Duncton Mill wedding | Clair & Sebastien

Duncton Mill wedding photography

A Duncton Mill wedding for Clair and Sebastien on a very hot summer’s day last Saturday. This was a wedding with a subtitle. “A Wedding with a view “. The reason? Well not just that Duncton Mill Fishery is situated at the base of the South Downs, in West Sussex, in an area designated as of “outstanding natural beauty”. But that Seb proposed to Clair in another area of outstanding beauty, Florence ( Firenze) in Tuscany, Italy. (Room with a View territory) The theme of the wedding was some Italian chic merged with an English Countryside style. Some of that ‘Italian chic’ would be a profusion of sunglasses given the intense sunshine!

Coverage began where Clair was getting ready, at the Angel Hotel in Midhurst. The ceremony was just south in the small Sussex village of Cocking, on the road to the coast from Midhurst, in the small church, St Catherine of Siena. It was going to a bit of a squeeze to get everyone in. It’s a lovely twelfth-century church, but it isn’t big. The oldest parts of the church date from the 11th century although most of the church is later, from the 12th to 14th centuries, with substantial additions in the mid-19th century. The church had no dedication until, in April 2007, the congregation agreed to dedicate the church to St Catherine of Siena, whose name is engraved on one of the church bells. But when Clair arrived at the church with her father, there was something missing – her flowers! They hadn’t been at the hotel and Clair’s bouquet and those for the bridesmaids were not at the church. Cue lots of phone calls and a long delay before Clair walked up the hill to the church. The churchwarden then gathered together an impromptu posey of flowers from a display, so she had something to walk down the aisle with. The real flowers arrived mid-ceremony. They had been delivered to the Angel hotel, just the wrong Angel, in another town. Cue florist blushes.

After the ceremony, it was a short drive across the Downs to Duncton Mill Fishery. Here they had created an idyllic country wedding setting by the lake with a massive Tipi tent. Drinks by the lake and a magician to confuse the guests. The sun was blazing which meant the four fans in the tent were struggling to stem the buildup of heat inside. For once the weather changing slightly for the worse – it clouded over – helped. It was still very humid but the lack of direct sunlight as the afternoon went on, made inside more bearable. Speeches followed the meal. A slip of the tongue from Seb, about being “Clair’s wife” and a humourous film made by the bridesmaids to complete this part of the day. As the sun dipped, the evening guests arrived and the party continued.

Here are a few images from this Duncton Mill wedding day…