After three years of planning, Jen and Stu’s wedding day finally arrived—and I was there from the early morning preparations through to the evening party.
Morning preparations at The Ravenswood
We began at 8am with Jen getting ready and having breakfast with her bridal party. I always enjoy photographing this part of a wedding: before the ceremony, before everyone is gathered together, when the day is still taking shape. Including these preparations gives the finished gallery a proper beginning rather than starting only when the ceremony does.
After so much planning, it felt important to give the beginning of Jen and Stu’s day its proper place. Breakfast with the bridal party might seem a quieter chapter than the ceremony or the dancing, but it belongs to the experience of getting married. Those photographs take the story back to the morning, when the celebration was still ahead of everyone.
Starting at 8am also let the gallery develop gradually. There was time to begin with Jen’s preparations before moving into the shared parts of the wedding. I love that sense of a day gathering momentum; it makes the later photographs feel like the continuation of something, rather than a collection of separate highlights.
Morning preparations with Jen’s bridal partyJen and her bridal party ready for the wedding at The Ravenswood
Stu and his wedding party ready for the day
A wedding ceremony beside the Little Castle
Their ceremony took place beside The Ravenswood’s Little Castle, the venue’s distinctive outdoor ceremony setting. It made a beautiful backdrop for the moment they had spent so long planning towards.
The Little Castle is such a recognisable part of The Ravenswood. Its stone setting gives an outdoor ceremony a distinctive backdrop, and for Jen and Stu it became the place where three years of anticipation led to their wedding vows. That history of planning made this chapter especially meaningful to include in the story.
The Ravenswood’s setting in Sharpthorne brings a countryside character to a Sussex wedding. For this part of the day, though, my attention was on the ceremony itself: the venue gave the photographs their surroundings, and Jen and Stu gave them their reason.
Confetti after the wedding ceremonyJen beside the flowers at the Little Castle
Family photographs and couple portraits at The Ravenswood
Afterwards, we gathered everyone for family photographs before making some time for Jen and Stu on their own. While their guests enjoyed drinks, we took their couple’s portraits around the venue. This gave us a lovely balance: photographs with the people who had come to celebrate, followed by a little space for the newlyweds together.
The order worked beautifully for telling the story. Family photographs kept the people who had gathered for the ceremony together in the gallery; portraits afterwards gave Jen and Stu a chapter of their own. Both mattered. A wedding collection should remember who was there as well as how the couple looked together on their day.
Taking their portraits while guests enjoyed drinks allowed that time to sit within the celebration. This is something I think about when planning Sussex wedding photography with a couple: making space for pictures you will treasure while keeping the day centred on the experience you want to have.
A playful wedding-party photograph at The RavenswoodJen and Stu walking together through The Ravenswood grounds
A quiet portrait together in the gardens
A drone view of Jen and Stu on the lawn at The Ravenswood
Speeches, evening guests and dancing
The reception began with speeches, bringing everyone back into the shared celebration. Then, at 7pm, the evening guests arrived and the atmosphere shifted again. With the DJ playing and the dancing underway, the wedding became a proper party.
By the time the evening guests arrived at 7pm, the gallery already held so many different parts of their wedding. The DJ and dancing brought another change of pace, giving the story an ending that felt very different from breakfast with the bridal party. Being there across those changes was a real pleasure.
What stays with me is the span of it all: three years spent looking forward to one day, then that day unfolding from preparations into a proper party. Jen and Stu gave me a wedding with a beginning, a centre and an evening full of celebration to photograph, and I wanted their finished story to make room for every part.
Photographing the whole day meant being able to tell all of those chapters: breakfast with the bridal party, the ceremony by the Little Castle, family photographs, newlywed portraits and the evening celebrations. After three years of anticipation, Jen and Stu had a wedding story worth remembering from the very beginning to the final dance.
Cutting the cake at the wedding receptionJen and Stu with their wedding guests: a drone photograph at The Ravenswood in Sussex
Time together as the celebrations continue
Planning your own wedding photographs.
If this feels like the kind of day you would love, tell me about your plans. We can talk about the photographs that matter to you and how they will fit around your celebration.
