Lisa Devlin Photography

We were very excited to see some of the new literature for weddings at the Royal Pavilion. For 2009 they are using photography from weddings that we have done, including our very own Clare with her husband Gary on the posters and flyers which will be distributed in Brighton. When we do the wedding fair on the 22nd of February there will even be a life-size image of Clare in the entrance, I think she will be wearing a disguise that day! They are also using images from Rachel and James’ wedding and Lisa and Lisa’s civil partnership at the Pavilion in the summer. It is a big honour to have been chosen and we are looking forward to being the photographers at more weddings in the opulent surroundings of Brighton Pavilion in 2009.

As we are coming to the end of 2008, it is time to look back on a very busy year. This was my 18th year of being a photographer and the 8th that I have been a wedding photographer in Sussex. This was one of my busiest years and I am very glad to have Clare as second photographer and now our two newbies, Susanna and Julie. We all had a lot of fun (and a fair few cocktails!) this week at The Ginger Pig in Hove for our Christmas do. We are looking forward to doing a two day shoot for the Gingerman restaurants and January which will include shooting the food, yummy!

This is our busiest winter for weddings and I am thinking that couples are getting a lot better value at this time of year, although it can be a challenge with the weather and the lack of light. We have still got one more wedding to do at the Pavilion before Christmas and have just taken a booking for a civil partnership on the 30th. We will then be shooting more weddings in January than we have ever done and in February we will be at wedding fairs in Buxted Park and The Royal pavilion.

Initially Sara and Gary had been planning a beach wedding in Mauritius but as the ceremony would not have been legal here, they opted for the beautiful, though less tropical location of Buxted park in Sussex. Sara got ready in the opulent Winston Churchill suite and we made use of the enormous bathroom for some photos as she was getting ready. The bridesmaids all wore white and carried little bouquets of Lily of the Valley and before we knew it everyone was ready to go downstairs for the ceremony in the library. Despite things running slightly late, I managed to sneak a gorgeous shot of Sara on the stairs.

The ceremony room was filled with vintage candlesticks hired from Pollen and would have looked great if someone had remembered to light them! The couple had also hired big lanterns to line the corridor to the Orangery where we took some lovely portraits as by then it was dark outside. Having been the photographer at quite a few big summer weddings at Buxted Park, it is good to know that there are still some good indoor options for the photos when we can’t rely on the light or the weather.

Jackie and Sarah didn’t want to see each other until the ceremony so when we got to Drakes, Julie covered Jackie getting ready while I was in with Sarah. Their outfits had been made by Renaissance in Brighton so as they matched without the girls knowing exactly what the other was wearing. Both featured dramatic high collars and sparkly details that looked very glamorous as did the hair and make-up.

With the unexpected sunshine it was quite a fun journey to the Pavilion with all the guests on a vintage open top bus. After the ceremony we photographed the girls in the grounds, taking advantage of the scaffolding being removed to do some shots with the whole building in the background. I think the last time I was able to do that was about seven years ago! Back at Drakes, we couldn’t resist the delicious canapes but then persuaded Jackie and Sarah to go over to the beach for some photos with the winter sun setting behind the Palace Pier. 

It is not easy to find a venue in Brighton & Hove that can accommodate more than 60 people but The Old Market in Hove had plenty of space for Caroline and Anthony’s 170 guests. As Caroline had her heart set on taking all guests to the beach for photos, we were disappointed to wake up to a very rainy day. Despite the weather, we found the bride in great spirits calmly getting ready in one of the artist’s dressing rooms. I soon lost count of all the little flowergirls and paige boys running about and they were all delighted to be given teddies to carry down the aisle instead of flowers. Caroline’s dress was a sample from Pronovias that was altered to fit and she looked extremely elegant with gorgeous jewellery that hinted at snow queen.

We managed to get the group shots done between showers but our luck ran out when we headed to the beach with the bride and groom. Clare and I were struggling to keep the cameras dry but Anthony and Caroline were great sports and we did get a shot of them with the West Pier in the background. When we got back to the Old Market, the guests sat down to a fantastic Thai menu at tables named after some of the amazing destinations that the couple have travelled to.

Well done to everyone who got their approved pictures back in time for the Queensberry deadline to get an album before Christmas. We have been incredibly busy designing the albums and ordering prints with a record number of albums in production. The new Duo design has been especially popular and we are looking forward to seeing some beautiful albums arrive over the next few weeks. We now have a new 7×5 parent album in stock which is only £150 and sweet little handbag book at £60 that is also being ordered as a present for bridesmaids. These can still be ordered in time for Christmas as can prints or canvas prints.

We have also designed a new 12 x12″ sample album with images printed to the edge of the page and no overlays. It features Leanne & Simon’s wedding so the cover is bright pink with their names embossed on it. It will look similar to digital books but have high quality images and be relatively cost effective.

If you are still intending to order an album, it is too late to guarantee getting it this year but Queensberry are not increasing their prices in the New Year.

Rachel and James first got in touch through the enquiry form on my site but it turned out that they had just moved in across the street and were my new neighbours. So I had the easiest ever journey to work, Julie and I just had to stroll over the road! When Rachel opened the door she was looking great in full make-up and rollers but confessed that she had barely slept all week. She then showed us the dress and veil which had been stashed in the spare room away from James and their two cats. Rachel’s dress from Pronovias was very classic and elegant but the veil was amazing. It was the longest one I have ever seen and was covered in tiny polka dots and edged in lace. I immediately thought that it would make a great silhouette shot against the windows in the Pavilion Music Room.

Their theme was mint and chocolate. When they suggested to The Talented Mr Casey from Pollen that they needed brown and green flowers they thought he might be stumped but he immediately came up with chocolate cosmos and flowering mint. Their flowers looked great and smelled yummy, the man is a genius which is why I rave about him. After the ceremony and family groups, I thought it would be a grand idea to take the bridal party to the front of the pavilion for some what I think of as my “Vanity Fair” style set ups. After a short time lots of officials appeared telling us that we were not supposed to be there as the scaffolding was being taken down above our heads and it was dangerous. However the shots we did get look great so although I was in a little bit of trouble, it was worth it.

As the reception was at Due South we also took some portraits of the Bride and Groom on the beach, making the most of the glorious sunshine. We took some very cute pictures in the deck chairs and of Rachel throwing her bouquet. We left as they began eating what looked like a very delicious meal while the sun set over the West Pier. It reminded me of my wedding which was five years ago tomorrow. The Husband and I are off to Centre Parcs in the morning where I am hoping that he will look after the babies while I sip champagne in the spa. Fingers crossed

After having had several anxiety dreams about arriving so late that I missed the ceremony, I was glad to make it to the Seattle in plenty of time for (my second photographer) Clare getting ready. I had just missed The Talented Mr Casey from Pollen but the flowers he delivered were gorgeous posies of old fashioned garden roses, wild orchids and fresh flowering herbs. They looked and smelled sensational. Judy Neame, the make-up artist was working her magic on both Clare and her Maid of Honour, Leanne and they both looked fabulous. I hadn’t realised that Clare was a secret glamourpuss and her fantastic dress from Blessings in Brighton was very sparkly and slinky. Clare seemed very calm but I think it all felt a bit surreal for her after helping so many other brides get ready. She looked truly beautiful and I was incredibly proud of her. She had three very sweet little flower girls and the morning seemed to whizz by. Suddenly Susanna, one of our other photographers was there to drive them to the Seattle in her very funky, very decorative soft top Beetle.

Although some of the Pavilion was closed off as they are finally taking down a lot of the scaffolding, we still managed to find some great places for photos after the ceremony. There was even a collection of life size topiary elephants in the gardens that we made use of. Then it was off to the reception at Bartholomew’s Barn which was looking splendid. Clare had a theme of English Eccentric meets the Orient which was inspired by the Pavilion. We had fish and chip canapes and fortune cookie favours. At dusk they released some fire lanterns which went off for miles. Apparently they are the latest thing at weddings but you just need to make sure that you are not under a flight path!

It was a lovely day and I was very glad to be a part of it, I just don’t know what we are going to talk about now that it is all over

Finally the sun shone for Sam and Mark’s wedding day at the glorious Newick Park. The house looked magnificent against the blue sky so we stopped off at the gate to take some outside shots. It was Julie’s first time there and she immediately decided that this is the venue she wants to get married in, she just needs to bag herself a rich man first!

We found Mark completely ready and relaxing in the bar with his best man, while his Mum was setting up the cakes she made in the hall. This day already had a laid back feel to it and when we went up to the bride’s room, we found Sam wrapped up in a big fluffy dressing gown sipping champagne. Sam’s dress was very simple and elegant, the kind of dress that you need to have a great figure for which luckily she does. We took some lovely shots of her against the huge old tree in the garden as the texture created an interesting contrast against the dress.

They are into travelling so their tables were named after favourite locations with pages from journals instead of table numbers and sticks of personalised rock as favours so everyone took home a little piece of Brighton. They seemed to have a fantastic time and as we left most guests were dancing to the great band that Mark had found only a few weeks before the wedding.

This was my first wedding at the Alias Seattle in Brighton since it’s renovations started. The hotel is looking fine so far and I have always loved shooting in the interior as it has a spacious contemporary feel. Vicki had lots of very charming young bridesmaids and it was fun photographing them all getting ready. Matt gave us all a fright by knocking on the door and saying that he needed to talk to Vicki urgently. Was this my first jilting? Luckily he just had a last minute query about the arrangements and we got back to taking some very cool portraits of the bride. The flowers had been done by the Talented Mr Casey from Pollen. Even the ceremony table looked amazing thanks to two huge goldfish bowls with domes of orange roses in them and the same colour of freeze dried petals scattered all over it.

The dress fitted in with the modern design of the Seattle and we made use of the beautiful filtered light in the new conservatory for the bride and groom shots. There are some fabulous new white leather banquettes that we used to great effect. Vicki has enviable cheekbones and looked effortlessly chic. My assistant Julie helped me persuade all the guests to go out onto the deck for some group photos even though the weather wasn’t great. There were a few complaints but at least they didn’t take long!