’s eye line while they laugh and cry as the bridal party speak. Marquees are very flexible and if necessary we can even do group shots inside if it’s too hot outside or raining, because of the lovely light.

Sussex marquee wedding

I’ve chosen Georgina & Matt’s day to show a full wedding in a marquee, though I was spoilt for choice when choosing one to show. There are many more on my blog. They chose to get married at Westfield Church, just down the road from Georgina’s parent’s farm in East Sussex. Georgina got ready at her parent’s house and I met up with Matt at a pub where he was having a quick drink with his groomsmen before going on to the church. The ceremony at the church was a lovely country ceremony with loads of friends and relatives. We then all went back to the farm for drinks and canapés and then in the evening light we all walked up to the marquee for speeches and food and then some dancing on a floor totally packed with people!