A Farbridge wedding at West Dean outside Chichester — a run of flint and brick barns dating to 1825, restored into something light and warm, tucked into the South Downs National Park. Nadia and Andrew had the courtyard, the hedged garden and a barn with the trusses showing, and the kind of cold clear day that suits flint far better than high summer does.
I photographed the day documentary-style from start to finish. Nobody was arranged, nothing was repeated for the camera, and the only forty-five minutes of direction were the three short portrait slots. What follows is the day in the order it happened.
The morning: flint walls, and rooms that stay bright
The barns at Farbridge were restored to be light rather than atmospheric, which is a gift on a short day — white walls, big openings and no gloom to fight. Getting ready happens on site with accommodation there, so nobody is driving in and the morning starts slowly.
I arrive about three hours before the ceremony and take almost nothing for the first twenty minutes. That is deliberate — I am working out where the light is coming from, which window is worth waiting by, and where I can stand without becoming part of the morning. After that I stop being noticeable, and the room forgets I am there.
The ceremony at Farbridge
The Meadow Barn is licensed for the ceremony, with timber trusses overhead and lights strung through them. I work the sides and the back on a silent shutter, and nothing is repeated for the camera afterwards.
I photograph reactions at least as much as I photograph the couple. The vows last about four minutes and there are usually twenty photographs worth having in them, of which three or four are of the two people getting married. The rest are mothers, best friends, and a small child who has entirely given up on the whole thing.
Confetti, and the one bit I do organise
The courtyard between the barns makes the confetti line here — two rows on the flint rather than a ring at a door, held until the couple are properly into the gap, and done in one pass.
Ushers hold everybody until the couple are properly into the gap, the walk is slow, nobody looks at me, and it happens once, properly. Then it is done and everyone goes back to a drink. It is the only moment of the day I take charge of, because confetti is over in eight seconds and it is very easy to waste.
Portraits, and the forty-five minutes I ask for
The directed part of a Farbridge wedding comes to about forty-five minutes, and it is always split into three fifteen-minute slots rather than one long block — straight after the ceremony, again before dinner is called, and once more late on when the light drops. Nobody wants to be taken away from their own party for an hour, and you do not photograph any better in the fiftieth minute than you do in the fifth.
The hedged walk and the courtyard are ten minutes each and give you two completely different sets of pictures without leaving the site. On a winter day the light goes early, so it is worth taking the first slot as soon as the ceremony is done rather than saving it.
Speeches, and the people listening
Speeches are the richest twenty minutes of a Farbridge wedding for a simple reason: nobody can leave and everybody is reacting. So I work the room rather than the top table. Half the frames I want are of the person listening, and specifically of the two or three who are trying not to cry and losing.
The evening, and why I do not leave at the first dance
A lot of photographers stop at the first dance. It is a tidy place to finish and it saves two hours, and it also removes the best hour of your own party from the story. The first dance is a formality; twenty minutes later the floor fills and the shoes come off, and that is the actual celebration.
One barn takes the meal and another takes the dancing, so the room changes character rather than being turned around while everybody stands outside. I stayed until it was properly going, which is how I shoot every Farbridge wedding. There is no overrun charge for that, because I do not sell hours and nobody is counting them.
Planning your own Farbridge wedding?
If you are looking at Farbridge, the venue’s own site is farbridge.org.uk — they handle their own bookings and I am not on a commission arrangement with them, so nothing here is a recommendation I have been paid to make.
Everything I know about shooting a Farbridge wedding is written up in more detail on my Farbridge wedding photographer page, including a suggested timeline and what I think the site does well. There is more of my work in the portfolio, an explanation of how I actually work on the day, and the price is one figure with everything in it.
Nadia and Andrew got a gallery of over eight hundred images, with more than a hundred previews in their inbox the morning after the wedding. If your date is free I would like to hear about it — send me your date and we will have a call.
Farbridge wedding photographer FAQs
Where is Farbridge?
West Dean, near Chichester in West Sussex — a group of barns and outhouses dating from 1825, restored and set in the South Downs National Park.
Does Farbridge work in winter?
Yes, and arguably better. Nadia and Andrew married on a cold bright day and the flint and white barns hold light when there is not much of it. The one thing to plan around is how early it goes dark — take your first portrait slot straight after the ceremony.
How much does a Farbridge wedding photographer cost?
£2,500, all in. Unlimited hours, over eight hundred edited images, previews the next morning, travel included and drone where the rules allow it. There are no packages and no hourly rate to run over.
How long do you need for group photographs?
It depends how many you want. I advise eight to ten groups, which takes fifteen to twenty minutes with a list agreed in advance — then everybody goes back to their drink.
Do you travel to West Sussex?
Yes, and travel is included in the price. There is no mileage charge and no overnight fee if I come the night before, which I often do.
