The De La Warr Pavilion is the best modernist building on the south coast, and one of the best in the country. It was designed by Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff, opened in 1935, and is Grade I listed. It sits right on the seafront at Bexhill, twenty minutes along the coast from me in Eastbourne.
For a wedding it gives you something no country house can: clean white lines, a lot of glass, and the sea right outside.
The spaces
The Pavilion is licensed for civil ceremonies and hosts humanist and celebrant weddings too. It takes up to 120 for a ceremony and a seated dinner, and up to 250 for an evening reception.
Most weddings centre on the De La Warr Room, which has its own bar and a big outdoor terrace facing the sea. There’s also a rooftop for drinks, with views along the coast in both directions. And the building is still a working arts centre, so there’s usually an exhibition on in the galleries for your guests to wander round.
Photographing it
The staircase. The spiral staircase in its glass drum at the south end of the building is the picture everybody wants, and rightly. Light comes through the glass on all sides, and it works in almost any weather.
The terraces. White balconies, blue sky and the sea. On a bright day the building is so white that faces need care, so I’d rather do the terrace portraits in the softer light of the late afternoon.
The seafront. The promenade and the beach are right there. You’re back with your guests within fifteen or twenty minutes.
After dark. The building lights up and looks completely different from the beach. It’s worth five minutes outside once the sun has gone.
From a wedding at Goodwood, to give you a feel for the style.
How I work
Quietly, for most of the day. I photograph what happens and stay out of the way of it. Then, at a time that suits you, I take you away for fifteen or twenty minutes for the portraits, which are the editorial, slightly dramatic pictures couples tend to book me for. A building like this one suits them very well.
My prices are on the wedding photography prices and packages page, and there’s more on weddings along this stretch of coast on my Eastbourne and Sussex pages.
Questions couples ask
Can you get married at the De La Warr Pavilion?
Yes. It’s licensed for civil ceremonies, and it hosts humanist and celebrant weddings too, for up to 120 guests.
How many guests can the De La Warr Pavilion hold?
Up to 120 for a ceremony or a seated dinner, and up to 250 for an evening reception.
Where are the best photos at the De La Warr Pavilion?
The spiral staircase at the south end, the sea-facing terraces, the rooftop and the promenade outside. All of them are within a couple of minutes of each other.
Tell me your date and I’ll let you know straight away whether I’m free. Get in touch here.
Barrie
