Filtering by Category: Lewes

Alice and Ed -Anne of Cleves House

I was lucky enough to be asked to photograph the wedding reception of this adorable couple at the stunning Anne of Cleves House in Lewes. I had photographed weddings at Anne of Cleves before, so I felt very comfortable with the venue and I know quite well the lovely people that work there.

There is also a beautiful garden a short 3 minutes walk from the venue, so we went to the beautiful Southover Grange for some couple shots within the colourful flower gardens. It was a glorious sunny day and we were there early evening, so there was a beautiful soft light. Alice looked perfect, she was like a May queen with her flower crown on and surrounded by the stunning blooms of many colours. Alice was perfection in her amazing beaded dress. She looked naturally beautiful and ever so cool. Ed was my first groom in a patterned shirt and I thought he carried it off with aplomb, and looked fabulous.

It was such a lovely day, the couple and their friends didn't take themselves too seriously and had so much fun with their photos. There was many a fun pose and plenty of silliness. It’s brilliant for me as that makes for great photographs that are a representation of the couple and their personalities. I always try to make sure that my couples are relaxed and themselves in their wedding photographs, I don’t want them to pose for photographs in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable.

One of my favourite decorative touches Alice and Ed had was a photograph of their cat, Laszlo, so I decided I would embroider him on their usb keyring, as part of their gift package as well as their gingerbread people avatars.

Go over to our Facebook page for more photographs from Alice and Ed’s big day.

Lisa & Richard - Anne of Cleves House

I had the chance to photograph another wedding at the beautiful medieval house of Anne of Cleves, in Lewes. I love to do jobs with them as everyone at weddings at Sussex Past are so lovely and friendly.

It is a very elegant venue with so much history, it feels very special to be at an event there. The house has been there since the 15th century, and was gifted to Anne as part of her divorce settlement from Henry VIII. I think she got a pretty good deal, a beautiful home and to keep her head.

This was a very intimate wedding with a very gentle atmosphere. Lisa and Richard love tea, so they had a cream tea for their buffet. The delicious cakes and goodies were supplies by Horam Home Kitchen.

It’s always a privilege to be chosen to be part of a couple’s wedding day, as you are part of their special celebration. A wedding is a very private and personal experience, the day is about love, friendship and family and people have their usual guards down and are more relaxed and joyful. It really is an honour to be chosen to record it, as the photographs will be a part of the couple and family story forever.

Viva Lewes - Photo of the Month

I was very excited as my photograph was picked as Viva Lewes ‘Photo of the Month’ for April’s edition. It’s always lovely to have people appreciate your work. They called it ‘Looking Back’. This refers to the fact that whenever I take my camera out when I walk, I always make sure that I look back because I could be missing a great photograph, but from a different angle. Which is exactly what happened with this photograph.

Something very special and happened after I won. I was contacted via Viva by someone who’s friend had had the bench put there in memorial for her husband, she was also very poorly and her friend wanted to give her the photograph, as a reminder, to help her feel better. I of course obliged and had one printed, I was so touched that I did it for no charge. It was my pleasure to do something special for someone who was having a difficult time.

It’s a very special feeling to think that something you have created will mean so much to someone else and give someone happiness.

Forever Autumn

I was very fortunate in November to photograph these lovely sisters and their families. I had photographed one of the families before and I always have the most fun with them. This shoot was to be the same jolly, happy, easy going and, as always, with fabulous outfit changes.

The photographs took place at the local Priory ruins in Lewes, (my favourite place). The seasons really change the place. There are so many colours the orange, red and yellow leaves contrasting against the gorgeous greys and whites of the flint and stones and so many textures in the ruined buildings. It is particularly beautiful in Autumn, there are so many different colour leaves, it is just stunning. We were fortunate to have had dry weather, so the children could sit on leaves without any fear of getting wet. A couple of days after the weather turned very windy so most of the leaves had blown off the branches.

I constantly wonder if I did the right thing by leaving my secure office job to follow this path, being self employed is difficult, especially if you’re like me a, ‘Cautious Carol’ that never that never leaves my comfort zone, but when I have experiences like this shoot and I create such beautiful photographs, that my clients love, it makes me very happy and pleased I made the scary move.