The Ravenswood Wedding | Hayley and Ben

by Penny Young | Country House Wedding, Summer Wedding, The Ravenswood, Wedding Venues in Sussex, Weddings | 0 comments

Hayley and Ben’s wedding was a beautiful day to remember. It was my first wedding at The Ravenswood a 15th century manor house close to East Grinstead and what a lovely venue it is. My first impression when I arrived was that it was huge and very atmospheric! The weather was forecast to be hot, hot hot, which comes as a huge relief when planning an outdoor ceremony!

I hadn’t actually met Hayley or Ben in person before their wedding as they live in Oman but we did have a long chat via Skype. They had already had a quiet legal ceremony but their wedding day was to be a much bigger celebration for all of their lovely family and friends.

The Ravenswood Bridal Suite

The Ravenswood has a dedicated bridal suite for the girls to get read in and Hayley was surrounded by her lovely mum and friends when I arrived. I was soon joined by Carol from Cut Above Productions who was capturing the day on film. It’s always such a pleasure to work with Carol and her team! Carol and I spent a bit of time drooling over and photographing Hayley’s very special Dune bejewelled wedding shoes!

The Boys by my Second Shooter

My second shooter for the day, Darren Arthur, met Ben in the reception of the hotel and they spent a bit of time together capturing some lovely (and silly) boys shots including some lovely and very important family groups.

Soon the corks were popping in the bridal suite and it was time for Hayley to get dressed.

An Outdoor Ceremony in the Little Castle

The ceremony was held in the Little Castle in the grounds of the hotel. It was blisteringly hot and thankfully the guests had been supplied with paper fans! The beautiful ceremony was presided over by independent celebrant Sophie Easton of True Promise Ceremonies and there were not many dry eyes when the couple exchanged their vows. There were lovely readings from members of their family.

A Hot Summer Wedding Reception

As it was so hot we kept people indoors and captured their family group photos inside in the majestic Baronial Hall. While the guests were relaxing in the warm summer weather Hayley, Ben and I did a little tour of the hotel grounds for some couple portraits. Hayley recently told me that she wished that they’d had a practice run of ‘conoodling’ before their big day as she didn’t think they were very good at it. I have to beg to differ Hayley, I think you both look amazing, don’t you agree!

The wedding breakfast was served in the Princess Beatrice Suite which is a magnificent vaulted octagonal room, followed by their speeches which had some very funny moments. Then it was cake cutting and dancing. The brides sister in law, who is a professional singer, did a turn in the evening with the band. It was amazing and really got everyone onto the dance floor!

Hayley and Ben’s day was filled with so much love, happiness and friendship and it was a real pleasure to be part o