Eastlands Estate wedding photography – a photographer’s review

A review of the Eastlands Estate wedding venue from the perspective of a professional wedding photographer.

Eastlands Estate in Billingshurst, West Sussex is a beautiful country wedding venue set in almost 200 acres of well maintained grounds complete with it’s own lake, giving your wedding photographer ample opportunity to take some stunning wedding photos on your wedding day.

For a Summer wedding ceremony, Eastlands differs from most venues by offering a wedding ceremony that feels almost inside and oustide at the same time… as you’ll see from the photos below your wedding party can be seated outside enjoying the sunshine throughout the wedding ceremony, whilst the bride and groom, registrar and photographer are placed just inside the building – enjoying the shade offered by the covered roof as they take their vows. This does represent something of a challenge for your photographer and/or videographer with regards to exposing correctly from inside the building when the background (outside) is several stops brighter – so make sure your photographer knows how to expose properly for tricky lighting conditions!

In addition to the technical aspects of the indoor/outdoor scenario, you may also find that a two photographer team will cover the wedding ceremony much more easily than a single photographer, since once the wedding ceremony begins he or she will be stuck in one place (most likely inside to get the best pictures of the exchange of vows) and will be unable to move around at will. A second photographer staying outside will therefore be invaluable in capturing the general wedding scene and also be able to take photos of your family and friends during the cermemony discreetly from the back. The slight seperation between bride and groom and their guests during the actual ceremony is something to keep in mind, and won’t suit every couple – but so long as this doesn’t worry you, the venue is a delight to visit and to photograph.

Once the ceremony is complete, it’s outside to enjoy the wedding reception in the estate grounds…

…and I think you’ll agree, that the grounds make for an amazing wedding venue!

If you tire of playing on the oversized chess set outside, there is also croquet to be played on the lawns… or why not take a quiet stroll around the lake, or ask your wedding photographer to use this as the perfect setting for a set of romantic pictures you’ll keep forever!

The reception and wedding breakfast at the Eastlands Estate take place in a giant air conditioned marquee, complete with twinkling ceiling lights that look great both on the day and in your wedding photos. Table places are laid out with meticulous attention to detail:

Back to photography, and the group wedding photo for everyone is always a popular choice – and the patio area makes a great setting for this, with windows to private rooms right above allowing your photographer to get a great view down on your guests so we can see everyone who came to enjoy the wedding – and look at the setting behind!

A few other little pointers… we’ve found the staff at Eastlands to be very helpful and polite, and as photographers we’re always pleased with a venue that looks after the staff too. In addition to the grounds outside, the rooms inside the house are luxurious and clean, and also offer a number of opportunities for great wedding photos if you decide to (or need to) go inside. Personally, I love a venue that offers a variety of different surfaces and textures we can use to shoot on/with – especially when photographing the wedding details like this example photo below of the bride’s shoes, which I shot on the funky looking bathroom floor – or the wedding rings below that, arranged on a glass table just inside the house. It can be little details like this that help make up an amazing wedding album that will really stand out from the crowd!

Just a couple more photos to show you now… one taken on the impressive driveway leading up to the main house, and the final one taken as the sun goes down and the groomsmen enjoy posing in the grounds…

I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos above, and I’ve given you some idea of what to expect if you’re thinking about booking your wedding or wedding reception at the Eastlands Estate. Overall, I’d say this is a lovely wedding venue with some good wedding photo opportunities for the creative wedding photographer.

If you’d like to see more of our wedding photography or would like details for booking us to photograph your wedding, please feel free to contact us directly.

Rob Hooper

Sussex wedding photography at Eastlands Estate