Here’s a wedding I shot at Upwaltham Barns
Sussex wedding venue Upwaltham Barns
Upwaltham Barns advertise themselves as the prettiest barn wedding venue & while they have plenty of competition there’s no doubt it is a beautiful setting for a Sussex wedding. Set in the wonderful South Downs these restored, traditional Sussex flint long barns provide a warm & friendly reception. All the barns are the couple’s for the day & are family owned. They are close to the Goodwood Estate & half an hour from the sea.
The East Barn
The East Barn is where the ceremony takes place. The huge windows either side let in loads of daylight particularly as the bride is caught in a pool of light coming from the back of the barn towards the front. Rain or shine the barn will be bright & airy. The quality of light is what makes the best barn wedding venues stand out from the crowd.
The Courtyard
The central courtyard provides a lovely area for guests to gather before the ceremony. As a Sussex wedding photographer, it provides me with a great location to walk around photographing people greeting each other & hugging as they excitedly chat & laugh before the day really gets going. I can mingle discreetly without causing any fuss & capture lots of quite intimate moments. Often friends & relatives haven’t seen each other for a while before the wedding, so when they do, & on such an exciting day, the reactions are excellent to photograph! The Courtyard is also a great area for guests to spill out into after the ceremony for drinks & canapés & maybe some confetti. We can do some group shots here as well as a huge group shot of everyone at the wedding. Guests can enjoy themselves while I take the bride & groom off for some shots of just the two of them for a short time.
Surrounding countryside
For some photos of the happy couple, the hills around Upwaltham Barns are a great chance to find some sweeping landscapes as a background. A walk around the farm & up the slopes onto the South Downs creates plenty of photo opportunities without even really trying too hard. I love to take natural, beautiful photos, so I do very little posing of the couple. Just having a walk through the fields means the couple get some time to themselves on their big day, while I get all the shots I need to provide them with beautiful photos to remember it all by.
Jasmine Cottage
The bridal party getting ready is an important part of the day for me as a West Sussex wedding photographer. If I’m honest it is possibly my favourite part of the day as I get a lot of very beautiful & emotional photos during the bridal preparations. Jasmine Cottage provides a lovely location for not only getting ready but also the newly married couple’s first night together. The whole bridal party has space to spread out & get made up & dressed for the day. With a kitchen & lounge area too it means friends & family can visit too without being part of the brides preps upstairs in the large bedroom.
South Barn
This is where the wedding breakfast takes place. The South Barn is a large long barn with great flint walls & wooden beams. It works best with lots of candlelight, from tea lights in the recesses in the brickwork & along the beams & from the chandeliers. Candles give off wonderful soft light giving great skin tones & of course is a very romantic light which is lovely to eat by. Big French windows at one end light the top table, which is great for the speeches. With the Stable Bar just off the South Barn, guests can get a drink at any time or just go there for a change. It also makes for a great retreat for parents with kids for some time out.
Check out Lisa & Stephen’s Upwaltham Barns wedding
Upwaltham Barns, Upwaltham, Chichester, West Sussex GU28 0LX