Sussex wedding photography

Anna and David’s wedding might have ended up at the stunningly beautiful Milwards Estate in Laughton, East Sussex, but it started 17 miles away in Hayward’s Heath and took in the ancient Church of St Mary the Virgin, Ringmer on the way.

I knew it was going to be a fun and relaxed wedding to photograph because when I first met up with Anna and David, a year before their wedding, they were so enthusiastic and friendly. They’d seen my pictures from their friends Lisa and Tom’s wedding the previous autumn and really liked my documentary style of wedding photography.

When their big day arrived it was one of those blistering spring days last year when the Sussex Weald looks an absolute picture. Speaking of which, taking pictures on such bright, sunny days can be both a challenge and an opportunity. So much of photography is about light. In fact, the word ‘photography’ means ‘drawing with light’, so as a wedding photographer, especially a documentary wedding photographer that doesn’t constantly interrupt the day to ask couples to kindly ‘move over here where the light is better’, you have to be creative and ‘work with the light’.

Milwards Estate wedding photography

This heightened awareness of the light makes me even more creative as a wedding photographer and can make for a real variety of mood in the images – from back lit shots and deep shadows to silhouettes and dappled light. It’s all there if you know how to handle the light. And, of course, the colours can really pop on a sunny spring day! All this can add to the storytelling that is at the heart of my wedding photography.

It also helps to have a great venue to photograph. The Milwards Estate in East Sussex near Laughton is just perfect for weddings – with the marquee, huge lake and gardens, and the backdrop of the Grade II listed house. And I loved Anna and David’s choice of having a fish and chip van drive onto the main lawn to serve the wedding breakfast – it all helped to give the whole day a very relaxed and fun feel.

If you’re looking for a documentary wedding photographer to tell the story of your East Sussex wedding, or any other location, I’d love you to get in touch.

Getting married in Sussex, Surrey, Kent or Hampshire? Check out this guide to my favourite wedding venues.