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Fitzleroi Barn Wedding Photographer – Barn Wedding – Sussex Photographer –
I’ve frequently called myself a Fitzleroi Barn wedding photographer, and I love shooting there! These weddings are set in the rural utopia of West Sussex near Pulborough and Petworth, underneath the beautiful South Downs in England’s newest National Park. This barn wedding venue is the epitome of a rustic, rural wedding, with fairy lights in the rafters and stone buildings backing onto the surrounding fields and rolling countryside of the West Sussex area.
The wedding ceremony is hosted inside the barn, illuminated with fairy lights and candles on the table. The cottage below is near where you’ll meet the registrar/celebrant before the ceremony and the backdrop of this tranquil house works nicely for a group photo before the ceremony begins.
A central aisle is created just between the rows of chairs, and the entrance doors work well for confetti after the ceremony, leading directly back into the courtyard where the wedding reception drinks are served. The ceremony room has a fantastic atmosphere, with soft light coming from the doors, but also the surrounding illumination from the fairy lights (Alex & Jack hung additional festoon lighting in the image below).
My experience as a Fitzleroi Barn wedding photographer, means paying attention to the surrounding landscape. As a working farm, Fitzleroi barn has crop rotations that affect what backgrounds are available depending on the year and season. A couple of times I’ve shot there in spring, the rape fields have been in full bloom creating a swathe of yellow in the background. In autumn, the colours of the trees that line the country lanes are adorned in seasonal foliage and the surrounding fields create a great backdrop for bridal portraits. For group photographs of family and the bridal party, I’ve enjoyed mixing up the backgrounds and using the landscape and stonewalls for backdrops.
A Barn Wedding Venue in the South Downs National Park
It’s so great seeing the South Downs in the background of some of these photos. You can view some more photographs from these individual weddings in the recent weddings section of the website. I also strongly recommend having a look at Pete & Ellie’s Anglo/Kiwi wedding reception at Fitzleroi Barn, which can be found on the blog here. The barn doors also make a great backdrop for wedding photographs either of the couple or group pictures. Ross & Charlotte had a great time in front of the camera at their wedding on the blog here.
Barn Wedding Receptions in Pulborough, West Sussex
The wedding reception in the barn always looks rustic and warming, usually using round tables for the table plan, with round centre pieces. Couples often use slices of large branches/tree trunks for the centrepieces that fit the circular tables well. The fairy lights also work really well later on in the evening when the lights go down and the first dance begins!
At golden hour, the sun starts to set over the fields to the West, or South West depending on the season. This shot from an autumn wedding with Alex & Jack had some beautiful golden colours and the light on the South Downs in the background provides some lovely textures.
Finally, speeches, cake cutting and first dance all happen inside the barn, under the fairy lights hung from the rafters. Depending on the layout of the tables, you may have the top table near the dance floor or in the centre of the room, which may dictate where the speeches take place. The first dance looks amazing under the fairy lights, but your photographer will need to light it with a little off camera flash to get the best shots. My favourite shot recently was taken outside under a blanket of stars in one of the darkest areas of West Sussex where there is very little light pollution.
Have a look on the Fitzelroi Barn website for more info.