Wet wedding | Cassie & Luke

Wet wedding at Cissbury Barns

Wet wedding. It’s always the question before a wedding….what will the weather do on the day? For Cassie and Luke, it was unlucky, the rain came on the day and it stayed. Seven hours of continuous rain. A very wet wedding at Cissbury Barns. This is Sussex in May! Then again, they say it is actually lucky if it rains on your wedding day!? (A full-on thunderstorm for mine, many years ago – not sure what that means?) The last time I was at Cissbury Barns, it was crisp, autumnal sunshine. This time the sun didn’t appear all day. But it didn’t stop the enjoyment for Cassie, Luke and their family and friends. Guests who had come from as far away as New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the USA and of course, Cumbria. Shame the weather didn’t play ball but there was plenty of good food and drink on hand for everyone to forget about the rain. At least it wasn’t cold.

So, covering a wet wedding? Clearly, it changes some images, some images you can’t get (no sunsets), no bursting colour from the sunshine. But actually, it creates interesting images in itself. But no sunshine, no great colour. So, for this blog post, I’ve changed it a bit. I’ve kept ALL the images as B&W here (Cassie and Luke will get colour versions later too).

But for this post only, my favourite medium – Black and White. If I had a choice, I would capture all weddings just in B&W – it’s what fits the reportage approach best, IMO. It cuts past bad weather and bad light, whatever time of year. I have shot weddings completely in B&W in the past (including for a current member of the Cabinet). The first wedding I shot with digital cameras, back in 2002, was all B&W. (Another aspect of covering wet weddings, that I’ve learnt. Have a spare, dry shirt in the car!)

Coverage kicks off with first Luke and then Cassie, meeting the registrars at Cissbury House, for their interrogations. Then up to the barns, as the guests made their way, in the rain, to be ready for the ceremony. Ceremony complete – married – back out to some confetti in the rain (not that heavy at this point though). Then it was drinks, either under the canopy in the courtyard, or huddled around the bar. Outdoor patio heaters on. Speeches before the meal, followed by a cake cut with the best man’s Army sword. Cake served as dessert. By now the rain was finally tailing off, but no sun broke through the cloud cover. However, the camper van photo booth and the pizza van arrived, as the evening guests joined the party.

The band set up in the barn and the dancing was kicked off by Cassie and Luke. A day not dampened by the weather. Here are a few images from this wet wedding at Cissbury Barns…