Long Furlong Barn Wedding | Suzie + Ian

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As a West Sussex Wedding Photographer, I am lucky to photograph at many of the most beautiful Barns in our lovely county, all nestled in the South Downs and with stunning scenery year round. Regular readers will know that picturesque Long Furlong Barn, located just North of Worthing, is one of my absolute favourite wedding venues to which I usually return several times throughout the year. The fields surrounding the barn take on different hues year round, and Gemma and her team work hard to ensure every couple has their perfect wedding day. But what really makes those weddings special for me is the couples and their guests, each of whom has a unique story for me to enjoy capturing.

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I photographed four Long Furlong Barn weddings in 2017, of which Suzie and Ian's special day in April was my first of the year. It was also my most emotional - as Suzie and Ian had both been married before, this wedding was to be a joining together of two families. When I met up with Suzie, she explained that this was to be the focus of their ceremony, with the children playing important roles in their day. Suzie's daughter Sophie was not only a bridesmaid, but also had the honour of walking Suzie up the aisle. Ian's ten-year old son Harry was an excellent junior Best Man, and when he handed over the rings during the ceremony, many guests, not to mention the bride herself(!) reached for their tissues.

The civil ceremony was made extra special by the addition of a very personal blessing, once the legal formalities had taken place. The blessing was jointly conducted by Suzie's Catholic parish priest and Ian's brother - an Anglican vicar - ensuring that the couple could incorporate a religious element to their ceremony that was truly personal to them. The family lit a unity candle as part of their blessing. I had captured a similar symbolic joining of families at one of my Florida weddings, where each member of their newly united families poured sand into a glass jar. At both that wedding, and Suzie and Ian's, I could see (and capture!) the emotion on the children's faces and the pride they took from their involvement.

It wasn't all serious though, and the couple's sense of fun manifested itself often throughout the day, beginning with Suzie's walk down the aisle to the sounds of Abba's "I do, I do, I do...", and ending with the ecumenical duo making some awesome shapes on the dance floor! The clergymen also each took turns in the front seat of the Pinks Vintage Ice Cream van - sounding those instantly recognisable ringtones that lured guests over in droves! Somehow I never actually get to eat the ice cream at weddings (too busy, plus cameras don't like salted caramel or cookie dough as much as I do!), but I have met the very lovely owners, mother and daughter team Katy and Georgia on many occasions, and can vouch for the amazing taste from wedding fairs we've attended together!

The focus of Suzie and Ian's striking pink and white colour scheme was the incredible display of flowers - roses and gerberas expertly designed and arranged by Suzie's own mother. The extremely tasty cake by FatCakes was also iced in pink and white on the outside, with each tier having a different flavour - Lemon drizzle, chocolate sponge and raspberry buttercream.

Suzie and Ian enjoyed a stunning sunset, which I captured unobtrusively and (almost!) unseen, giving the couple space to process the events of their day and the inherent emotion in the joining together of their two families. It was a truly lovely day that I was proud to have been a part of. Thank you so much Suzie, for writing this lovely testimonial:

Sorry it's taken us so long but have finally written a testimonial for you. We've had so many wonderful comments about your stunning photos and we absolutely love looking at them! {...} Anyway, testimonial below:

"Jenny isn't just an exceptional photographer, she is also an extremely warm and friendly person. I knew she was the right person to capture our special day and we particularly love her candid style of photography. She was also an absolute star during our wedding day - calm and unflappable and willing to stay till the bitter end and get that perfect sparkler shot! We are absolutely thrilled with all our pictures and wouldn't hesitate to recommend her. We look upon her not just as our wedding photographer but as our friend...."

Suzie & Ian xxx

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